Cleaning for the Cleaning Lady

I inherited a cleaning lady from the previous owners. For them, she came to clean twice a month. When I inherited her, I figured we only needed her once a month since we're only two people versus the previous owners and their seven cats. So far it's worked out well. I like to call her Rosario.

My husband and I don't make messes around the house. We're pretty good about cleaning up after ourselves and tidying up when needed. In between our cleaning lady's visits, my husband cleans our bathroom of grime and other build - up. That usually holds us over until Rosario comes and gives it the deep clean, scrub that it needs. She does a great job and I really like her. For the amount of time and energy she exerts while cleaning our house, she comes pretty cheap.

Unlike another famous Rosario that I know, this one doesn't really speak any English. I guess that's good in the case that the famous Rosario always lipped back to her boss. I usually say, 'Good morning' and ask her how she's been (it's been four weeks since I've seen her, after all), and it's usually a 50/50 shot that she'll actually understand what I'm saying. This morning I asked her how her Christmas was ('Good') and if she had a Happy New Year ('Happy New Year to you too'). And then she goes off and does her work.

But here's the kicker. Every time she comes to clean, I feel like she's still a guest and I need to clean before she gets here. I don't mean get down on all fours and start scrubbing the floorboards, but more like making sure the sink is clear, mail and newspapers are put away or recycled, shoes and clothes are where they need to be, etc. I was scrambling to get some laundry started, putting other dirty clothes away (where she can't see them) and by the time she arrived this morning, I still had to put away some shoes, clear the dish rack and clean the dirty dishes (the latter being my husband's job, btw).

So why do I do this? I know I'm not the only one - why do we clean for the cleaning lady? Isn't that her job? Isn't that what I'm paying her to do? Perhaps it's just that I don't want her to leave here after a long day and tell her friends and family what complete SLOBS we are - like she would....would she?