Day 12

We'll just skip day 11 and get right to the juicy details of day 12. It was "The Cleaning Ladies from Hell day." I decided, at my hubby's encouragement, to invest in a cleaning service. It was either a cleaning service now or therapy (perhaps hospitalization) later. I got a recommendation from a friend, called up the cleaning lady, and made the appointment for today.

I was so looking forward to a sparkling clean home. I happily bundled the kids and went off to my friend's house for the morning while two "nice" ladies cleaned my home. I came back four hours later thinking that surely they would be finished (I was paying them an hourly rate). I walked in and one of the ladies was dusting...but also talking on the phone...not very good work ethic. I went upstairs to take a shower and found that my bathroom vanity was ruined. The cleaning lady had used either a gritty cleaner (like comet) or a SOS pad on my vanity. I could tell immediately. The once smooth, shiny surface had been scoured--leaving thousands of tiny visible scratches.

What did I do? First, I cried. I don't have a very nice house to begin with. But my bathrooms were decent and relatively new.

Second, I got under control and nicely confronted the cleaning lady about the damage. She refused to take the blame, saying that all the scratches had been there before. LIAR!!

Third, it just so happened that Owen called in the middle of everything. He suggested that it was better to err on the side of forgiveness and said it was probably an honest mistake. I paid the ladies for their work and told them I would not be using them again.

I wish I could walk around my house and enjoy the cleanliness. But all I can think about is the ruined vanity.

Lessons learned: 1) Always go with a bonded, insured cleaning company - the extra cost, in this case, would have been worth it. 2) Don't leave while the house is being cleaned. 3) Be extremely specific about how the house should be cleaned. 4) Do it myself and set aside the money saved for therapy!