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Are You Comfortable Paying Somebody to Scrub Your Toilet?

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Clarissa

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I got a promotional letter from a magazine that asks the following question:

Sure, you got better things to do than scrub your own toilet. But are you really comfortable paying someone else to do it?

My answer is yes, absolutely. Just like I’m really comfortable to pay people to clean my teeth, administer gynecological and rectal exams to me, make my shoes, slaughter chicken and cows for me, assemble my computers, and provide any other professional services. There is nothing humiliating or wrong in performing any of these jobs, including cleaning services.

Right now I don’t hire a cleaning person because I have a husband. But if he consented (which he doesn’t for reasons of his own), I would happily do it.

Guess which stupid magazine is not getting my subscription.

 

15 responses to “Are You Comfortable Paying Somebody to Scrub Your Toilet?”

  1. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    I have a cleaner and I get tax relief on her wages. You gotta love French socialism.

    So does your husband do the cleaning? You don’t hire a cleaner because you have a husband?

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    1. observer Avatar
      observer

      As I read Clarissa’s blog I had exactly the same questions than you Sarah. I assume Clarissa’s husband does all the cleaning and Clarissa is happy about it. I think having a person to take care of one’s home weekly is an effective way of enhancing health for oneself and help with jobs, which in turn, is a way of improving national health.

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      1. Sarah Avatar
        Sarah

        Indeed, I am a joy to live with now I don’t have to clean… Saturday mornings have improved dramatically.

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    2. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      My husband cleans and I cook. He enjoys cleaning and I dig cooking. Division of laborious rules. 🙂

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        Agatha Christie enjoyed cleaning. I don’t, but my cleaning is much better than my cooking, so I clean.

        N

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      2. Sarah Avatar
        Sarah

        I dig cooking too but hate the repetitive drudge of cleaning. I know a woman who loves to clean; it’s like a therapy for her she says. I don’t understand that but it takes all sorts. If I need therapeutic exercise I’ll go for a walk along the beach (Mediterranean).

        Nice to hear from the enigmatic N. 🙂

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
          bloggerclarissa

          You see how attached the enigmatic N is to cleaning if he suddenly decides to leave a comment.

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  2. Ol. Avatar
    Ol.

    Comfortable? Yes, absolutely. My wife and I simply do not have time to clean up the house when we both work. When we are on vacation, however, I prefer cleaning myself, because I would consider paying somebody to clean my house a luxury.

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    1. observer Avatar
      observer

      I would consider a luxury to have a worker in your house to satisfy only your personal interests. Depriving somebody of a housecleaning job whenever convenient for the employer (who has the economic means) doesn’t sound right to me.

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      1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
        bloggerclarissa

        Everybody in this country is an at -will employee. Meaning that everybody who works can be fired st any time. I’m guessing you are not an American if that surprises you. 🙂

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    2. Ol. Avatar
      Ol.

      Sometimes (like this Fall), when my wife and I work very hard, we still have to clean up our flat because the person who normally cleans for us has embarked on a 6-month trip to India:)

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  3. JE Avatar
    JE

    At least somebody remembers menial jobs. I remember a few years back when there was a big push to have it made illegal for a Norwegian to use paid surogaty abroad a proponent, a middle class woman, was in a TV debate and argued for a ban because paying someone to do something you wouldn’t volunteer for is exploitive. I wished nothing more when I saw it than to demand to know if she drove her garbage to the dump herself.

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  4. observer Avatar
    observer

    “Meaning that everybody who works can be fired st any time”….yes that’s the case which doesn’t make it right. No, it doesn’t surprise me. It makes me sad because people should only be fired from work when they are incompetent or dishonest

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      What about when the employer has no money to pay them? Or where there services are no longer needed?

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    2. Matt Avatar
      Matt

      The one exception would be unions…. VERY hard to fire those employees. Liberals say this is good because the “average person/worker” is protected. Conservatives say this is often why unionized industries/companies go under because of the labor rigidity in the market.

      I tend to side more with the conservatives. But regardless wanted to put both basic sides out there. Most importantly just make yourself as valuable to a company as you can and realize that you are always an expendable asset so be prepared to fight for yourself, and when you are the one in power/management, treat those below you well and also let them know how they will sink or succeed based on how much they contribute.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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