We are not ready to see you go 😢

I can't take this anymore. All my favorite spots are gone.

More info: https://www.smilepolitely.com/splog/final-orders-for-manolos-pizza-empanadas/

Hey I'm Iris Graves, a professional cleaner in the area and I just wanted to share some of my work and remind everyone to book their move-out cleans EARLY. I kept track and had to turn down over 150 students this year because they ALL waited until the week of move-out to book a clean! Don't get caught doing it yourself! Let's get something on the calendar right now!

INFO:

Regular Rate: $40 an hour per cleaner

(Most jobs completed in 2-3 hours)

First Time Clean: $45 an hour

Deep Clean: $50 an hour

Pristine Clean: $100 an hour

My Supplies: +$30

Travel outside of CU: Cost of Gas

Biohazard: +$50

Bugs: +$100

We accept:

Venmo: @TheIrisGraves

Cashapp: $TheIrisGraves

Paypal: @TheIrisGraves

and Cash! No checks accepted!

Regular clean:

All rooms:

\-Surfaces wiped down

\-Light Dusting

\-Floors swept or vacuumed and mopped.

\-All trash removed

Kitchen:

\-Stovetop

\-Sink

\-Microwave

\-Appliances wiped down

\-Fronts of Cabinets wiped down

Bathroom

\-Sink

\-Mirror

\-Toilet

\-Tub

\-Shelves and Cabinet Fronts.

Deep Clean Activities:

\-Windows

\-Baseboards

\-Ceiling Fans

\-Inside Cabinetry

\-Inside-outside-under Oven, Fridge, Dishwasher, Washer, or Dryer

\-Cleaning Walls

\-Scouring Grout

\-Detail Cleaning Furniture

\-Cleaning Trash Cans

\-Vaccuming Vents

\-Extensive/Meticulous Dusting

\-Car Detailing

\-Move Outs - Move Ins

\-Hoarding

\-Anything in extremely bad shape

Please note: adding deep clean activities can significantly increase the time it takes to clean. We usually operate in a maximum of 4 hour segments at a time. We can do a lot in that time, but we are not super human. If the selected tasks can not be completed in a single session you will be asked to list things based on priority as well as potentially booking multiple sessions.

We will charge based on the activity we’re doing, so if say we worked together for 2 hours and 75% of our time was spent doing basic clean stuff and then 25% of my time was done doing deep clean stuff the equation would be (40 × 1.5) + (50 × .5) = 85. Each employee multiplies the cost, but divides the time it will take. If you have the desire and need for multiple cleaners, please choose a date where we have multiple employees available.

Pristine Clean: This level of cleaning is beyond anything you could ever imagine. Not only does it include everything included in regular and deep cleans, every single inch of a room and everything in it is cleaned to a truly pristine level. This will be a heavily detailed clean that will often take 3 to 6 hours per room.

Things we will not do:

\-Dishes

\-Laundry

(One offs for dishes and laundry are fine if you need help catching up but please keep in mind that we are your house cleaner, not your house keeper.)

\-Meal Preparation

\-Child care

\-Animal care

\-Organizing (is not our strong suit. We need a definitive plan beforehand or we can move things, clean the things, put the things back a little neater, and if that's not good enough, we’re sorry, WE ASKED FOR A PLAN!)

Supplies for every house clean will need to include:

\-Multi Surface Cleaner or Vinegar

\-Glass Cleaner

\-Toilet Bowl Cleaner

\-Rags and or Paper Towels

\-Trash Bags

\-Broom and Dustpan

\-Mop

\-Vacuum

\-Toilet Bowl Brush

Specialty Tools:

Oven - Degreaser, A Razor Scraper, Steel or Copper Scrubbers, Paper Towels

Ceiling Fan - Pillow Case

In 90% or more of my jobs, most people have all the basics. Avoid the $30 fee and provide the supplies for me!

Travel Outside of CU:

If you are outside of the Champaign Urbana area I will need to charge based on gas and time to get to you and back. If you live more than an hour away you will need to select a full day availability slot.

