Clearing #001 - Sanne

Hi.

I'm trying something new. Something I probably shouldn't do, but I guess it's too late now. 

I'm going to start off with a warning, because I really don't want to get in any trouble. I've copied this disclaimer off of the internet, and that's probably not the last time something like that will happen. I'm sorry in advance for sharing anything that doesn't belong to me. Maybe finders are keepers though, copyright and property are a bit of a complicated thing in my opinion...

"This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental."

Again, I don't want to get in trouble. 

Let's start. 


Clearing #001 - Sanne

Monday


I put up an advertisement on Marktplaats last night. No pictures, no introduction, just me offering my services. It went something like this:

“Free house clearing. I’m available tomorrow morning. Entire house must be able to be cleared within one day.”

Maarten sent me a message within the hour, and I agreed to meet him this morning at 7:30, right before he would go to work. I dusted off the van and we met at his sister’s apartment. We were both around 10 minutes early.

Maarten looked like what I imagined him to look like. In his early to mid-thirties, a stubble and short hair that is almost in need of a trim, but probably will still be looking alright for a week or two. He was wearing a hoodie, which I hadn’t expected. I imagine that most jobs that start around 8:00 are office jobs, but to be honest, I could also see him as the type of person to work at a start-up tech company where all the employees are college friends and there’s no dress code.

I’m not sure why I had any expectations about his looks.


Anyway, I introduced myself and tried to be professional, but I also didn't want to lie about me having not much experience in this type of “work”, so I told him he was my first ever "customer" and that I didn't know how this usually went , and I immediately felt like a prostitute saying that. He then told me he didn't usually deal with death, so we were both on the same page when it came to being in new and unfamiliar situations, and that made me awkwardly chuckle, and then I hastily said my condolences because I had completely forgotten to do that while shaking his hand earlier on. And I forgot about sounding like a sex worker because I was wondering if Maarten was maybe hyper-aware about the fact that his hands were a bit sweaty.

He luckily didn’t mention it, but I had already come to the conclusion that he probably didn’t notice, or care about being clammy. Maarten yawned a lot, and he had some very dark under eyes. I don’t think he has been able to relax these past few weeks, which is completely understandable.

Maarten gave me a tour of the apartment, which was only 4.5 rooms. I asked him if there was anything I needed to find and/or keep for him and he told me he had already picked out all the stuff that held any memories and/or had value, so that I could just take everything "and do whatever it is you people do with the leftover stuff of dead people"

"Recycling, mostly" I for some reason lied to him. Maybe because I felt attacked by his words and I don't want to be grouped in with the kind of people that clear homes. I don't think there's anything wrong with people who do that for a living, but I prefer to be differentiated from them for some reason. 

I'm not saying I'm any better than them, I'm probably worse. My reason for putting up that advertisement is complicated and I’m not sure if it’s ethical. I guess I don’t want people to think everyone has the same motives as me.

Maarten told me he would return from work around 20:00, so I had around twelve hours to clear everything. I’m confused about his workday lasting for that long, but I didn’t spend too much time thinking about it, I have other things to worry about.

He also didn't ask me to empty the entire apartment in one day, but it felt doable and I wanted to prove to myself that I could pull it off.

And I did it, and everything also managed to fit into the van, which was very surprising. 

Today was very exhaustive though, so I’ll close my laptop for today and I’ll tell you more about the clearing when I have the energy to do so. Hopefully that's soon!


Goodnight.


- J

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