Dirty
It’s dirty.
Two simple words is all it took to convey her opinion. And for me to put the following status update on Facebook:
Nilsa fears our cleaning lady. Last time, she told us our place was dirty. And I kept flip-flopping between feeling guilty and thinking, “well, yeah why do you think you’re here?!”
Let me back up for a minute. A few months ago we found ourselves without our loyal cleaning ladies. The two wonderful women who had followed us from my previous building were no longer living in Chicago (the economy forced them to move home with family; there were no deportations or anything dramatic like that).
I asked our neighbors if we could share their cleaning lady, figuring the less travel time for her the better. After her first time cleaning our place, she said something to the effect of we were bad; our place was dirty.
That time, I let it slide. Because there had been a super-long gap between when our previous cleaning ladies left and when she was able to come to our place. She was right. Our place was dirty.
She cleaned our place two more times after that initial visit. And each time, she made a statement to the effect that our place is bad; dirty. I wasn’t sure what to do about it.
My first reaction was to brush it off. She’s of Eastern European descent. She reminds me of the woman who managed our wedding venue. No beating around the bush. She says what she means and means what she says. Too bad if you don’t like what you hear. It seems to be a theme among the women I know born in that part of the world. Usually, I’m able to chalk it up to a cultural thing. And usually I have thick enough skin to weather it.
But, it was different with our cleaning lady. I really cringed whenever she said it. Like, she was poking at my core being. Like she was insinuating I was living in filth.
For the record, our place isn’t filthy. We are clean people. Maybe disorganized at times. But, our showers don’t have mildew. Our kitchen doesn’t smell of trash. And our living room doesn’t have three weeks worth of take-out pizza boxes laying about. We do clean up after ourselves.
I thought about saying something to her. But, I realized that addressing that issue with her would be pointless. I wouldn’t be changing what she thinks, only what she says. And the last thing I want to do is have someone in my home who truly believes we are filthy. So, that’s when I realized, I don’t have to put up with her comments.
Within minutes of drawing that conclusion, I found myself on Yelp. Looking for cleaning service recommendations. I found a few.
Last week, one of these highly-recommended cleaning ladies offered to come to our house. To look at our unit and give us an estimate. She prefers email (a first!). She showed up on time. Her estimate was reasonable. She had business cards. We made an appointment for her to come back.
Yesterday, she spent five hours cleaning our condo. She promised that she spends a lot of time on her first visit and that future visits shouldn’t take as much time. She asked my preferences for how I wanted her to clean things. She pointed out some scratches on our shower door and in our bathtub (things I’ve overlooked for the last 16 months of living here!) and explained her cleaning method so as to avoid leaving any scratches like that. She told me she feels bad that her coming to our place means she is displacing another cleaning lady. She told me how much she loves our wedding photos. She told me about her children.
I could tell she takes pride in what she does. She wants to do a good job. I appreciated her attempts to converse with me (and practice her English!). I appreciated that when I didn’t have an opinion on what kind of cleaning product should be used that she had a recommendation. I appreciated that she likes to use simple products that don’t leave residue or strong odors.
I made another appointment with her in a few weeks. And cannot wait for her to come back!
Do you have any cleaning service stories of your own to share?
November 11th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I actually had to terminate a cleaning lady that was a friend of my Dad’s because all she wanted to do was yap the whole time she was there. It took her 8 hours to clean a 2500 square foot home when it only took me 3. She would gab and gab and gab and not do her job. It stank because I really liked her as a person but hi, I was paying her to clean, not to be my friend.
Also, if I had a cleaning lady that kept telling me how dirty I was? I’d have gotten a new one too. For sure.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:30 am
My response would have been “well, what do you think I’m paying you for anyway?” I’m glad you got a replacement. There is no reason you should pay someone to feel guilty.
My father and monster-in-law had a cleaning lady who they had to pick up and drop off and all I ever saw her do was vacuum and dust. I could do that. If I’m going to hire someone to clean I want them to do the nitty gritty dirty jobs like cleaning the toilet and floors.
The only cleaning lady I’ve ever had in my house has been me and I’m not very good. I’d fire myself if I could afford a replacement.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:19 am
I live in fear of my cleaning lady. I have to clean like a maniac before she comes. She has never told me that she thought I was dirty, but I bet she is thinking it.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Our cleaning ladies are just ok. I have been talking about finding someone new for a really long time but finding someone else I trust is a huge issue for me. But if our cleaning ladies ever told me my house was filthy or dirty I would not be fine with that. I’m glad you found someone new. Your house is definitely not dirty and what the heck did the cleaning lady think she was there for anyway? If it was dirty after she had been there several times maybe she should look to herself and question her cleaning skills or something.
