My yard cleanup guys arrived this morning. Three men all sharing the cab of a truck. Ugh. I probably shouldn’t work in my yard for a few days. Do the germs stick to,plants and grass? They opened and closed my gate, too.

No, dedtired, you and your plants and your grass are safe.

I’m sure you are fine dedtired, I hope your landscapers are too.

I've helped out my pet-sitter. With no one traveling, she's not working. For the same reason as sas95's explanation. My pet-sitter gets preferential treatment because I have a personal relationship with her, and I trust her with my pets and home while I'm traveling in a foreign country. I don't have to worry about anything while I'm gone. That's worth a fortune to me. She's also not suggested anything about payment. I dropped some $$ into her PayPal, and then she called asking what it was for. I told her it was because I appreciate her. That's reason enough to help someone.

Sephia, I love your answer. I'm totally gonna steal that.

I'd planned to stick with our cleaning service, which has been doing excellent work for us for at least fifteen years, always in gloves and using their own green products (which leave our house with a nice scent), and always amenable to special requests or changes. But this afternoon we received an email from the company stating that they were suspending service until mid-April. They assured us all that they would be taking care of the various house-cleaners and that no one would suffer financially. Am glad to hear that.

Meanwhile DH will be on bathroom duty and I'll keep the kitchen clean (we are anyway pretty tidy). We'll take turns vacuuming. TG for Dyson!

I talked of cancelling the house cleaner but then my husband reminded me I live here :). Husband mostly does the kitchen cleanup and the pet care and I do most of the rest. ( He is retired and I still work full time). He will help me but honestly I am really picky about how things are done. I have been extra thorough and am cleaning the bathrooms each of us use every night when I get home. I come home, shower and change and then we go around disinfecting the kitchen and baths; he also does it throughout the day.

I think I would pay a house cleaner for a period of time. I will definitely give my hairdresser a huge tip when I get back.

I currently don't have a house cleaner but have in the past. I personally would pay them right now if I was in the financial position to do so. In my case I would never hire a service for a regular weekly cleaning. I would use someone I personally hired, therefore, my employee. I get sick days and emergency leave days, why wouldn't I give that to an employee. I have been on both sides of the financial fence and have great empathy for those living on the edge.

Another reason housecleaners are different is that unlike a restaurant for most of us it is a previously scheduled appointment. In other words, I may not send a dinner's worth of money to a restaurant since I hadn't committed to going on a particular date. But I pay my housekeeper since she had scheduled service appointments for me.

Extending that analogy, if you had other specific service appointments booked that couldn't take place, are you paying the providers? For example hair dresser, massage therapist, nails, waxing etc? I had to cancel one such appointment and I'm not sure what I'll do because as with cleaning services it's a national chain, but the aesthetician is an employee who has told me in past she works largely on commission and tips. I will probably give her the equivalent of double the gratuity and will purchase some beauty products over and above what I usually would.

OTOH I didn't have an appointment with my hair stylist, not sure I will pay anything extra on that the next time I go, although I am delaying a regular visit I would have scheduled during the quarantine.

In other news, I am an idiot.

People talk about their dogs shedding and I am always like, oh, ours isn't so bad. Now that we haven't had cleaning people for a few weeks, I realize *she* is most of the problem! OMG. So. much. hair. Its worse than keeping up w the dishes.

Reason 187 that I don't have a dog. ;-)

I cancelled my cleaner (once a week) but paid her for 2 months worth until EI and other gov’t payments kick in.

Dedtired, UV rays from the sun can kill the virus in 10 seconds (if they are strong rays), and so if your yard is sunny, you are definitely okay. My pool guy came today, and I don't worry because we get lots of sun here, but I don't touch the gate handle for a day. He made the mistake of leaving the pool in maintenance mode, and so I had to push the mode button to get it back to automatic.

Mtn, that is funny. Nothing like absence ...

We haven't had a cleaning service for over 5 years, so can't really comment, but if anyone is keeping track, I've now vacuumed the house 3 times this week.

Lars, it poured rain today so maybe all,the cooties got washed away.

Just wanted to be the 200th post.....

I dont have a cleaner but I would be willing to cancel cleaning my own house for awhile...

And I'll even double what I pay myself now.

My main living areas really should be vacuumed every day, in real life I do them every other quickly and once a week getting every corner and under furniture. The price of our pets who bring us so much joy.

I do get a lot of satisfaction watching that shark cup fill up!

