Louise Rafkin

Louise Rafkin is well educated yet decided to work as a house cleaner for a number of years. The book is snarky and sarcastic and informative, but I had just a few problems with it. She refuses to pick up other people's underwear, or uses a utensil to do so. Used tissues or condoms I can understand, but underwear? But she balances that with what she has to say about those who can afford to pay others to do their scut work and those who do that work.

Picked this up from a pile of books one of my daughters was getting rid of. A fun read.

Louise Rafkin is a housecleaner. She also has an MA in literature, has been a teacher and is a published writer, besides this book. She chose tho be a housecleaner for better money, better hours and the idea intrigued her. This is her memoir.

It is a humorous view from her perspective of the cleaning world. The different clients and their preferences she has dealt with based on what she has seen and show more experienced while cleaning up. Clues found in trash baskets, laundry, cupboards and counter tops, can add up to interesting tales.

She also came to know which is the best vacuum, cleaning products, paper towels and other cleaning supplies to use and that clients don’t always agree. It isn’t really a book of cleaning tips, but there are a few.

She also has studied some of the various styles of housecleaning and interviewed people who work in these various s tyles. “Exotic” — nearly naked and lingerie-clad cleaners, sexy male cleaners, cleaners who work for services: she even went to Japan to learn about Ittoen, a group of cleaning people who live in a commune and have dedicated their lives to cleaning. Who knew what a variety can be found among cleaning services!

A fun and interesting read from an inside view. show less

Well, they're not all that curious, and they're not all Rafkin's adventures. Either she simply didn't have enough to fill a book, or she felt the need to be "serious". So interspersed with anecdotes of her cleaning jobs, we are treated to interviews with "dirty" house cleaners, her family's former maid, and members of "Messies Anonymous". Not to mention an extraordinarily self-involved letter to the surviving lover of an old friend, a letter that read as though it were written with an eye to show more publication.

Rafkin likes to clean, but she doesn't have to, and so one gets the impression, even though it may be unfair, of a dilettante. Too, although she mentions long-term clients, there's a sense that she flits from place to place. There are amusing anecdotes here, but in the end it's not a very satisfying read. show less

Rafkin does more than simply relate the dirt she learns about others in her job as their housekeeper. This book is actually an interesting series of essays that center around cleaning in its various forms. Recommended.