Cleaning the house

Today, Austin and I prepared for a home inspection from a youth homestay company. Jacob (business owner) was due to arrive at our place by 3:30.

At 11:15, Austin asked if he could go to Jill's (Aaron's daycare, three doors up our street) house to "help out," and Jill agreed. So, Austin went there for about half an hour.

Around noon, we began tidying. Austin cleared Lego off his dresser (with the primary goal of proving to me that he CAN fit more Lego in his room), picked up his toys from around the house, emptied and filled the dishwasher, mopped three floors and washed the big bathtub, without incident!

Aside from a couple re-do's on the kitchen floor, Austin did an excellent job the first try. The tub was spotless and sparkling clean.

I speculate that one reason Austin was so cooperative, was because I invited him to get "into character" as Jacob. I suggested that one of the best ways to know if you've done a good job of cleaning for a guest, is to step outside, then step across the threshold using the perspective of your guest.

First, as I was grilling cheese sandwiches for the two of us at noon, I explained to Austin that, since I am in the house and have been for several hours, I can't make an objective assessment on how the house smells. I asked him if he noticed how our house smelled after being away at Jill's place. He said he hadn't noticed, but he was curious and offered to step outside and come back in. I told him he might need to stand on the doorstep for about a minute (which he did). He returned and confirmed that the house smelled "fine." Check.

Second, around 1:30, I had gone downstairs to cycle some laundry and complete a work project. Austin rang the doorbell. I came to the door, thinking perhaps it was a bit sticky and he needed help to open it. The moment I opened the door, I could tell he was in character as Jacob (body language gave it away). I said, "Hello sir. Welcome. Please excuse the mess." Austin nodded and said, "ok," then proceeded to look around the living room with an "inspecting" eye from his spot in the entryway. Then, I broke out of character and said, "Maybe we should try this again in about half an hour, because I think we can make this place look a whole lot better than it does now." Austin also came out of character and agreed. We set the timer on the stove a few times, to see how much we could accomplish in 7 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes ...

Admittedly, Austin was distracted by toys a few times, but I don't expect a 10-year-old boy to have the staying power to do household chores for 2-3 hours straight. He removed and replaced the batteries from a Robo Raptor toy, undoing the battery cover with his Leatherman (he loves his Leatherman). He modified a few Lego projects. And yet, his willing attitude and the contributions he did make, enabled us to present a pretty presentable home to Jacob when he did arrive at 3:45.

Bravo, Austin!