The life of a motel cleaner

So it's safe for me to say that I'm not the only one who thinks this way (refer to previous post).

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1 more week of absolutely nothing to do to go!

Well, actually that's only half true. Every Saturday, I drag myself out of bed and head to a nearby motel to be (low and behold) a motel cleaner.

Being brought up as an only daughter, mum allows me to stay away from housework, worst case scenario means having to do the dishes once a week. OKAY, so maybe I am a little spoiled.

So the only way to overcome a bad habit is to do something about it. Since last December, I've been doing dishes, washing toilet bowls (and encountering brown-ish half solid/half liquid material in them), vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and making beds; on a regular basis nonetheless. It's not fun at all cleaning up after strangers' rubbish, and less fun taking the same instructions again and again.

But like they say, every job has its shortcomings and advantages. Retail jobs require dealing with customers, smiling every time even when you don't mean it, and thinking of different ways to greet/thank customers. The good- breaks, no constant work or rushing to get something done. A cleaning job doesn't require dealing with customers directly, except for their wastes. The latter smells and looks much worse, but thick gloves and air freshener take care of the problems.

The interesting part is of course, discovering funny little habits of customers checked into the motel. One particular customer, whom I assume is pretty rich, practically lives in the motel at least 100 days a year. Her room is even stocked up with her own cooking supplies, though according to my boss, she never cooks. Some customers wash their own dishes, some leave their dirty dishes everywhere. Some are wise enough to use the free laundry service provided, some hang their lingerie with a string in the toilet. Some take all the coffee/tea/sugar sachets (like any Malaysian would do), some leave behind 2 bottles of expensive wine on the table after they've checked out.

So next time you're staying at a hotel/motel, know that there would be people coming into your room, cleaning up the mess (and possibly blogging about things you do!).