Have you ever had to clean something that was already clean? Seems pretty pointless to me, but nonetheless, I would drive thirty minutes every two weeks to clean a vacation home for which no one ever really visited. I was expected to spend hours scrubbing and vacuuming and dusting and washing linens that rarely got used.
Eventually after a couple weeks of figuring out the most efficient and easiest way of cleaning the house effectively and without too much strain, I designed my checklist. I would walk throughout the entire property in search of the obvious messes like dead bugs on the windowsills or water spots on the windows and tend to those first. Then I would check the bathrooms to make sure that the toilet paper ends were still folded in the triangular design that I had left them in the last time I was there. If the toilet paper hadn’t been touched, it was a sure sign that the toilet must also not been touched; therefore, a quick wipe down of that area would suffice. For the mysterious dead bugs that I would always find on every windowsill, I would get out the mini vacuum and suck the little buggers up. So after all the eye-sores were demolished, I would then start with the routine cleaning, such as, dusting the lamp shades and book shelves, scrubbing the kitchen counters and polishing the stainless-steel sinks so that no water spots could be seen, then wiping down the white floor boards because some people don’t understand how ugly floor boards can get after a guest party has leaned up against them with their dirty shoes. With still a couple hours to go, I would have to run the washer machine on “sanitary” because the well water had once been contaminated with sulfur, so if it doesn’t get run and the owners come to stay for the weekend, their clothes would smell horrid. To finish off the checklist, I end in the downstairs garage with vacuuming the cobwebs and sweeping out the various leaves and such that manage to be tracked in from wet tires.
The job seems tedious and a lot over the top, however, for the few hours I spend cleaning what’s already clean, the wages really aren’t too shabby. It might not make much sense to clean a house twice a month that no one lives in, but it’s an easy job that pays well, so I really shouldn’t complain.
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