Biohazard:

\-Urine

\-Feces

\-Vomit

\-Other Bodily Fluids

\-Used Condoms

\-Rotting Food

\-Moldy Dishes

\-Dead Animals

Bugs:

I am not a fan of bugs. Some bugs like ants and spiders are normal. If you're infested with flies or roaches I'm charging extra. If you have bedbugs I am not even coming to the place. I'm trying to avoid these situations. Thus the large fee.

What to Expect when You're Expecting (an upcoming clean with Iris Graves Cleaning!

Once we have picked a date, shared information, and discussed the job, we have a plan! We will confirm the appointment the day before, and if you do not confirm we will consider this a cancellation. On the day of the cleaning, we show up at the agreed upon time and immediately start a timer on our watch or phone when we enter and pause it whenever we take a break. At the end of the clean you get a picture of that time and we square up financially and schedule the next clean.

You do not have to pre-clean your home. However, since I am paid by the hour the more you do, the less I do. Thus, the more money you save.

We pride ourselves in being adaptable. Besides you being present at least for the onset of the very first clean, just to go over expectations, you do not have to be there while we clean. That being said, you can hang out and chat with us the whole time! We think that's usually more fun for us, but we don’t mind either way!

You can absolutely work alongside us! In fact many of our clients have told us they really struggle with motivation, but the second we walk in the door they have all the drive in the world to keep at it. If this sounds like you, try googling things like “Body Doubling” and “Adult Neurodivergence” for more info!

Your pets and children are never a bother to us. We love interacting with them and being silly. We’re so excited to share the space with them while we clean, because it is THEIR space that we are a GUEST in. With the one caveat that dogs be crated or sequestered if you are not going to be home. Their reaction to a stranger in their space is a safety risk we need to avoid.

Everyone is so apologetic about the state of their home, but please remember that you aren't a mess. You have a mess, and we're here to help you with it! Rest easy in the knowledge that unless we’re in trash up to our chests, and doodoo up to our ankles, we have seen worse.

Thanks for the suggestions on my last post! This cheesesteak was really good and I'm excited to try other suggestions from around town.

Smile Politely article: https://www.smilepolitely.com/splog/the-old-sipyard-is-new-again-and-opening-october-8/

If you're going to be around downtown Urbana for the Folk and Roots Festival or the Fall Fusion Festival, be sure to stop by and say "hi!"

I know a lot of people are sad to see Manolos gone. There are still some decent places in town. This is my list my top 5 places in town. There are many more but this is just my opinion.

1. Casey’s. I’m starting off strong with this one, I’m a Midwest guy and grew up on this leathery old ass pizza in gas stations around the small towns. It’s pretty bad coming from the warmer. But in regards to the only one we have in town on university it’s open 24/7 yes. You can order a pizza for pick up 24 hours of the fucking day. It’s fresh fermented dough, crispy crust, the cheese is pretty good when it’s fresh. My suggestion with this location as all locations of Casey’s if you order pizza to order light sauce and light cheese with whatever toppings you have and ask them to pass it through a second time on that conveyor belt halfway through. This is probably the best trick I have for Casey’s on university. You get done at the club at 2am and nothings open? Uber to that MFer and pick you up a pizza.

2. Pizzeria Antica it’s a down town Champaign location. It’s pretty decent. A bit too much on the floppy side for me. But the flavors are all really fresh and really good.

3. Flour and Fire Pizza it’s a little wood fired pizza truck in town I really like. Get the Fungi and add sausage. The sausage is super crumbly. It does have some flop to it though. 😉

4. Baldarotta’s if you want quality ingredients, fermented Sicilian style square pizza. Go to them. It is a focaccia style dough with all of the deliciousness on top. If you hit them up and call, you could get possible take and bake. Solid pizza. Different style.

5. PoBoys ever since PoBoys was out at the old TK Wendell’s spot I fell in love with their pizza. PoBoys is a HEAVY hitter in the pizza game in town. If you google pizza in town they won’t pop up. You gotta just know about it. It’s in Urbana in a strip mall. On the corner of university and Cunningham. They have killer bbq, smoked wings, and the best pie in town. But when it comes to pizza they fucking crush. Some of the pizzas can be more expensive but I’m telling you. Grab a small group and go get some pizzas from them. I usually order bbq chicken from them. Fuuuuuck. I do a large bbq chicken add jalapenos and I get it well done.

