11/24/2019
Greetings Beauties & Beasts!
I'm currently offering *complimentary* cleaning slots to families affected by the "strike" a.k.a. blatant cahooting of the Federal/Provincial Governments, WFP and the IWA with foreign interests in mind. I just read that another forestry company (starts with an 'm'... Edit: it's Mosaic) is about to get away with it too. A class action lawsuit, employees vs all those snakes, is needed. It's called the LABOUR FORCE.
Aaaaaaanyhoooo... Why am I offering time?
Because that's all I have to offer and I want to. I am also donating 50% of my art sales (Loo-da-Kris Designs) to Loonies for Loggers, although I currently only have one piece ready for sale as it is impossible to create without a stable, sound environment in which to live.
"Our prime purpose in this life is to help others...."
While you're all blessed to have family, I'm blessed to not have one to fret about. While you're all blessed to have a roof over your heads, I'm blessed that I currently don't have my own place to call home, rent or a mortgage on default or a fear of where my kids and I will live. I don't care if I live outside, so long as it's joyful. And I've no kids, that will remain current forever. While you're blessed to fire up your vehicle to get around, I'm blessed that I currently don't have to fret vehicle insurance, maintenance and fuel. While you're blessed to own household comforts, a bed, etc... I feel pretty damn lucky that I've lost every single thing I ever owned over the past 3 years and currently only care about my guitar and my art making stuffs (sea glass, driftwood, weird rusty stuff, rocks, trash). The double-edged swords of this thing called life.
I've been off my feet for a long while going through a powerful personal metamorphosis; a complete life, habit, perspective and emotional shift. These 3 years are the biggest gift the Universe could've forced onto me. Having already turned to goo in my cocoon, my wings are forming and the metamorphosis is near completion... I am coming out of this as one badass, resilient, benevolent butterfly.
At this point in my life, I would get far more out of giving my time to those who could use a nice treat while being shafted by those snakes listed above. When I say I'm building from nothing, that's exactly what I mean. I landed in Port Hardy via a past cleaning client that moved here (I have a local reference who will ensure you my fingers are omit sticky if I'm rolling a joint...haha!) and it has been the most joyful town I've been in over the past 3 years. I truly love it here. I'm grateful I've landed somewhere where many of the peeps in the community noticed my guitar and I were gone for a couple of weeks and missed me. I've much to give and this is just the start.
I have already contacted North & South Vancouver Island Communities United via FB messenger and presented my donation of time, but I've yet to hear much back, which I understand.... Time is an awkward donation these days, especially when it has zero attachment to any fundraising.
Think about that.
Time is an awkward donation without attachment to fundraising.
Surely there is some ill-willed motive behind it:
1.) I'll steal your stuff.
2.) I expect a tip.
3.) I'll do a half-assed job because it's "free".
4.) I'm doing it to boast/be a hero/blahhhh blahhhhhh
1.) Trust and transparency have ALWAYS been the foundation of this venture. It's how I secured long-term, estate property clients in Vancouver over the course of 3 years. Jewellery, money, drugs, make-up, bits n bites, inside your safe, I'll dust under it all and replace all as it was, except .... without dust. I'm a known finder of things long lost because I am so detailed and thorough. I have to be all in your stuff to be a good cleaner. I'll eventually know everything that's in your home because I will inevitably clean every nook and cranny without hesitation. If it needs it, it's getting it.
2.) I could probably use some life tips from an adult considering my folks aren't in the flesh anymore and I've clearly lost my adulting skills.
3.) "There's no such thing as good enough, it's either good, or not good." -My Dad, Ken Steffen. I'm highly detailed based on my self-diagnosed OCD, and have a ton of energy and elbow grease to burn. I do not screw the pooch, ever.
4.) PM's are private, you'll never hear about how I "cleaned for free", aside from this post specifically, which will be shared here, in my art making page of Loo-da-Kris Designs, and in 1 or 2 other local Facebook groups. It's no one's business whom I give time to, for how long, or what I do. I'm insanely confidential. I do not gossip. Your home, stuff, life style, pets, kids, property, as a client, will be fiercely protected by me. That's loyalty. I know it's nice of me to do this, I don't want likes, or comments, or anything. Zero praise, all of this is what it is. No one ever gave personal praise after a good 'ol fashioned barn raising. They just connected together and raised the barn. Cut and dried. It's what my mind and heart are telling me to do. Some years no one has a barn to replace, others years one or more; the connection remained the same. For all I know, no one wants any of this, but should they, the connection is here.
If I *give* my time via Happy Happy Camper Cleaning Services, I help myself by building reputation in the community as well as a stronger sense of community in general. I also help 1-2 other adults and who knows how many kidlets. And kids freakin' LOVE me. They catch my simple, real and joyful drift.