For those who resent paying anyone who did not actually work, keep in mind that often times these workers have helped for decades and to just drop them would be wrong. We should help others at this time as much as we can; housekeepers aren't getting rich and they work is hard. Since they would have been paid if they followed the plan to work, it cannot be much of a hardship to cover them for a month. Of course if you've lost your own job and will be financially strapped, that's another consideration.

When I was in the hospital, my house cleaner refused to take payment for her work. Of course I'm paying her for the days I asked her not to come.

Mtn, I remember you saying one time that your dog did not shed much. I thought you had lucked out with a unicorn golden retriever!! ;-)

Shedding is the reason I have my dogs quarantined to part of the house, the part with tile and not hardwood. They have a couple of rooms and access to the yard. Right now I just don't want to deal with hair, dirt and drool all over the house, so they get quarantine too! They did get their 3+ mile bike run today, so they are happy.

LOL Chispa. We do love her dearly but turns out she is a mess! Who knew.

When we decided to put our regular cleaning crew on hiatus I called the commercial service who has cleaned our office building for years and asked if they would put our house on a waiting list for any cancellations. They agreed and called yesterday; we finally got a slot this afternoon, two of their workers for four hours. I am beyond excited. These people clean most of the medical facilities (offices and clinics and labs) in our area and and are following CDC guidelines for gloves, masks and recommended cleaning agents. They are considered an essential service, obviously, and sent me a video they made for their clients outlining the additional precautions and cleaning techniques theyre employing at this time. It’s going to cost a packet but will be SO nice to have a completely clean and sanitized house for Easter. We will either be sitting on the patio or taking a drive or walk as they are requiring the house to be empty while they are here, it occurred to me that a medical / institutional cleaning service might be something others would be interested in.

I got a text from my house cleaner yesterday to thank me because I mailed her pay for April a few days ago.

She also said she has been making masks (she's a very talented crafter) and offered to send down a pair for my husband and me, which I very gratefully accepted. Karma for the win LOL

OTOH today's our usual cleaning day so I've got chores....this week I guess I gotta tackle the cat's room. The fur will fly!

We are about 3.5 weeks in on total isolation, which for us is down 10 visits! But we are doing fine. It is surely the novelty, but we are kinding of enjoying it. It is very satisfying. I also always hated the intrusion of cleaning people (even though they are very nice, they were here a lot!)

If we change our minds, I have a plan. First, it would be easy to just have her clean the pool area, its dedicated full bath, and my shower (which connects to the pool), and do all of the laundry (it has its own laundry area). We could easily forego using those spaces a few days.

Otherwise, we could stay upstairs for a day and have her come and clean only the downstairs, or we could do vice versa. In that case, we would only want to give up the space for 24 hours, and would go through with disinfectant wipes on all surfaces after the 24 hours. Totally doable, but as yet not necessary.

What I am missing more is massage therapy but that won't be a good idea for quite some time. My hair is probably good for another 4-6 weeks.

After DH and I really jumped on it cleaning earlier this week, I remembered why I have someone else do it. Oh, my aching back! We moved furniture and we washed baseboards.

I discovered the the pad under the oriental rug in the LR is disintegrating. I had planned to send the rug out for cleaning this spring. Guess I’ll get a new pad too.

I paid the woman who cleans for me, but told her it was payment for future services. We’ll find a time that is agreeable and do a couple of hours of deep cleaning later on in the summer.

I realized last night that I needed a good massage, too. Yep. Not gonna happen for a while.

We canceled ours for now and are doing the cleaning ourselves. It hasn't been too bad. Our adult daughter is here with us (she is a kinder teacher) and one of our sons lives with us, so we divided up the tasks four ways and it is working well.

Yes, TBH if I didn't have a "crew" it'd be different.

:: Waving "hi" to the Texanjanas and their lovely daughter.::

What I miss is the tyranny of the housecleaner. . I used to be forced to pick up and put away once every two weeks before she arrived. You know, back in the days when we were allowed out of the house? Anyway, now my piles are accumulating. No one comes in the house so there isn’t any motivation to clean up.

My cleaning efforts are kind of piecemeal . One day I run the vac, one day I dust, one day I clean the sinks, one day I clean the toilets. The whole house is never clean at the same time. Things are going downhill fast. I’m sure I will soon be made crazy by it all and dive into deep cleaning. Maybe.

ive put more effort into the yard. I weeded between the bricks on the patio and have been digging wild violets out of the lawn. Talk about a Sisyphean task.

