As detailed in a previous entry, today is cleaning day! I dropped Kira off at my parents' place yesterday and took the evening off to continue to rest my sad, pathetic immune system. The plan I laid out for myself today was as follows:

• Wake up around 8 AM, strip the bed, and start the process of laundering my sheets, pillowcases, and blankets.
• Empty my dish rack and wash a few stray items in the sink
• Empty Kira's litterbox and give it a thorough scrub out before leaving it to dry in the bathtub
• Sort various things around the apartment and from my fridge into garbage, recycling, and food waste and dispose of them accordingly
• Move all the cat-associated things into the enclosed balcony
• Make up the bed again
• Pack for my stay at my parents' home
• Eat lunch at some point???
• Cleaners show up at 2 PM! Let them in and then vacate so they don't have to clean around me
• Stop by the library to return books and pick up some kids' books for the semi-namesake
• Stop by the bank to pick up some cash to pay the cleaners
• Drop my things off at my parents' house and wait there until the cleaners are nearly finished
• Return home to pay the cleaners and lock up
• Go back to my parents' house since it will be almost dinner time

I was very pleased with this plan - it left me plenty of time to accomplish all that I needed to do without being too rushed, which meant I could take breaks as needed! It also meant that my apartment would only be a semi-pigsty by the time the cleaners got there: organized but in need of a deep clean.

Alas, it was not to be.

I woke up somewhere around 8 AM, pleased about the accuracy of my internal alarm clock and the fact that I had managed a solid 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in forever. I rolled out of bed and dutifully started stripping my bed as planned. I shoved the first load of laundry into the washer and realized my laundry detergent is running low. Due to there being a toddler in their household, my friends usually run significantly more loads of laundry than I do over the span of a week, so I'm going to have to add laundry detergent onto my list of things to--

Brrriiinng! Brriinng!

The noise from the little corded phone in the corner always make me jump because it's sole purpose is to buzz people into my building, and I don't exactly have a slew of regular visitors. Also, why is someone here to request being allowed access into my building at 8 AM? I answered the phone tentatively, and sure enough one of the cleaners had arrived.

Six hours earlier than I expected.

WHEEZE.

I ran down to our very basic lobby area in my pajamas (t-shirt and boxer shorts, definitely no bra on, thank goodness I had at least brushed my teeth first...) and found the "assistant cleaner", who told me that her boss was also on the way but she was here to get started first. I led her back to my apartment, apologizing profusely that I wasn't expecting her until 2 PM and all the while frantically texting my mother about how the cleaners are here?? Six hours early?? Was this something I was supposed to know???

Didn't Susan call you last night?, she texts me.

No???, I text back.

She said she would call you.

It turns out the first cleaning appointment of the day had cancelled and my mother and Susan had texted each other last night about it, agreeing that they would come to my apartment earlier than the original agreed upon time. Except no one had bothered to tell me about it. So I was left with no choice but to again apologize profusely for the state of my apartment and dash around trying to accomplish all the tasks I had set out for myself as speedily as possibly, no longer having a leisurely six hour window to work with. Finishing the laundry and packing would obviously have to wait, but I sped through my other tasks, trying to stay out of their way as much as possible.

There was no point stopping by my parents' house with nothing to drop off, but I still needed to pick up some cash, and there was still the library to get to! I checked what time I needed to be back by (11:30 AM) and drove to my local library. Which was closed. Because I had forgotten that it's only open from 1 PM on Sunday, which is why the original appointment for 2 PM had been so perfect. Sigh. I was at least able to return my books, but my friends would have to find the time to get to the library on their own after their arrival.

Well, you know what they always say about the best laid plans!

The run by the bank went as anticipated, at the very least. I then returned to sit awkwardly in my apartment as the two nice women cleaned around me until they were finished, thanked them for their help, and paid them accordingly for their services. I finished my laundry and packing and I now have a few hours to do absolutely nothing, which is not so bad a trade-off, I guess! At least I get to enjoy my clean apartment for awhile!