Ok, I am taking care of my neighbors dog. My neighbor lives two houses down. She is a single mom of a 16 yr old girl. My neighbor is in New York for business. She left on Sunday. Her 16 yr old daughter joined her in New York on Wednesday night.The 16 yr old stays with her father when the mother is out of town,BUT, comes to her own house after school where the bus drops her off.Sometime after that the father was picking her up. Anyways.. they have 2 cats. My neighbor asked my son if he would like to earn a little extra money by taking care of the cats. The usual feeding and cleaning liter box. Ok, my son agreed. So yesterday he went over there by himself. He came home and said it was a mess in there. I did not think much of it. So today I went with him to the house make sure everything was ok. OMG...the kitchen was GROSS...let me first say I have been to their house before. I have sat in their kitchen and chatted with my neighbor and it NEVER looked like that.
There was an old pan of brownies sitting there, a sink full of dirty dishes, old food on the kitchen table. I am guessing its all from the teenager...They will not be home until the 30th?
After we took care of the cats, I got all the food crumbs off the table, I put the bread in the fridge.
Should I clean the kitchen for them? I mean wont they have bugs in the meantime?
I have so much to do at my own house getting ready for my sister in law and brother in law who are arriving tomorrow evening.
The rest of their house looked fine, some clothes laying around. The kitchen was just gross.
What would you do???

By Tonya on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:13 am:

I myself would clean it up but I would also make it a point to tell the mom so she knows what was left.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:19 am:

I think I would clean it up. Maybe take pictures of the mess, though, in case the mother asks.

By Jackie on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:22 am:

I have thought about it. I am going to go clean up there, a little at a time. I honestly dont shot. I am going to take a picture of it too LOL..the before and after. Not too often I clean for somebody else LOL

By Vicki on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:23 am:

I myself would clean it up too. That is a long time to sit out. I actually am surprised the cats haven't gotten into it! That could make them sick and you could really have a mess on your hands.

By Jackie on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:24 am:

I have thought about it. I am going to go clean up there, a little at a time. I honestly dont have time to do it all in one shot. I am going to take a picture of it too LOL..the before and after. Not too often I clean for somebody else LOL

By Wandilu on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 02:42 pm:

ok...odd person out...but I would not clean it.I would throw away the food,because of the cats,but I would leave the rest.Apparently this is the teenagers doings,and if you clean it up,you are doing her responsibility.The mother needs to see just how much she can trust her, when she is left alone.And if it does draw bugs,the dd should have to pay for it out of her allowance.jmho

By Kate on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 04:24 pm:

No, I wouldn't touch anything.

By Marcia on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:44 pm:

I wouldn't clean it, either. I would put the food in the fridge or throw it out, but that's it. Does the teenager live with her dad nearby, and do you know her well enough to call her and tell her they will have bugs if she doesn't clean it up?

By Jackie on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 07:52 am:

We cleaned it up. The teenager is with her mom in New York. My neighbor left last Sunday, the teenager left Wednesday. My son and I cleaned up for an hour last night. We took before and after pictures. I did not realize they did not have a dishwasher. I was not use to washing so many by hand. There was leftover milk in 2 glasses, that had hardened already, so gross. I did not do it for the teenager, I did it for her mother. Her mother works until 6pm or later every night so they can live in a nice house in a pretty good area.
Me and the kids are Jewish. They always tell us it good to do A "Mitzvah"(which is like a good deed).
So as me my son were washing and drying we decided that this was our "Mitzvah" LOL...
I just know if I was gone for 2 weeks, I would NOT want to come home to that.She can deal with her daughter after she sees the before and after pictures.

By Conni on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 08:32 am:

That was nice Jackie.

We don't have a dishwasher here... Every evening I have to wash dishes by hand and every weekend. I HATE it. lol The maid is on vacation now and I am washing by hand 3x a day now. yuck I finally asked the company to get us a dishasher which took over a month to materialize ( they had to deliver 3x to get it right thats a whole other post lol ). And now it has been sitting in my kitchen for a month not hooked up. They said they would send a plumber out to install and that hasnt happened yet... So, still washing by hand. lol My dh has been nice about helping thank goodness, or i would be a total crab.

Anyhoo, yeah... i can relate to washing by hand. lol

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 08:57 am:

Jackie, that was nice of you to clean it up. It already was gross enough. I can't imagine what it would have looked like, in another week.

On the other hand, how hard is it, to pour out the milk you don't want and at least rinse the glass, so it's easier to clean, later on? There's no excuse for solidified milk in glasses.

By Jackie on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 10:17 am:

My son is 12. So it was a good opportunity to give him the talk, that he better not ever leave my kitchen that way LOL.. I know he would not. I have trained him well.
All I know is that I would of never dreamed of leaving my mothers kitchen looking like that when I was 16.

By Hol on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 10:40 am:

That was VERY nice of you and your DS. I'll bet that you'll carry your Mitzvah even further and not show the pictures to the Mom. If you are like me, by the 30th, the stress of having to clean up the mess will have passed and you will just chalk it up to a good deed, especially if you won't be having to do it again.

I have a soft spot for teenagers, having been one myself and raising four others. They eventually learn the right way to do things. Just let her Mom come home to a nice clean kitchen and well cared for animals, and let that be your gift to not only her but her daughter as well. If you feel that the daughter needs to be taught a lesson from this (and she certainly does) I might take the opportunity when I see her again, to let HER know what you did, and to tell her that her Mom works hard for her and that she needs to do her part, too.

And happy last night of Hanukkah to you and your DK's.

By Kate on Saturday, December 23, 2006 - 10:49 am:

I have to disagree with Hol saying that JACKIE should speak to the teen. It's just not her place. If she wants to say something to the mom, that's fine, and then it's the MOM'S place to do WHATEVER *she* decides is appropriate. She did not have to clean up this mess....the teen did not ask her so it wouldn't be fair to speak to the teen and it's never right, IMO, to reprimand or lecture or even give unasked for advice, to another child who has not directly disobeyed or disrespected YOU or YOUR home.

By Jackie on Monday, January 1, 2007 - 12:27 pm:

Well they are home and all has been disclosed(Did I spell that right?)
Anyways, my neighbor called me Friday morning to tell me they were coming in a day early(that evening). She asked how everything was with the dog(Which was at my house)and cats etc.. I told her everything with the pets was fine. I asked her "Do you know what your kitchen looked like when Brianna left? She was quiet for a minute and said "BAD??" and I explained what it looked like. In the background I could hear her daughter say something like "Mom I told you I still have stuff to clean up when I left"...
She didnt sound happy. I explained me and my son cleaned it for her. She wanted to give us extra money for that. I kept telling her no, thats not why wwe did it.
She came at 7pm to get her dog that night. We talked quite a bit. She said she wanted to see pictures, so I showed her. She told us she was VERY embarassed by the way her kitchen looked. Me and my husband said not to be, we knew she didnt leave it like that. We just didnt want her to come home after 2 weeks to bugs or her cats being sick because of what was left. After I showed her the pictures, I asked her what she would of felt if the kitchen was still in the same condition. She replied "MAD"(not at us, but at her daughter). She said she was going to have a talk with her daughter. I dont know if she did or not.
So its all over and done with LOL

By Dawnk777 on Monday, January 1, 2007 - 12:36 pm:

Well, now she can deal with her daughter and her lack of cleanliness. I think mom would have been furious to have seen the kitchen still in that condition. It would have been that much harder to clean up!