what to do before cleaning lady

[Anonymous]

I just had surgery and have been staying at my parents' house. My apartment is A MESS. My mom is having her cleaning lady come over tomorrow, who has never been here before. I honestly don't even know what to do and the thought of the cleaning lady is stressing me out. I feel like I need to pick up my shit before she can even clean, but everything is a complete disaster and I do not know where to start, not to mention I can hardly move and my DH is being unbelievably unhelpful. What is the bare minimum I need to do before a new cleaning lady can really make a difference??

[Anonymous]

I had to laugh at the subject, because my DH used to tease that the cleaning lady didn't need to come after I got the place "ready" for her. I've backed off a bit. And you've had SURGERY! So you can back way down. Just ask your DH to try and put the laundry all into a basket so there aren't clothes laying on the floor and MAYBE load the dishwasher. I do try to sweep stuff into drawers as much as I can to maximize surfaces for cleaning, but really, you shouldn't be doing any of that. She knows you just had surgery; no matter how messy it is, she's seen worse; she will find a way to both clean and straighten up! So relax and enjoy this gift from your mother. And sorry about unhelpful DH.

[Anonymous]

I frantically shove everything in closets.

[Anonymous]

Clear away stuff so they can clean. Stuff off the floors, tables, that sort of thing. It really is time consuming, but it helps them do a better job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I frantically shove everything in closets.

OMG! Me too!

[Anonymous]

What does your mom's cleaning lady do at her house? Is she a true cleaning lady, or more like a housekeeper who picks up and organizes stuff? If the latter, I would not worry about cleaning up ahead of time. If the former, then your DH should at least throw things in a shopping bag or baskter to get them out of her way.

[Anonymous]

We have a cleaning lady who comes twice a week. Before she comes, I set out the clean sheets and rags in a laundry basket and try to clear off the clutter -- off tables, counters, etc so that she can clean the floors. When we haven't had the time to do it (on occasion), she tidies it up into a stack. Given that you just had surgery, I would let her take care of it! I would, however, make sure that if there's anything you don't want her to see (dirty underwear strewn about in the bedroom, for example), to put that away!