Would it bother you...

[tskeeter]

Feb 27, 2014 9:38:51 GMT -5 milee said:

Feb 25, 2014 16:34:08 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Simser, if you're losing your cool over stuff being moved around while where you live is being cleaned, I think you're working too hard.  Truly minor inconveniences, such as the butter being moved or a pair of shoes left on a chair, shouldn't be freaking you out like this.  The cleaning crew did a very thorough job, including the fridge.  As they cleaned the fridge, they consolidated the fridge contents on a shelf or two while they cleaned other shelves and didn't get stuff back where you had it.  It's a refrigerator.  If it started in the fridge, it's probably still in the fridge.  You can fairly easily see most of the items on the four or six shelves, and there are only a couple of drawers to check for what you want.  So, they picked up a pair of shoes while they vacuummed the floor and forgot to put them back where they came from.  They were sitting in the open on a chair.  Were they really that hard to find?  Are these really firing offenses?  

I understand that re-arranging your piles of paper is a bigger deal.  I also pile, and know exactly where in each pile certiain items are.  Re-arrange my piles and you've fouled up my filing system.  I'd consider this a lesson in why you don't rely on verbal instructions.  The person you told can screw up.  Another person, who may not be aware of the instructions, may be helping and "clean" something you told the other person to leave alone.  So, goof proof to minimize the chances that something other than what you want will be done.  Lock the door.  Tape a post it note to the door with do not clean instructions.

Sit down, take a deep breath, and chill out.  If having to re-sort several stacks of paper is the biggest problem you had today, you had a pretty darn good day.

Skeeter,

I agree that none of this should warrant a freak out and from what Simser is saying I don't think she freaked out at the maids, she's just using us as a sounding board.  How she deals with this with the maids is a different issue than the basic idea of whether or not this is an issue at all.

You think it's reasonable to be concerned about the maids moving the piles of paper yet you think it's no biggie to move things in the refrigerator.  I'm guessing either you don't do most of the cooking in your house or that you don't organize your refrigerator.  But for people who do most of the cooking in their house and arrange their 'fridge just like they arrange their piles of paper (I'm guilty of both, so hear me out on this one...) there's no difference.  I arrange my 'fridge in a way that not only can I quickly find things, but I know what's been in there the longest, what needs to be used up first, what's not to be eaten for snacks since it's going to be used as an ingredient for dinner, etc.  Just like the piles of paper system that you seem to understand is a "system".

So, while it's reasonable that not everyone has the same system - or heck, any system - of arranging their refrigerator, it's reasonable that for a person that does have a system, moving things around is disruptive.  Just like you know exactly where in each pile certain items are and if those are rearranged someone has fouled up your filing system, it sounds like Simser does something similar in her 'fridge, so it's the same type of issue.  Either both are a problem or neither is, but you can't conclude because one doesn't bother you personally that it's OK, while the other is a problem because you personally think it is.

But it's not worth freaking out over either one.  If the maids were going to continue to come over, I'd probably handle it by just making a list in advance and leaving the list with them, making sure they understand that you just want them to do the things on the list and nothing else.     

Milee, you'd be wrong on your guess.  I spent 10 years in restaurant kitchens, so I do almost all the cooking.  But, I don't organize the fridge to the extent that you describe.  I don't think it's worth the effort.  And wonder if that level of organization flirts with OCD a bit.

That said, I have been known to organize pretty carefully to make it easier to work quickly.  When I worked in restaurants, I used to keep my spice rack in a particular order so that I didn't have to search for a particular spice in a good sized collection of identical containers each time I needed a spice.  That level of organizatin can go astray, however.  On one occassion I ended up with cinammon in three gallons of split pea soup because I grabbed the can from the pepper spot without looking at the contents.  Amazing how much cinnamon you can get out of a one pound can in a single shake.

Overall, it just seemed to me that the OP was probably over reacting a bit.  Reading between the lines, I wondered if the OP was under a lot of pressure at work (I think the cleaning service was a work provided perk.).  If so, it appeared to me that the OP might benefit from stepping back for a few seconds, taking a deep breath, and trying to get things back in an appropriate perspective.  After all, we're not talking about using wire hangers. 

[milee]

OK, I can admit when I'm wrong... and a little OCD.

I had to give up on being quite that organized when I had two boys.  I love them and the fact that they both like to cook, but they're complete disasters from an organizational standpoint.

[whoisjohngalt]

Feb 24, 2014 17:16:08 GMT -5 simser said:

If your house cleaner rearranged your fridge?

It really really bothers me that they did that without asking (moved everything around, stuck things in drawers- which are broken, hence why I don't).

This comes after I told them not to deal with a room but they consolidated all my well defined(to me) piles. And they rearranged where my treadmill was. And put my shoes on a chair so it took me 5 minutes to find them.

Am I right to be irritated? How do I make this not happen again?

The obvious answer is to get a different crew.

My "slight" control issues would have me on a death bed before I let other people do things in my house