Comments on: Checkout Tasks List: Advice for when your Aupair departs

By: My 2 cents

My 2 cents — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:18:59 +0000

Car cleaning is addressed in our handbook. It’s basically the commonsense policy that you need to clean up after yourself and will be expected to take it in for oil changes and car washes here and there (we pay). This isn’t any more or less than I would expect for my own kids when the time comes, or from anyone who has free use of the car or is a houseguest.

Of course, this also means that I need to be more attentive to my cleaning too !

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By: Calif Mom

Calif Mom — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:45:03 +0000

A simple, super-sticky note on the dash that read “Mom: Remember to empty the car” worked wonders. Seriously, I put it there as a reminder for myself. Then HD and AP started following suit, and the kids now do it, too, taking their own stuff back into the house. With reminders, but not grousing.

We also buy a book of carwash tickets and keep it in the glove box. Love the idea of taking a new AP with you as part of errands/training day. That would demystify the whole process. I’m sure that’s the hurdle for most APs. Mine didn’t know how to pump gas on arrival, either, which I discovered because she was going to full service at the pricey station and I wondered why.

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By: CV

CV — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:07:43 +0000

AZ Mom-
I think that it is a bit dicey to ask the AP to do a big cleaning of the shared car. I think it’s okay to ask her/your outgoing ap to take the car to the car wash (if you pay for it, but on her time) and to straighten up maps, cds, etc that she might have used herself or with the kids. I’d let this slide, and then take a different approach with the new AP.
Aks the new AP to clean up the car sometimes, as long as you ALSO make a bit of a show and clean the car sometimes too. Make $ available for the car wash and ask her to take the car on her on duty time to the car wash, just as she might do the laundry. And, if/when she uses the car for a significant personal event (like all day Sat., or carpooling friends to a cluster meeting) asking her to make sure her stuff is cleaned up. With a shared resource, she should take car of the kids mess when she is on duty, her mess all the time, and your mess never. What to do about mess that’s everyone’s? Take turns.
You might also try taking the car to the car wash right when your new AP begins, to show her how, and then making it part ofher training experience to get in the habit pf helping the kids clean their stuff out regularly.

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By: TX Mom

TX Mom — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:37:18 +0000

Wow. I have never asked our AP’s to do this much. I just make sure they do the basics (take all their stuff and remove passwords, etc.) I have found that cleaning and preparing for the next AP is a great transition exercise for me (and my daughter.) However, I do have a box in my office of “leftover stuff” from different AP’s. Has anyone had an AP do all this without a grudge?
Re: the car. We set the expectation that they need to keep it neat and every now and then I need to get on the AP (some more than others.) I think some periodic reminding during the year helps. Occasionally, they need to drive it for maintenance (oil change, tires, etc.) But, I try to drive the car occasionally for maintenance too so that 1. I know what condition the car is in but more importantly 2. it reminds the AP that it is NOT “her car.”

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By: german aupair in michigan

german aupair in michigan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:59:39 +0000

you should do the same list before the new aupair arrives. many host families want the aupair to clean and organize everything in her bedroom before she leaves but they forget to give the new aupair a clean and organized room when she arrives herself. just think about it.

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By: Hula Gal

Hula Gal — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:31:53 +0000

Well, our car is for the exclusive use of the au pair. But, if we had a car that was primarily used by the au pair and occasionally used by us I would still expect that she clean the car before she departs. I guess it depends on what level of use you had – did the kids get in it? Did you, the kids or the husband eat in there, spill things, get it dirty yourself? If not and the “worse for the wear” was caused by the au pair than absolutely she needs to clean it! I don’t expect the au pair to return the car to us in better condition than when we gave it to her (although that would be nice) but it should be as clean as when we turned it over to her for her use. Our au pair did in fact take the car to get it cleaned so she did comply with this part of the checklist.

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By: AZ HM

AZ HM — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:45:33 +0000

I was just modifying this to give to my outgoing au pair. We, too, have had housekeepers all year and I have a feeling our AP is going to be a little surprised.

Question — do you all think it is fair to ask the AP to clean the car if she didn’t have exclusive use of the car? In other words, the car our AP uses for personal use is sometimes used by host parents during the work day.

Seems minor, but unfortunately our car has taken a beating this year and is looking much worse for the wear (especially when compared to condition when we made the car available for AP use). And our AP has never taken any initiative to clean the car or participate in any maintenance.

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By: HulaDad

HulaDad — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:45:29 +0000

HulaGal’s husband and HD here. Calif Mom, you soooooo nailed it

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By: Calif Mom

Calif Mom — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:48:12 +0000

No; what she will think is how MEAN you are for making her do it.

Glad you’re in the denouement, Hula Gal!

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By: Hula Gal

Hula Gal — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:31:50 +0000

I just sent this to my departing au pair. We have housecleaners but they came last week so she is on the hook for a lot of the tasks that she’s never had to do before. She is in for a suprise on how much work she never had to do in our house because we paid someone else to do it. It would be nice to think that this would open her eyes to how good she had it here but I know that she’s too immature to understand such things. All she will think is “OMG – I have to clean the toilet, ugh!”

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