In my job, no two days are alike. My job is very fast paced, always busy and great fun. For those of you that do not know, I work for the British Heart Foundation, which is a charity that champions research for heart and circulatory illnesses. I am a volunteer, even though I have a job title and love every minute of it.
I suppose I am a glorified Caretaker with a “fancy title”, as I do more than cleaning. I fix things, I tidy and help to keep everyone safe, I take the bins out and I make sure we have plenty of supplies. I love working at BHF, as it is such a worthwhile charity to work for and helps so many people.
So lets have a look at what happens during my day.
My day starts at about 9.45 when I get up. The 1st thing I do is put the kettle on and (*coughs*) have a “fresh air stick”. I let Splodge out the kitchen and feed her at the same time. Normally, I have 2 Weetabix for my breakfast and I then go to the PC.
I check my emails, read the headlines on the local paper and check if the busses are up the creep. Thankfully today, there is no disruption, so I should get in OK.
10:45 and I am out the door. I walk the 30 yards to the bus stop and wait for the good old No. 6 at 10:50. Once on the bus, I stay on until Church St. Today I have forgotten something, so I nip into the newsagents on the way in.
11:30 and I arrive at the shop. The 1st thing to do, is to sign in. (This is to comply with the Fire Regs and for security. I run upstairs and say hello to Maria and to Anne, who are already working away. I offer cups of tea to them, nip to the locker room and put my Tabard and my ID Badge on. I then fly downstairs and ask Lucy if she want’s a brew, which she did. – Milk, 2 sweeteners and coffee.
11:40 and the brews are made and I am down on the shop floor. Spot cleaning takes up most of my time, but I do not mind. The floor takes a lot of traffic, so I am constantly up and down sweeping. I talk to customers as I tidy and hold the door for a few people. Denise is her usual chatty self, so I have a quick conflab with her. I like Denise, she is so luverly. Maria is my fav at the shop though!
11:45 and I am back upstairs. Today’s jobs include deep cleaning the toilet area and deep kitchen cleaning. So I get my Vel Mop ready and the bucket and start washing down the walls. I needed the ladders to do parts of the walls that the mop won’t reach, so I get on with that. I give the loo a good clean while I am at it.
12:00 and I nip down for a bit of fresh air and then go and spot clean the floor again. The shop is really busy, so I am back sweeping the floor with my long handled dustpan and brush.
13:00 and someone wants a brew making. I make them a brew and then get asked to make another. I don’t mind making brews, so I get those made and grab a drink myself. I then take everything out the cupboard in the kitchen and wipe down the inside. They only need doing every 3 months, so that’s another job ticked off.
13:15 and I have a break, except I need to go for an eye test. I sign out and nip to Vision Express. I had no idea I would be there till 2, but that doesn’t matter.
14:00 and I am back. Time to scrub the safety lino. Tabard back on and I am down on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. This takes some time, as the locker room floor also needed doing. Once scrubbed, I mop the floor and give the toilet another good clean. I leave the wet floor sign up and wring out the flat mop heads, which I had put into soak earlier. These then got hung up to dry.
14:45 Shift almost over and there’s just time to get the Henry out and vacuum the carpets. Upstairs is quite a large space, so it took me around 14 minutes to hoover through. This includes the Stock Room and Office. While I am at it, I put a new battery in the clock in the office, as it had stopped.
14:58 it’s time to finish. I take my tabard off, put my walkie talkie on charge and nip downstairs. I say cheerio to Lucy and walk round to Corporation Street to get the bus home.
Tomorrow is another day and I am sure I will have another long list of jobs to do. But for now, I need to get home to sort out my Drivetime Show. Thankfully, I will get back to Grange at 3.30, as the 5C only takes 20 mins from town.