Trust me, the most cleaning goes on once the kiddlywinks have finished. I and my three colleagues in the music department had a huge purge of the music storerooms and offices yesterday. We threw out boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of ancient admin paperwork, some dating back to 1994 (when I first started as a student at the school, in year 3)! We also tossed instruments that don't work, stereos that don't work, televisions that don't work, chairs that don't work, dead potplants and pretty much anything else we could find. Now we have to clean up behind the mess, vacuum up the dead cockroaches, get rid of the many years worth of dust that have built up, and reorganise the storerooms so everything is where I want it. Then we have to scrape all the chewing gum off the bottom of all the desks and chairs. Oh, and I have to go through the instruments and make sure they're spittle-free and remove old used reeds. Then I have to clean out the fridge, the sink, the microwave, and the cupboards which haven't been cleaned all year. Then we have to scrub the walls which have dirty little-kiddy handmarks all over them. Ditto the pianos. The only thing I refuse to do is clean the bathroom & toilets, which have about them a distinct odour of malfunctioning sewarage. The building is very old and methinks needs new plumbing. And soon. The toilet was oozing something not very nice last time I went in there.
So, you think scrubbing desks for half an hour and cleaning out your locker is bad? You've got it easy, trust me!
(Oh, and anyone who wants to accuse me of being a whinging emo, fuck off now. I happen to love cleaning, it's a great feeling to know that everything's in order. It's hard work, but it's more than worth it. It's rather cathartic, too
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