Cleaning for the roach man

Around noon today I sat in Mrs. R’s den, eating my Sonic lunch and watching roaches run across the kitchen floor – six at first, then eight, 10 and 12. Once in a while a roach would stop running, just stop and do nothing. After a few seconds another roach would approach, do a feeler bump or something, and then both would run off in opposite directions. Probably, Roach #2 was checking to see if #1 was dead. If so, #1 was fair game for eating.

My job today was to empty and clean out the cabinets so the bug dude would have a clean place to spray. Priscilla and I had emptied cabinets a couple of weeks ago, so I thought my main job today would be cleaning – you know, sweeping with a paper towel.

The second cabinet I opened contained over-the-counter medicines, all past best-by dates, some never opened. I put those in a box. Then I opened a cabinet of three shelves – full. Spices and … I don’t remember what. I didn’t even look at best-by dates on the spices – Into a trash bag they went, along with whatever else was there.

The next cabinet contained canned goods, boxed food and gelatin desserts. Many of the canned foods had best-by dates of 2014. I put those in canvas shopping bags. Out-of-date stuff went into a trash bag. The gelatin stuff I treated like the spices – into a trash bag.

I wound up with three 30-gallon trash bags full of no-longer-good things, and 2+ much smaller canvas bags with still good canned food.

Then I opened two long, lower cabinets. “Aw, man!” I said. Those were filled with metal and glass pie plates, empty glass jars with lids – eight linear feet by 18 inches twice.

Then I cleaned out the cabinets, using paper towels.

The roach dude arrived at 4, as scheduled. He had been to Mrs. R’s house last year. He told Mrs. R. she needed to empty the cabinets. She said she wasn’t going to do that, and he should spray anyway. He said it would do no good, and he left. Today, with cabinets empty, he sprayed.

He will spray again in four weeks. By then the house should be completely empty.