Hair is approaching week six. I figure I’ve got two weeks before I have to start wearing a hat.

I used to be forced to pick up and put away once every two weeks before she arrived.

Yes, exactly!

The novelty of doing my own housework again wore off the day after they weren't here. Who misses cleaning the toilet(s)?

I was supposed to have a haircut next Monday. I sent her my usual payment + tip. She's welcome to keep it or apply to my next cut, I don't care, and I won't argue about it.

"Who misses cleaning the toilet)s)?

OMG Bunny. Toilets are now my specialty.. I am cleaning the toilets on a daily rotation and they have never been so clean! (Considering only one gets used, I may be over cleaning but it's not like I have much else to do.)

I really don't mind cleaning. I get a sense of accomplishment. And the more I say that, the more I will come to believe it....I hope.

I might as well admit that I loathe cleaning and would rather dig a ditch than clean a toilet. I’ve kept up daily with the kitchen and our bathroom but I don’t do the latter gladly. DH cannot help because of his physical limitations. Just keeping up with laundry for the two of us and our dogs (who are now wearing doggie diapers as they are inside so much more) and the kitchen is about my limit.

My need to clean is growing at an exponential rate-- especially now that I have windows open. Unfortunately, I can't blame that on the pandemic. I haven't had a cleaning person for over a year. I will need one when this is all in the past!

My hair is another matter-- I can deal with my roots. I'm just saying I am on trend with "shadow" coloring (I don't have any gray yet). What is getting less easier to manage is the length.. and my brows. I had an appt scheduled for day 1 of the quarantine here (3/14) so I am at about 7 or 8 weeks now?

I am surprised by how much *time* it takes to keep my house anywhere near as clean as it was (I should not be surprised but still I am). Which is fine except when I have a lot of work to do, and work has been busy.

I cleaned toilets yesterday. I don't mind keeping the bathrooms and kitchen clean. I don't mind doing laundry. I detest dusting and that is evident on all of the surfaces of my house. I need to set up a routine to dust one or two rooms per day...blech!

I really don't mind cleaning. I get a sense of accomplishment. I'm not sure I get a sense of accomplishment, but I really don't mind cleaning. Just the two of us and not a huge house. There are areas that we don't use daily so they don't need "cleaning" as often as other areas. I won't say I "enjoy" cleaning but I don't mind "caring" for our home, if that makes sense. Toilets really aren't a big deal. Keeping a house picked up and having things where they belong goes a long way. I have had help occasionally over the years, but there is the privacy issue, and also the fact that I do things a certain way and my way is not necessarily everyone's way. The Mr. helps and when it comes to vacuuming, dust mopping, etc. he is the best! I'm known to go around the furniture vs. moving everything. I guess I could say floors are not my favorite chore.

Hi to you and yours Mtn!

Hah Marlene.

At least a toilet is a limited, well-defined area. Not like the vastness of dust on every flat surface.

I discontinued the housecleaner before coronavirus - can't recall how long it's been now. I don't mind cleaning as much as I thought I would but that is in large part because I bought that Dyson cordless vacuum. My house is probably cleaner now because it gets vacuumed more often. Initially I thought I would do a full house cleaning on some regular schedule like the housecleaner. However I find I do it as I see the need. I see cat hair all the time hence the more frequent vacuuming. I clean all the toilets (and the rest of the bathroom) when I notice one of them is in need. The only thing I really don't like, and thus don't do as often as I should, is dusting. I may be inspired to do that more often once I have the windows open as it will probably be dustier then.

I used to "pick up" before the housecleaner came. There wasn't a lot of stuff around but I didn't want her cleaning around anything. However now that I'm retired everything is pretty much picked up daily so if you don't look closely (at the dust) the place looks pretty clean.

Dust...I hate it. Ditto pollen and dog hair (only one out of our three sheds but the others lose Hair in little clumps once a year). Our old house had matte finish, natural white oak floors with all the character markings of boles and black marks that were part of the wood. We could probably have gone for a month without seeing anything on them. These floors ......medium brown and glossy. You could vacuum them daily and they still would not look perfectly clean. I’m not demanding or expecting perfect from myself or the cleaners, but even a “good“ result takes a lot of time.

I just finished stripping and remaking our king size bed with three sets of differently sized pillows and a duvet. It’s a huge, unweieldy chore. I like sleeping in a freshly made bed but have no sense of pride or accomplishment or anything positive. For the time being it is the new normal but I sure do look forward to the old normal!