Lift one person or lift 4-5?
Who knows, maybe this connection will get me into my own perfect forever home in Port Hardy! 👌
I will not starve or go without by giving time rather than charging for it; the more I give the more I receive. Port Hardy has been so fun, supportive and generous anytime I'm brave enough to play and sing in public (Rocket Maaaaaaaaaaaaan!). I had very little courage to do so before I moved here. Besides, I need very little to lead a joyful life. Coffee. Snacks (all of them). W**d. The particular order is situational.
Happy Camper Cleaning Services offers a plethora of services that apply to both gifted and purchased time:
*Detailed housecleaning which can include one or all of the following tasks: deep cleaning, appliances inside out and under, bathroom, laundry wash dry fold iron hang, bedding wash dry make bed, baseboards, drier hose, dusting, cupboards inside outside on top and doors, hand scrubbed floors, streak-free windows inside and out ... etc. I see everything, including potential maintenance issues and am capable of completing many household maintenance tasks and building things using power tools... Arg arg arg!
*Organizing: I can organize anything in any space and put systems in place so you can keep it that way without any fuss. I love organizing other people's stuff.
*Landscaping/Yard Work: Love it. I'm a good grunt with a very green thumb and pruning knowledge/experience.
*Kidlets: My favorite clients have kids. They just get me and they listen and they're always super interested in me and what I'm up to. Any children of any age are always welcome around me. I have ENDLESS patience for children. I've live-in nannied (I'd love to again) for a couple families and have no qualms keeping kidlets entertained while I so my work, or including them in yard work or prep-cooking in the kitchen. Maybe you want to go shopping without them and get away during the day for a few hours. I'd be happy to hang with them at a park or the beach. Or maybe your spouse want to go out for dinner, or even breakfast, but can't justify paying to go out and pay for kidlet sitter. Well, you don't have to.
*Vehicle Cleaning: This is pretty self explanatory.
*Firewood Assistance: chop chop.
*Companionship: Loneliness is a very real thing that can be detrimental to the mental and physical health of people of all ages. Time, unfortunately, is a hard thing for many people to give loved ones (friends or family) as much as they'd love to be able to. I'm quite the card and get along with everyone, but older people specifically share my old school values and moral standards, so I tend to relate with them easier. I can play cribbage, guitar and would be willing to learn Bridge for funsies.
I have zero specifications how my clients use their time, complimentary or not. The gift of time is highly flexible. Every household has a different idea of what would lighten the load, please don't be shy. I have truly seen it all as a housekeeper and do not judge or whince at anything. Your confidentiality and comfort are key. Forgit about it! I got it.
I can comfortably give 15 hours of my time per week, maybe more. I do not want to put a cap on how many hours total because the amount of families affected is endless. I say 15 hours because then I can do five, 3 hour slots per week +. I only ask you provide transportation if it's too far for me to walk and the supplies I need to clean, which is basically a scrubby sponge and paper towel. Elbow grease does most of the work anyway.
I will do my absolute best to be reliable, but do keep in mind I currently have no home to call my own and my living arrangements are far from stable and sound. You will not be disappointed assuming I've no disruptions.
If you are or know of a "strike" affected family that would love the gift of time, please do not hesitate to PM me here, or on my Facebook profile, Laura Steffen and I can provide my cell so we can have a chat on the phone.
I am also in the market for regular weekly clients whom I invoice monthly (one payment on the last day of the month for all hours worked that month) that require a housekeeper to manage the cleanliness and order of their home as a whole, rotating larger tasks in and out of the weekly schedule as required. It is imperative we vibe comfortably on a personal level, that we're a good 'fit' so to speak, as housekeeping is an intimate, personal position where both the client and the cleaner should feel absolutely comfortable with one another... and that starts with that 'fit'. When I first started Happy Camper Cleaning Services, I'd housekeep for people without that 'fit', and I tell ya, there's nothing more awkward than housekeeping for someone you just don't vibe with. My general rate is and always will be $20/ hour. The elderly $15/hour plus a complimentary half hour each booking. The client provides the supplies to inhibit cross contamination. And some people like using lemons, others like bleach. The cleaners are the discretion of the client, but I absolutely require paper towel and a scrubby sponge. No exceptions. Without those two provisions, I cannot activate my detailed eye and produce elbow grease. True story.
"Strike" peeps! Please! Don't be shy! You deserve the gift of time, after all it is being robbed from you.
In SOLIDARITY!!!!!!!
Laura Marie Steffen
Happy Camper Cleaning Services
Loo-da-Kris Designs
One Love
💛✌🌌
May the force be with you.
