Billie Jean and Abby are my Michigan cleaning ladies. I’m not sure the phrase “cleaning ladies” is politically correct, but in any case, they’re females in their early thirties and they clean for me.
I met them about three weeks ago and they did a “deep clean” of my condo. They returned Thursday for a second time. They work for several of the condo owners in our area and came HIGHLY recommended. So far, I like them and they’re doing a wonderful job.
I have a cleaning person in Florida as well. Amanda came highly recommended too.
Shortly before heading north last May, I told Amanda that I was returning to Michigan for the summer, and I wouldn’t require her services until my return. She understood as many of her customers follow a similar routine. When I told her I was going to Michigan, she told me she was originally from Michigan as well. She and her husband moved from a small town in “the thumb”, Imlay City. We talked a bit more about our Michigan connection and she told me that she’d gone to school in Brown City.
“I started in the first grade and graduated from there.”
That’s when I told her my sister, Sharron, had taught in Brown City. “She and her daughter, Susan, still live there.” Amanda didn’t have Sharron as a teacher but was familiar with the name “Tebo”. That’s when she said, “I told my husband I thought we were connected somehow.”
We talked a bit more about the odds that someone from a little town in Michigan would turn out to be the lady that cleaned my Florida home. We both thought it was highly unusual, but the more I thought about it, the more I assumed Ruth had a hand in directing her to me.
During my initial conversation with Billie Jean, I asked how she wished to be paid. Amanda prefers cash. Billie Jean didn’t care. “You can pay in cash or by check. Whichever works best for you.”
Then I asked, “Do I make the check payable to you, or does your business have a name?”
That’s when she said, “I’m licensed and insured. The name of my business is Busy Bee.”
And I said, “I’m supposed to hire you. My daughter’s name is Elizabeth. I call her BZ. She’s just returned from a trip to Bali, and she sent this picture of a tattoo she’s gotten while there.”
When we first met, I asked Billie Jean how much she charged for a normal cleaning. She told me it would be based on time and material and would run between $120 and $130. “It will take the two of us about an hour and a half.” She also told me she was very precise. “I have a plan for everything: my business, my home, my family. I’m a big rules follower.”
Just before they arrived on Thursday, I stripped my bed and washed the sheets and pillowcases. I hate doing it but I was going to have a clean house, so I thought my bed should be clean as well. The sheets were in the dryer when they arrived.
They start cleaning downstairs, and I work on my blog upstairs. When they’re done with one level, I move to the next. I stay out of their way as much as possible.
Billie Jean came downstairs when they were done. We talked a bit, and I asked how much I owed.
“$131.00”
I thought it was an unusual number and she reminded me that she is very precise. “I have a process.” I wrote the check and was happy to do it. They do a great job, cleaning things that I’d never touch.
When I went upstairs about an hour later, I found that they had made the bed. They’d retrieved the sheets and pillowcases from the dryer and my bed was beautiful. I think Ruth may have directed them there. If the $1.00 from the $131.00 was for “bed making”, it’s the best dollar I ever spent.