So this is it! It's our final goodbye to Dylan & I's very first apartment in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. We did what our landlord called "terminal" cleaning on every inch of the 1400 sqft apt/studio....one that would get us back the non-refundable $150 cleaning fee. We thought...."$150..that's money that we can use in our home improvement fund! YAY!"
Little did we know...it took us a whole week to fully, TERMINALLY clean!!We had to scrub the walls, all the cabinets and doors, the lights, the ceiling (10 ft tall), all the appliances(inside & out, behind & below), all the molding, the radiators, the tub inside and underneath (the curse of claw foot tubs), and the toilet, etc....EVERYTHING!
We gathered the most essential and effective cleaning tools ever assembled..as we switched between a spray bottle to disinfect, a sponge to scrub the wall, a toothbrush to brush the nooks & crannies, a rag to wipe, and a bucket to rinse. We cleaned through the late nights while the city slept. We scrubbed, wiped, sprayed, and then scrubbed some more.....We were determined.
But mostly it brought out the worse side of me (Jean)...the anal retentive, OCD side of me....or I like to see it as the BEST side... the detail-oriented, meticulous perfectionist! Is the glass half full or half empty? HMM? There's really no right or wrong answer for that now, is there?
One may ask...Was it worth it? But I would ask... can one put a price on a spiritual experience that taught us the value of patience and endurance? And can one really put a price on the intimate personal experience I had cleaning the bathroom where I was practically giving the toilet a lap dance as I scrubbed the walls behind and around?...no, you can't...neither can one put a price on the feeling of accomplishment and success as one walks through the dust-free dirt-free space and seeing the apt is cleaner than ever!
But I suppose you CAN break it down in money terms...so Dylan and I each put in about 15 hours....and also Chika help with the studio where she put in about 5 hours....so that gets us... $150 divided by 40hours of work...3.75. That's what we made on an hourly basis for terminally cleaning this place. Wow...$3.75/hr huh? I didn't realize that's what we'd get. Why didn't we calculate this out before we started cleaning??
Oh wait! I take it back. We actually got $150 AND a quarter!! After cleaning all 7 radiators in the apt coughing and sneezing away...it wasn't till the VERY last radiator I cleaned that I found a quarter!! Maybe it's not so bad after all. Oh yeah.... I also found a dust ball weighing roughly a pound, one little baby sock, and one popped kernel of popcorn!!
...Life is just full of freakin' surprises, isn't it?
We're really gonna miss this place...especially the kitchen....So, goodbye....and hello new home!
We gathered the most essential and effective cleaning tools ever assembled..as we switched between a spray bottle to disinfect, a sponge to scrub the wall, a toothbrush to brush the nooks & crannies, a rag to wipe, and a bucket to rinse. We cleaned through the late nights while the city slept. We scrubbed, wiped, sprayed, and then scrubbed some more.....We were determined.But mostly it brought out the worse side of me (Jean)...the anal retentive, OCD side of me....or I like to see it as the BEST side... the detail-oriented, meticulous perfectionist! Is the glass half full or half empty? HMM? There's really no right or wrong answer for that now, is there?
One may ask...Was it worth it? But I would ask... can one put a price on a spiritual experience that taught us the value of patience and endurance? And can one really put a price on the intimate personal experience I had cleaning the bathroom where I was practically giving the toilet a lap dance as I scrubbed the walls behind and around?...no, you can't...neither can one put a price on the feeling of accomplishment and success as one walks through the dust-free dirt-free space and seeing the apt is cleaner than ever!
But I suppose you CAN break it down in money terms...so Dylan and I each put in about 15 hours....and also Chika help with the studio where she put in about 5 hours....so that gets us... $150 divided by 40hours of work...3.75. That's what we made on an hourly basis for terminally cleaning this place. Wow...$3.75/hr huh? I didn't realize that's what we'd get. Why didn't we calculate this out before we started cleaning??
Oh wait! I take it back. We actually got $150 AND a quarter!! After cleaning all 7 radiators in the apt coughing and sneezing away...it wasn't till the VERY last radiator I cleaned that I found a quarter!! Maybe it's not so bad after all. Oh yeah.... I also found a dust ball weighing roughly a pound, one little baby sock, and one popped kernel of popcorn!!...Life is just full of freakin' surprises, isn't it?
We're really gonna miss this place...especially the kitchen....So, goodbye....and hello new home!
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4 comments:
wow - you're apartment looks lovely - and most importantly clean! i recently did the terminal clean myself. i know how very much it hurts - but i just kept thinking about the people moving in after me and how nice it would be for me.
and hoping that the former residents of my new place would have done the same for me. unfortunately their clean wasn't quite terminal :)
good work though and i hope your new place is just as lovely (and clean)!
wow it looks so clean! I am sure you new place is just as beautiful and think of the excitement of creating a new home! Yay!
thanks!! I'm giving myself a big pat on the back. :D
I'm definitely looking forward in decorating our place! We already started to paint the walls!! Yay!
What a beautiful place -- the kitchen looks fabulous. I love the "clean slate" feeling of an empty apartment. Also, I'm sending this to my boyfriend who terminally cleans after every lease is up -- drives me crazy! But now I may have changed my perspective on it....
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