Being a domestic servant is a difficult job, no matter what position you’re filling.
People who work personally and privately for others in their homes always seem to have a mountian of tasks.
These jobs can also be tedious and humdrum. But they can also be intriguing.
One of the perks of these types of jobs can be the secrets and information you become privy to.
Honey, there are just some lives you learn about that could rival storylines on “Dynasty.”
After all, truth is stranger than fiction.
Everyone on Reddit wanted to drink up the hot, hot tea delivered by Redditor Hunterofshadows when they asked:
“Housekeepers of reddit, what do you know about the owners of the houses that they don’t know you know?”
Now this ought to be scolding darling…
What a Stinker!
“Not a house keeper but a nanny. A family once took me on vacation with them so I could watch their kids while they‘d go out and explore the area.”
“That week, my bed was the couch in the living room. It’s late at night, the kids are sleeping, I’m laying on the couch and the parents get back.”
“The dad says, “is she sleeping” referring to me? I didn’t say anything so apparently he assumed yes.”
“He then started farting very loudly.” ~ sisof2
One Day at a Time…
“Dog walker, here. I was dog sitting for an older work friend once and saw her “days sober” calendar.”
“I was simultaneously sad, because I had no idea she was struggling, and happy for her because she had almost a full month marked off.” ~ cleanandclaire
“I will hit 3 weeks on Sunday. This is the longest I have gone without alcohol in 10 years.”
“The only times it was longer before that were the 3 times I was deployed overseas and no alcohol available.” ~ RSchnars
Not so loud next time…
“I’m a nanny. The last family worked for I overheard the Dad calling his insurance asking if a certain Rehab was covered.”
“He talks LOUD naturally. I heard what he was going for and everything.”
“Nobody knew not family not friends. Just me and them. They never knew I knew.” ~ Thesugarsky
Some special announcements…
“Our maid service found our positive pregnancy test in the bathroom trash, after presumably finding negative pregnancy tests in the bathroom trash for the previous 12 months.”
“Left us a nice little congratulations note on my wife’s nightstand.” ~ fizzleguy
“Mine found the “Best new daddy” mug I gave my husband.”
“Bless them, they hadn’t said a word about what had been in the trash.”
“Unfortunately, I had to follow that up with the miscarriage news a month or so later.” ~ ttcanuck
A Passage to Nowhere…
“House I used to work at had a secret passage from the master bed to the attic, also a secret passage from a cabinet in the great room leading to the exterior of the garage.” ~ madiet6uwu
“I grew up in a house with a trap door in the pantry floor that led to a bricked in “cell” in the basement.”
“The house was built in the early middle 19th century in an area that became known for Underground Railroad traffic and then as a Prohibition smuggling route.”
“So I’m sure that little room had some history to it.”
“Edit: Unless you guys know more about my house than the people from the university that came and checked out the house, please stop telling me it’s a cellar or root storage. It isn’t.” ~Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce
“I just worked in a house a few months ago that had this!”
“10 million dollar mansion built in the late 1800’s.”
“They started in the kitchen/servants quaters and ran behind the walls coming out in each room with staircases that went up to the second floor and down to the basement.”
“Some of them were sealed off but the ones in the living room, master bed and basement still had their functioning pocket doors.”
“It was really awesome and made me feel like a kid again exploring them.” ~ iHateMonkeysSObad
A Whole New World!
“A bit of an innocent one but while I was cleaning I saw this cabinet that was very large.”
“Like someone could fit a body in there. So, being curious, I opened it and saw A WHOLE ROOM.”
“It was crazy! Inside there was a bed and lights attached to these tall wood pieces.”
“Then a mini bookshelf with some books and a desk and computer. It was absolutely amazing.” ~ LemmeHear
Well that’s a surprise!!
“Where she keeps her sex toys. It’s not obvious.”
“One day I noticed that whenever I used the toilet the water was barely enough to send away my “deposit” so I opened the water tank to adjust it and I found not only one but several.”
“Well they are waterproof I thought.” ~ yaarty
“I’m not a housekeeper but my late aunt used to be. One of her clients, who was fairly well-to-do, had a whole closet full of genital themed toys.”
“And when I say “toys,” I’m not using a euphemism for “sex enhancement items” or anything like that. Literal genital toys.”
“Windup penises with googly eyes on them, PEZ dispensers shaped like the most browsed pages of a skin mag (I suspect these weren’t official PEZ brand).”
“Rather risque variants on “pin the tail on the donkey”, a Nerf-like gun that fired foam phalluses.” ~Times_Hunger
“My aunt is currently a house keeper.”
“The had this one client who would throw used feminine hygiene products under the bed; pads specifically.”
“No matter how I think about this I just can’t imagine how someone can get to that level of grossness.”
“If you’ve ever had a heavy menstrual cycle and wore a pad, you know sometimes not everything is absorbed into the pad.”
“You need to immediately sit down in the toilet or it can quite literally go everywhere.” ~ aamirazeal
She’s a Whole Hot Mess!!
“That she got a DUI. Typical religious white collar family; husband, wife, and 4 teen kids.”
“She had one of those at home breathalyzer tests from the court sitting in the master bathroom, it takes your picture as you blow into it and it sends it to your probation officer.”
“I only know because I was on probation a few years ago and had one too.”
“Curiosity got the best of me and I looked at her public record… yup.”
“DUI and she messed up on probation too, had another court date. After that I started noticing 12 step books and such.” ~ LunaTheFerret
The way people live
“Working in hotels is similar to cleaning someone’s house, because those comfortable will lay it out for you.”
“You can tell if someone is messy or tidy at home, how well they take care their things, what they eat, how much they drink, what medical problems they may have.”
“And if you get the chance to meet them you can piece together why they live the way they do by telling their stories.”
“I never made fun of our guests or judged them. That would be so unfair and intrusive.” ~ silly-noodle
I See You!
“My cleaning guy caught me leaving the house once.”
“Said he knew I smoked pot because he’d find stuff for it a lot and asked if he could find me some for a camping trip with his wife.”
“I freaked a little after he just said “I know you do marijuana”. I was like am I catching a lecture.”
“We moved like a month later so I never really saw him face to face again. Hope he enjoyed it.”
“They were good people and appreciated us more than they ever had to.” ~ 420Minions
See, if you have people in your house—personal or staff—assume you’re always being watched.
I’ve always wanted to be able to afford cleaning help, and if I ever can, I’m going to make sure to be on alert.
The walls really do have ears.
