Feeling like a sloucher

I'm feeling like a sloucher. (but a happy one) I hired my first cleaning lady today. I know - it's just Pablo, Odie and me - most of the time. So the place doesn't get too pitted out. Still - we live here...and stuff adds up. I don't do too bad at the regular every day picking-up stuff. The Clean It people will just come once a month to do the "deep cleaning" stuff that I don't get to. (mostly because I don't make myself...#poormotivation)

scene of part of the slovenliness

But I made the mistake of buying a bad vacuum cleaner...boy was that dumb! Hmmm, how could we have done that? Isn't buying a vacuum a lot like buying tires? So not fun. Unless you're my pal Chris Deardorff who really digs on sucking shit up. That's just weird. Maybe I'd get it if I had the $700 vacuum from when the Kirby guy did came and threw sand on our floor (and sucked it up) at our first house in Creston - but we'd still be making payments on the thing!

When I was a kid, we always had a cleaning lady. The first one was Mrs. Grey. She was the first black person I ever met. They may have been the only African American family in Atlantic - probably not easy back in the 60's. On cleaning day, we always ate lunch with our cleaning people - I was fascinated that the palms of her hands were so light. I'm sure I stared ever so rudely. Mom cleaned right along with our cleaning ladies. She usually - did the laundry when they were there too so they could help make up the beds. Dad was traveling Iowa selling lingerie.

The next cleaning lady I remember was Leona Wheatley - who became almost a part of the family. On deep cleaning days - windows, hardwood floors - Leona's sis Et (probably short for Etta but I never asked) would come too. Leona was quite a character - married to a man my parents said was a mean drunk. Leona was funny and never shy - she helped with all of our big family events, like weddings. Leona didn't drive so when I got my license one of my jobs was to run her home. She lived not too far from my Grandparents place at 909 Poplar.

When we lived in Creston, lots of our friends and neighbors had cleaning people. I kept threatening to get the service but never followed through. My friend Thea always lamented that she would have to clean for the cleaners. I'm not planning to do that. They're going to start out by cleaning carpets in 3 of our rooms. I'm so excited to get some of the things that have been "hanging" over me taken care of without going through the pain myself.

I hired Clean It, Inc. upon recommendation from a co-worker. I'm hoping for a good one time a month relationship! Call me lazy...with my schedule - I believe I've earned it. But I do feel like a bit of a sloucher.