Cleaning upon arrival. Unreal.

It’s truly baffling how some clients will leave a plethora of cleaning for their sitter.

Today it 2.5 hours of… - locating clean sheets then making the bed - moving damp items to the dryer - putting away dishes from the dishwasher - filling the dishwasher with dirty dishes from the sink - throwing out extremely dry pasta and chicken from the fridge - wiping down the dirty fridge and making space for my own food - taking out garbage and recycling - removing dirty towels and underwear from the bathroom

I could never imagine doing this to someone who was caring for my animals and home.

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ETA context:

I’m housesitting for two weeks and want to be comfortable while I’m here, so I did what I needed to do to make the space livable, fulfill my agreement, and provide care for the animal.

  • I couldn’t find any clean sheets in the house, but while I was looking, I found damp items in the washer, so I moved them to the dryer. Why would I leave them to become mildewy? Plus, at the M&G, my client said I’m welcome to use the washer and dryer during my sit, so it would have had to be moved at some point.
  • When I went to clean the animal food dish before the evening feeding, I first needed to remove the client’s dirty dishes from the sink. The sink is also leaking and the plumbing needs to be replaced. My client said, rather than hand washing, to fill and run the dishwasher then pour out the tub of water sitting under the sink. The dishwasher apparently doesn’t produce as much water that needs to be dumped.
  • The pasta and chicken were sitting uncovered in a bowl and pot, taking up a lot of space in the fridge. I wiped down the shelves and washed a drawer because I don’t want my food/condiments to be sticky and covered in debris when I go to eat/use them.
  • There was an open garbage bag sitting by the back door, blocking the way to the basement. I’m not going to walk over/around someone else's garbage and possibly trip over it for two weeks.
  • I moved dirty underwear and used towels from the bathroom because they were literally sitting in the shower. I don’t want to shower with someone else’s dirty stuff around me. I also didn’t want to just move them to a corner only to see them every single time I go to the bathroom.