I’m going to be upfront with all those of you who’ve never met me in person – I am terrible at cleaning. I mean terrible. Even after I try my best to clean, my house still looks like a pigsty. It comes with having too many books and not enough space. (Hi Nic! Feel free to chime in here XD). It wasn’t much of a problem in Tokyo, because I moved out after a year, but after a year and a half here, the mess really starts to accumulate.

But normally, I can live with it. Normally.

However, this time, I came back from Singapore to layer of dust on my floor, and a feeling of dirt that didn’t disappear even after I cleaned the floor 3 times, I was pretty much near breaking point. A cockroach sighting was the straw that broke the camels back and I called a cleaning service I was looking at right away.

Thankfully, they answered even though it was past 10p.m. They’re called Soyokaze, and I was first thinking of getting their 2 hour “clean as much as possible” service. But, after considering the state of my house, I decided to just get them to clean and tidy up everything.

The cleaning people came yesterday, and apparently, it took 4 people 6 hours to get my house in order. But, I’m super pleased with the results!

Before:

I’m kinda ashamed *covers face*

 After (same area):

Sooo much neater!

And the floor feels so clean! Despite the cold, I was walking around barefoot yesterday, enjoying the feel of a waxed floor.

LOOK THERE IS A REFLECTION!

Much much neater. Take my word for it.

They cleaned my windows, my very dirty balcony (where even my mom didn’t dare to touch and I don’t step out on), the bathrooms and tidied up the whole house up (they bought boxes and stuff). Now, all I have to do is to maintain the cleanliness, which doesn’t seem too difficult (yet).

So the big question: Is it worth it?

Well, I paid 40 000 yen before taxes so my pockets are hurting a lot now. Even if you compare that to Singapore, it’s very very expensive. But, my house is way cleaner than what I could have possibly done.

So what if you’re a student and you really really need to clean your house before your parents/extended family/friends come? Ask yourselves this questions:

How much longer will I be staying in this house? I stayed in my place for a year and a half already, and I plan to stay until I graduate. In that case, I consider the expenses worth it. However, if you’re about to move out, don’t bother.

And of course, make sure you have the savings for it before you lift up the phone.

The sootballs approve of the house now.