Cleaning Apartments: A Comparative Study

Steps to cleaning an apartment, Joe Schmoe Down The Road style:

1. Tidy up any items laying around, clearing tabletops and other surfaces for easy cleaning
2. Get cleaning products from closet.
3. Wipe down desired surfaces
4. Take out sweeper (I live in Pittsburgh, it's called a sweeper) or mop, depending on floor surface.
5. Use it on the floor.
6. Put cleaning products away.
7. Repeat in each room.
8. Enjoy clean apartment.
*estimated time for a three room apartment, one hour.

Steps to cleaning MY apartment, Leah-style:

1. Tidy up any items laying around. Notice that one of these items is a book. Sit down and read a few chapters.
2. Turn on iTunes to provide a cleaning soundtrack.
3. Get cleaning products from closet, kitchen table, and underneath the couch. Wonder why the Windex was underneath the couch in the first place.
4. Spray desired surfaces with cleaning product, wipe clean.
5. Notice a good song has come on, begin adding choreography to jazz class combination.
6. Change clothes, current clothes are now sweaty from the dance break.
7. Find cleaning products again, resume dusting and cleaning.
8. Decide that the books are arranged improperly on the bookshelf. Ponder what possibly made the arrangement seem like a good idea in the first place. Rearrange the bookshelf.
9. Find mug of loose change while rearranging bookshelf. Sit down and roll it, preparing a deposit to take to the bank.
10. While dealing with money already, sit down and write rent check. Balance checkbook for good measure.
11. Wonder if DJ Gallo posted the NFL Hangover on ESPN's site. Check, then read article.
12. Get excited about the Steeler's 3-0 start, read articles on every sports site about how great the Steeler defense is.
13. Make lunch.
14. Decide to watch an episode of Lost on netflix streaming while eating lunch.
15. Remember that today is cleaning day.
16. Wander aimlessly around the apartment looking for the swiffer rag.
17. Give up, get a new one.
18. Continue cleaning, find the old one.
19. Get mop from closet.
20. Mop hardwood floors. Forget to take socks off until after they are already wet from stepping in the already mopped section.
21. Repeat in each room
*estimated time for a three-room apartment: 10 hours

And that is the difference between Joe Schmoe and me.