Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I have had numerous services to clean my various homes over the past 25 years. Some were women who were independents; others were sent by agencies. And once, a man showed up, so I guess the title “cleaning lady” could soon be as out of date as “stewardess” or “handyman”.

Each cleaning person had a certain style, leading me to believe it’s important that the cleaner’s style matches the homeowner’s. Me? I’m a wiper-downer. I don’t care about dust as much as I care about streaks on mirrors, glass tables, and countertops. So I need a cleaning person who is as particular about such streaks as I am. It also means the homeowner who is into dust needs to find a cleaning person who has a dust fetish too.

Regardless of who does the job, I have never had a cleaning person who puts things back where I had them. My living room cocktail table, for instance, has four things on it arranged in a particular way. After my current cleaning service leaves I must rearrange not only those four things, which have been bunched to one side, but also every other accessory in the house.

Perhaps cleaners do this so that you know they were there. At the same time, I find it annoying. I am an intelligent-enough person that I recognize other clues of their good work. The sock lint is missing from the carpet. The commodes look fresh. The masterpiece cobweb of some creative spider has disappeared.

No cleaning service has ever left a rose on my kitchen counter either, but I think it would be a grand touch. The cost of the rose could be considered part of the marketing budget, since it would certainly distinguish that person or agency from every other. Word of mouth would spread.

All in all, I prefer to put up with cleaning people rather than spend the time keep my own home in order. But I’d switch services in a minute if my personal idiosyncracies, my possessions, and my preference for flowers were considered. Is any cleaning service out there listening?