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Yesterday, my wife asked if I'd been cleaning the house. I don't know what prompted that question, since our absence from Ankara last week and subsequent tiredness and laziness meant that the place was a disgrace. Anyway, I replied "No, Tuesday's my cleaning day, remember?" She laughed and said I sounded like a cleaning lady.
I've started to feel a lot more respect for cleaning ladies (and those rare creatures, cleaning gentlemen). I used to concur with my wife's opinion that we shouldn't hire a cleaner because they were ripping people off, charging 50 lira (about $40). Assuming that they do two houses per day (and they can probably squeeze in more if they want) that's 100 lira per day, or around 2,000 a month, which is more-or-less what I earn, and I put in all that time getting a degree and an MA. And in the case of many of them, who just do the kind of lick and promise that will satisfy most of the foreigners (i.e. non-Turks) here, it's true. But if we're talking serious cleaning - well that would definitely earn the 50 lira (especially considering that when I do freelance studio work, I can earn five times that in the same time). Serious cleaning is when you use rags, move furniture (and our bed is heavy enough to give you a hernia), screw your fingers into corners, gingerly lift Venetian glass to dust under it ... and that's what I've been doing. I'm only half way through, I'm already on my second dry Martini, and I'm considering paying for a professional massage later this week.
The thing about cleaning is that it is a discipline, an art and a spiritual path. Read William Burroughs' "The Discipline of D.E." if you don't believe me. I'd be happy to do it if it was my only job; in fact, I'd probably love it. As it is, I'm doing it on top of a job that already wears me out, so I think it's time for that third Martini before I tackle the bathroom.
I've started to feel a lot more respect for cleaning ladies (and those rare creatures, cleaning gentlemen). I used to concur with my wife's opinion that we shouldn't hire a cleaner because they were ripping people off, charging 50 lira (about $40). Assuming that they do two houses per day (and they can probably squeeze in more if they want) that's 100 lira per day, or around 2,000 a month, which is more-or-less what I earn, and I put in all that time getting a degree and an MA. And in the case of many of them, who just do the kind of lick and promise that will satisfy most of the foreigners (i.e. non-Turks) here, it's true. But if we're talking serious cleaning - well that would definitely earn the 50 lira (especially considering that when I do freelance studio work, I can earn five times that in the same time). Serious cleaning is when you use rags, move furniture (and our bed is heavy enough to give you a hernia), screw your fingers into corners, gingerly lift Venetian glass to dust under it ... and that's what I've been doing. I'm only half way through, I'm already on my second dry Martini, and I'm considering paying for a professional massage later this week.
The thing about cleaning is that it is a discipline, an art and a spiritual path. Read William Burroughs' "The Discipline of D.E." if you don't believe me. I'd be happy to do it if it was my only job; in fact, I'd probably love it. As it is, I'm doing it on top of a job that already wears me out, so I think it's time for that third Martini before I tackle the bathroom.
