For a borderline obsessive-compulsive like me, spring-cleaning can never be confined to a day-long exercise. It usually spans at least a week. This year, given that my maid has been MIA for over a month and a half, and that I myself had been intermittently travelling the last six, I knew the whole affair would be more long drawn. There was only so much I could attempt with my sordid chest congestion, and my maid showed no signs of returning, despite repeated promises. I had to accept the cold fact. I needed help.

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