In response to the great shame that many residents feel about the state of their homes when their cleaning lady arrives, the start-up Letz Tidy Up is offering pre-cleaning-lady cleaning services.
The company sends a “tidying dame” to straighten up, wash the dishes, take out the rubbish, and other “simple tasks that most people manage yet some see as monumental challenges on the same level as preparing for an ascent of Mount Everest or a visit to Contrôle Technique,” said founder Jessica Propper.
“The goal is to make it look like you’re a normal, functioning, and mostly organized adult who only relies on a cleaning lady for the heavy stuff, and not the sort of person who believes that the floor is a fine spot for books, dirty cereal bowls, and used tissues.”
Propper says that her company is aware that some people might be hesitant to hire a tidying dame out of fear that she will tidy too well, offending or even angering the real cleaning lady.
“Our staff go through rigorous training to ensure that they respect certain limits,” Propper said. “If there are ten shirts scattered around your bedroom like a tornado hit, the tidying dame will put nine of them neatly away and hang the tenth one on a doorknob.”
“She’ll mop up the mess you made from tossing a half-consumed can of Fanta in your office paper bin which doesn’t even have a plastic liner, but she’ll strategically leave a few crumpled sheets of paper inside.”
“She’ll make all your beds, but not perfectly, and if you’re the sad type of person who even neglects to flush your toilet, she’ll take care of that, too,” she added. “All with minimal judgement and only occasional gossip with the other tidying dames.”
Propper says that if Letz Tidy Up service works well and the company grows, she will venture into other pre-services.
“Pre-mechanics to add a liter of oil to your car before the real mechanic discovers with horror that you’ve ignored the oil light for six months,” she said. “Pre-trainers to help you learn to walk for several minutes without losing your breath before the real trainer shows you how to use a stationary bicycle. Pre-accountants who impose a semblance of order on the chaos of your finances before you meet with your real accountant.”
