Trying to work up the courage to call the new cleaning ladies and tell them they won’t be coming back. The “furlough” (read “pay cut”) will excise almost twice what they charge from my paycheck. And paying what they charge was a stretch in the first place.
So, I feel bad about that, because I’m sure they wouldn’t be doing the work if they didn’t need the pay.
On the other hand… The last time they were here, Norma announced she didn’t like the steam cleaner I use on the 1860 square feet of tile that covers my floors…could she use the mop and Simple Green? Sure, said I, thinking each to her own.
I then went on about my business. When I came back in, I thought the house smelled mighty strongly of Simple Green. It didn’t smell of Simple Green: it reeked. And it continued to stink of perfumed detergent for the next three days.
Odd, thought I, since that never happens on the rare occasions that I clean the floors with a mop. Ohhh well.
Well, a couple of days ago I went to grab the big bottle of vinegar out of the the garage cabinets and found the lifetime-supply bottles of Simple Green in front of it. Pick one up to move it out of the way and whoa! It’s almost empty!
Those women used almost an entire gallon of Simple Green on the floor! What the heck did they do? Dump the stuff into the bucket and use it undiluted? For hevvinsake, no wonder the place stank.
A gallon of Simple Green will last me for a good six months, or more. It’s not like the stuff is cheap or easy to find—Costco quit carrying it, and Home Depot only recently picked it up. So now I’ll have to pony up money out of my reduced paycheck to buy some more of that stuff. And come next cleaning day, I’ll have the fun of scrubbing the residue up off the tiles. Wheeee!
Just goes to show, if you want something done right, do it yourself.
This is one of the main reasons that I always talk myself out of getting a cleaning person. That sort of stuff makes me crazier than a dirty house.
I hope that the layoff goes well, and I also hope that you don’t let yourself feel guilty.
Good luck! I’d feel bad, too, but you gotta do what you gotta do and those are two very good reasons.