Do you think your new cleaning lady would come all the way to my house? She sounds lovely!
November 11th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I wish I was lucky enough to ever had had a cleaning lady! I am the cleaning lady, and our house is DIRTY! lol
November 11th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Oh she sounds like a total gem! I totally don’t get why the other lady would make weird comments like that to you- isn’t that counter productive for business?
You should only have people working in your home who get you, not who disturb you = ) and it sounds like this lady is a perfect find. Good work! Yelp is all kindsa help.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:00 am
My mom had issues wither her cleaning lady. After more than 10 years or great service. My mom realized that things were not cleaned properly and the she broguth her sister to help her out and things started to go missing.
It was a very bad termination an my mom is very wary but has found someone that she likes.
As for me, being a cleaning lady is my second job.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I’ve seen your place. If you’re “dirty,” then my place is screwed.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:17 am
we had a couple of experiences with cleaning ladies. we meaning me and my ex-husband. it is VERY common in el paso to have cleaning services at your house. unfortunately, for the cleaning people, it’s very cheap there. typically, they are women that are coming over from juarez every day. people also tend to go through a lot of them. we got lucky. we got a woman named maggie. i don’t think that her name really was maggie, but she probably said it was just so that i could pronounce something correctly. she was awesome. the woman used everyday household items and cleaned the house with them…i mean, you don’t NEED windex…vinegar, water and newspaper works 100% better. loved her. anyway, this was all at the time that my ex-husbands mom was going through some woes of her own with HER lady. this woman, god love her, wore sweats every day…which would have been fine…if she didn’t clean the house in the 7 inch heels that she had while wearing the sweats.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I would LOVE to have someone clean our house. Our house probably is dirty because I hate to clean, so the good scrubbings are few and far between. However, my husband is super paranoid about having people that we don’t know very well in our house (I can thank my FIL for that), so he is very uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger touching our stuff. No cleaning lady for me :-(
November 11th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Ha. Cleaning ladies aren’t in our budget…Even if they were, I’m not sure I’d be able to. I do not mean this as an insult in any way, I promise, but the notion of a cleaning lady feels pretentious. That is probably the difference between living in a small city and a big city.
My dad and his ex wife did have a cleaning lady for a while (in a small city!).
That said, I’m sure we could USE a cleaning lady. We are disorganized, and sometimes there is more dust than there should be.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am
That’s just weird. It’s like going to your dentist for a cleaning and them telling you your teeth aren’t perfect.
I’ve done move out cleanings with people, but I’ve never had a regular cleaning person. I’m jealous.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I’m that freak of nature who actually enjoys cleaning. A lot. I blame my mother, who left my sisters and me weekly “chore lists” to vacuum, dust, wash windows, scrub baseboards, etc. (Old houses tend to accumulate dirt like no other.) I hated it then, but I so appreciate those chore lists now. Because they taught me the sense of satisfaction that comes with walking through a freshly cleaned home.
One day, though, I’m sure I’ll gladly hand my rubber gloves over to a cleaning woman. And hopefully she’s as nice as the one you found!
November 11th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Ha! That reminds me of the cleaning lady we had growing up. She quit because she was “moving”. Months later we bumped into her at her part-time job. I don’t blame her; I would have quit, too. We were a family of five crammed into a tiny house with only enough time in the day to blow in and make a huge mess before rushing off to the next thing. She was just too nice to tell us we were dirty.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Having just spent the last 45 minutes scouring our oven, I want a cleaning lady!!!! And I am positive she’d tell me my house is dirty right now. Just needs a good cleaning. Working on that today. . . . When I was a little girl, my family had a lady who came every other week to clean. On Fridays. I remember that because every other Thursday night was spent cleaning for the cleaning lady. Never understood that!!
November 11th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Mr. P got me a cleaning service for my 39th birthday. It was awesome the first 3 weeks, then I would see stuff they missed and if I mentioned it, the head lady would get super defensive and I hated it. So we let them go.
Now we have to do it ourselves. I am sad.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I just can’t imagine you’re place is dirty. What is that other cleaning woman thinking? That everything must be spick and span ALL the time, shining and glistening that not one speck of dust can ever be found?! There’s clean, but this lady is just TOO MUCH.
No cleaning stories of my own. I clean my own apartment since it’s small (every weekend). And I hate it. I hate cleaning, but I hate dirt more hence I clean.
oh and p.s. I hate cleaning!
