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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Lessons I've Learned from My Maid

You may think having a maid is all fun and games and the truth is that having someone come in once a week has made a big difference.  I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of time it takes to do errands and clean this apartment that I was falling apart.  It just became very overwhelming.  So we decided to get a maid one day a week.  The work she does levels things out so that I am once again doing the same amount of work that I have done in any other house we have lived in.  But I am learning a few lessons about myself and life in general during this process.
1.  I have learned that when I clean I do a deep cleaning every single time.  I don't wash, I scrub.  I get in corners and find little dribbles and spills.  Dirt is my enemy.  I had been told that maids don't ever clean as well as the owner does and I have found this to be true.  I get what I consider a "light cleaning" each week so I am learning to let go of cleanliness perfection.
2.  I am learning to communicate more in Spanish.  Susana is very good about helping me along with the correct words and gramar.  I'm sure inside she's rolling her eyes thinking "I told you this word last week and the week before and..."  Yet she always smiles and helps me along.  She has the patience of a saint.
3.  I have discovered that I am freakishly intense about everything being in its correct place.  This has irritated my family for years.  "Why is that plant or chair in that position?" they may ask.  I then go on long diatribes explaining balance, clutter, positioning and basically end it with a "touch it and die" sort of phrase.  I think they occasionally move things just to mess with me.  But Susana has no tendency towards positioning and balance, so when she leaves I take 15 min. to walk through the house and adjust each photo and rock that is displayed on a shelf and center rugs on the floor.
4.  Each week I become more and more grateful for the little things she helps me with.  Ironing a shirt (somehow better than I have ever done) or washing the floor.  It frees me up to take the hour drive to and from the grocery store and not be stressed over getting it all done.  

1 comment:

  1. we are so alike! As you know, I never got a maid, but I probably would have had the same observations about myself. Moving into a new rental place brings my obsessiveness to the surface too. I just don't understand how other people don't clean the top of the bathroom lights... there is an inch of dust! And don't get me started about the blinds not being clean. I am slowly moving from one room to the next making them 'liveable' for me. A proper deep clean at the beginning makes all the difference :)
    Elizabeth.

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