Dusting? I am suppose to do dusting? Oh oh.

Commercial cleaners or not, there is no valid reason to allow anyone to come to your home that hasn't been there since the stay at home, social distancing orders took effect.

I am having a refrigerator repairman come on Monday. My icemaker went out. I'll clean the fridge after he leaves. And then wash my hands.

A maid though? Nah I would not have them in my house. Too many surfaces.

KSWL, I am rolling my eyes on your behalf.

Thank you for sparing me the eye strain! 🙄

I'm grateful that we live in a country where we can asses risk and precautions for certain activities that affect our families and unique situations and not have others dictate every minute action and treat it as if everything/everyone is exactly the same.

Doing an activity in the center of NYC is nothing like doing that same activity out in the suburbs, and even the suburbs can vary greatly, from areas with 1/5 acre lots to areas with 5+ acre lots.

I will probably run out to a tile store in a few minutes. They aren't open for browsing, but you can walk in and pick up orders. I ordered some samples about a month ago and they are now in. They will put them in my trunk and I will disinfect when I get home. I will be wearing my N95 mask and gloves ... which is more than I wore when I assisted with basic Veterinary surgery back in college!

Would someone else here do that? That is your choice. The risks are close to zero, the ride will be good for my sanity and I'll enjoy moving around and staring at the tile samples for days to come! High reward for little risk.

I did cancel my cleaning lady again this week, but next week I won't cancel, based on my family's situation, the precautions we have in place, and what is going on in my area, the risks are close to zero.

I canceled my cleaner but paid her. She does an amazing job but she doesn't speak English so I can't really explain to her any precautions I'd want her to take. I also have immunocompromised people at home and she brings a crew of workers. All of those factors made it clear that it wouldn't be safe to continue.

I would agree that for the intelligent and aware , risks are relative to individual situations. I won’t bring our cleaning crew back, but I would pick up tile from a restively empty store,

WRT cleaning, I hate it and my personal opinion is that I've done enough to last a lifetime, so I'm never doing it again!

My house cleaner does all the normal stuff like kitchen, bathrooms, floors etc but she also does things I never touch so I never have to think about keeping them clean. The blinds. Inside the refrigerator. Taking all the books off the shelves and dusting both books and shelves. The outside of my windows that get salt caked.

In her absence, 2 weeks ago I cleaned both our bathrooms and the kitchen and mopped most of the floors upstairs. Downstairs apartment hasn't been used in months so no need to go down there.

This week I've got to add the bedrooms I suppose. The cat has 2(!); one in which she likes to sleep and gaze out a window and one in which her food and litter box reside. Sigh.

In m feeble defense it's just my husband and me. Both of us are pretty neat and tidy so the house really doesn't get awfully grungy. Actually my cleaner told me recently we are the cleanest house she has of all her clients. Still, dust never sleeps I suppose.

I"m on MTN time. I'll be awfully glad to get my house cleaner and my massage appointments back.

Well, they are long gone and my house is dreamily clean. They wore masks the entire time, and gloves. They sanitized every horizontal surface, every drawer pull and cabinet handle, every doorknob in the house, every light switch and even the switches on every lamp. I don’t know what they do to the floors but they look fabulous. There is no dust and all the light fixtures shine. The knee saver cushion in our kitchen that had raspberry jam soaked into it about a month ago was taken outside and scrubbed with a long handled deck brush on the driveway, dried in the sun and replaced, looking like new. The products they used were Industrial strength but had an inoffensive scent. So, so happy they came!

Clean at last!

We had an unexpected visitor the other day, the a/c repairman. lol. We had several days of high 80's and one of the outside compressors wouldn't turn on. That part of the house is where the living room is and it was getting hot. Love the cold weather we have now.

What I did was put a basket outside the front door with lots of gloves, masks, Lysol, Clorox Wipes and hand sanitizer. When he got here I went to the porch and at a distance I told him I had rules, he laughed and said he does too.

We were lucky, he did the outside work and DH helped him from the inside and the repairman didn't even have to come inside. But we were prepared. I keep the basket on the bench next to the front door.

One of the best things we ever bought was a storm door with a blind screen at the top where we can lower it just a few inches or half way down. Great way to communicate without the person coming inside.

Now would someone tell me how I came down with a bad cold when I haven't been around anyone? Neither has DH.