November 11th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
i’m weeping over here because i miss having a cleaning lady so much. we had one in our old house, and it was DIVINE. i was just noticing this morning how dirty my kitchen floor was, and how little i wanted to actually clean it.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Think she makes house calls in LA?
I am just going to say one thing. Yesterday when I was getting ready for bed, while trying to avoid stepping on the hairballs and dust bunnies in the corner of the bathroom that have accrued since the last time I cleaned the joint, I thought to myself, “If I could choose what heaven would be like for me, I would choose two things… no more medicine, and NO DUST!”
Sounds heavenly, eh?
November 11th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
We don’t have a cleaning service, unless you count my little cousins. When I have a bunch of stuff I need to get rid of them (and by that I mean clean), I convince them to come down and make a game out of it. They are in their glory when they get to take home bags I no longer use, clothes I no longer wear, books I have no use for and any other junk they want to take home.
Honestly though, your new cleaning lady sounds like a great find. Bonus points because she likes your wedding photos.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Oh I’m so jealous. Even just once a month I would love to have someone in to clean my little studio -- really, really clean it. I’m OK with the kitchen, but my lord how I HATE cleaning the damn bathroom.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Okay the first lady totally made me think of Magda from Sex and the City. Did you ask your neighbor if she made rude comments like that to them?
I look forward to having a cleaning lady some day, but for now it’s just me, which means dirty dishes in the sink and cat hair on the floor. I remember my boyfriend in college hiding his laundry from their cleaning lady every time she came. Apparently she had a tendency to accidentally dye and shrink stuff.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
You’re one lucky lady. Our apartment is really small, but it’s amazing how quickly it gets dirty. Sadly, we can’t afford it. It would be nice…
November 11th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Oh I would be so offended by that! Our house isn’t exactly pristine at all times but it’s not DIRTY. I’m glad you got rid of her.
I’d looove to get a cleaning lady but I’m not sure we can justify the expense given that we have the time at the moment to do our own cleaning. Once we have kids, we’ll reassess.
Plus, I shudder to think how much it would cost for someone to clean a house of this size. I’m still used to that 2-room apartment, I guess.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
The day my cleaning lady comes is my most favorite day. Even if the house is clean for only a few hours…
November 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Our cleaning service is also from one of the Eastern block countries (Poland, I think?). The strangest thing about them is that they’re guys. GUYS. Before these people, I had never heard of men cleaning peoples’ houses. Not that they can’t, but you don’t generally think of men being as clean as women, especially around the house. Sure, there are people like Daniel who are a little OCD and neat freaks, but that’s a rarity. These guys generally do a good job though!
November 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I’ve never had a cleaning lady but my parents did for awhile. She was really great at what she did but then she started showing up when we didn’t have appointments with her, demanding her money if we didn’t need her that week and so we had to fire her. Now that I’m back home, my mom and I tackle certain projects at the house each week although I have a feeling if my parents had a cleaning lady they’d probably be a tad more relaxed. I hope this new lady works out well for you =) And you certainly don’t have to put up with a cleaning lady who doesn’t jive with what you need/want.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I know that I would have taken it WAY personally. I’ve often considered getting a cleaning person -- I am relatively neat, but a slack ass when it comes to floors and windows etc.
I’ve always been too cheap to make the investment…
xo
November 11th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
One day I would LOVE to have a cleaning lady but I fear the silent judgement of my shabby apartment. Plus I’m not that trusting of people in my house when I’m not. Keep me posted how that goes!
November 12th, 2009 at 12:26 am
moving out of my mothers house the thing i missed more than anything was the cleaning lady. i never cleaned a shower or a toilet until 4 years ago.
sad but true.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Hee hee. This also made me think of Magda. And how she replaced Miranda’s vibrator with a bible. LOL. I’m happy you found someone better! :) Or, nicer. :)
November 15th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
The thing about cleaning ladies (or cleaning men? No really, has anyone ever had a cleaning man?) is that people think it means you don’t have to clean your house. What it means for me is that I get one day off a week where someone else can unload the dishwasher, fold the laundry, mop pee up from behind the toilets (I have two itty bitty boys), and what have you. Yes, she does clean and replace all the sheets but hardly a week goes by that I don’t have to change sheets mid-week (think pee; think pee again).
If being pretentious (and I’m not bitchy about this either) means getting to sit in the park with a coffee and laugh with a friend about something retarded my husband said earlier in the week (while someone mops my hideous kitchen floor) then bring it on…