cleaning up

My amazing Mum, Helen, and me at the Butchart Gardens on Mother's Day this year

My parents have a cleaning lady. They are not wealthy people, but decided at a certain point in the last few years that in light of my Mum's heavy schedule and health struggles it was an investment in sanity. My Dad is very happy to make that investment, but he likes to make digs every two weeks when they have to "Clean up for the cleaning lady." I must admit the first time I saw this ritual, I too joined him in his good-natured ribbing. You see, my Mum's house is cleaner than my house EVER is, even right before her cleaning lady comes. To be honest, I think the Lady should leave my Mum a tip.

Today though, I realized I was definitely her daughter. You see, I have friend who is coming to help me clean my house tomorrow. I reached a point last week where I realized the floor was not getting swept. Ever. The dust was not going away. I can keep up with dishes and laundry (barely) but that's about it and I need help. So I sent out an email to several friends and had 2 reply saying they would be willing to let me hire them as my cleaning babes. They have agreed to ridiculously reasonable rates (plus soap in trade)and the first is coming to clean tomorrow while we are at church. And I thought..."Boy, I sure need to tidy up." Because if I am paying her per hour, I want her to spend her time actually cleaning, not just moving all my stuff around. Which is...EXACTLY WHAT MY MUM SAYS when we tease her about cleaning up for her cleaning lady.

I also thought I should actually try and put a new bag in my vacuum. I haven't really used it much since we moved because I have all hardwood in this house, and it really has never been very good on bare floors. The last time I wanted it, I realized it had no bag in it, and I thought I didn't have any vacuum bags, so I tried to rig it with a paper bag and some duct tape. It didn't really work, so I left it, and then I found vacuum bags, and then it's taken me two months of walking past the vacuum bags and looking at them before finally breaking down today and putting one in. I dusted the thing out, and managed to get the duct tape and paper bag off and then realized: There. was. something. in. the. bag.

Apparently, before this paper bag began it's glorious vacuum bag career, it was a bag from a coffee shop, with perhaps a muffin in it. Because inside the bag were two mini packs of sugar and 4 (FOUR!) little containers of butter. At that moment I proved I am not my fastidious mother because a) not only would my mother never rig her vacuum with a paper bag, and b) if for some reason she did, she would actually have the sense to check the bag to see if it was empty, and c) in a decidly-un-Helen-y move, I opened the butter to see if I could still use it. Yeah. I couldn't.

I did however, vacuum the rug in the sun room after I had changed the bag. It was terrible, and looked so much better when I was done. Yes, I know the cleaner is coming tomorrow. I know.