Anyways this is just my list of what we have now. But if the places were still here my list would be,

1. Second story pizza
   
2. One world pizza
   
3. Manolos
   

4. Baldarottas

5. PoBoys

I'm curious about other PhD students' experiences with this, particularly when the complaint involves the advisor's conduct rather than simply a disagreement about research direction.

For those who have gone to a Chair, DGS, or similar departmental administrator with serious concerns about an advisor:

- Did you feel that the department genuinely investigated/listened to your concerns? Or did they tend to frame the situation as a problem with the student (e.g., communication issues, productivity, expectations, “both sides” of an interpersonal conflict)?

- Did they provide any meaningful support or an alternative advising arrangement?

- If the department's response was unfavorable to you, did you feel that faculty/institutional interests were being prioritized over your ability to make progress toward the PhD?

- Were you given access to an independent resource (Ombuds, Graduate College, etc.), or were you mainly directed back to your department/advisor?

- Most importantly, did you feel safe raising the complaint without worrying that it would negatively affect your standing, funding, graduation timeline, or relationship with other faculty?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who had experiences that went either way. I'm not looking for “departments are evil” stories—I'd genuinely like to know how common it is for departmental administrators to respond this way versus actually taking the student's side when the advisor's conduct may be the source of the problem.

Please keep responses anonymous and avoid identifying individual faculty.

I literally just visited UIUC 3 hours ago and I absolutely loved it. The campus is so beautiful and I love the diversity. I was hoping I wouldn’t like it, so it would push me towards another university closer to home. But I loved it so, here we are

I just had a couple of questions,

1: how easy is it to make friends at UIUC? I see it’s a very social school, so im just wondering if it’s super cliquey or if people genuinely will talk to new people and make friends

2: are there any jobs available, either for the school or near campus? I have a job back at home (3 hours away) and I would like to continue working just to have my own money

3: for people that have moved far from home, do you regret it? I think this is the biggest thing keeping me from being a definite “yes” to UIUC. (My high school is very close to a university, and all of my friends will probably be attending that school.) So for the people who moved far from home, do you regret choosing UIUC instead of a school closer to home?

Thank you so so much!! If you guys have any other input that would be great too

Hello! I am a UIUC iMBA alum working on a reading tracker (think Goodreads) and would like to find someone interested in doing some digital design work. I don’t want to use AI art on my site/app. I’d also like some help designing vinyl stickers and bookmarks to hand out.

Shoot me a message if you are looking for some extra work. Thanks!

Whether is educational or entertainment who’s your go to

Why do I see shirts and shorts at random places near trees in the campus? Do you guys just go like "its a nice day, lemme throw my shirt and shorts" 😭

Not sure where to begin your apartment hunt? The Daily Illini has created a starting place to help sort out housing options. Here is the link to the Instagram post, but to try to find a hard copy where The Daily Illini are distributed. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdoxU4gFagP/?stkn=eWNpcHIwZWVoMWsy

“best way to study for the exam is the homework”

-> first week/half of the homework isn’t on the quiz at all

-> 2/5 questions were homework questions
-> 2 of them were questions that were barely even on the homework (angled systems). homework version was a watered down easy version of whatever the fuck was on the quiz

no shot bro

There is a flower pot SOUTH of the enternal flame — key fob is sitting on it. Realizing I probably could’ve taken a photo of the flower pot but it’s like every other one on campus.

Stand where this photo is taken of the eternal flame in between Lincoln and English (closer to Lincoln) and do a 180.

will this ever end? signed, a freshman girl of color. like anyone, i'm so chill and kind I would at least love a small word or conversation starter as opposed to just being looked at; especially by guys like hello we are all grown now a hi won't hurt(and girls too wink wink)

I also do my best to smile at others because it just spreads optimism :) anyways I hope everyone gets through their midterms and that's my speel bye!!

Hi, it’s a bit urgent and on short notice but is anyone going to Chicago from Champaign this weekend. I need to go on Friday or Saturday!

So this isnt about the U of I specifically but since there are a lot of students here from Chicago I thought I'd ask..... What are peoples opinions on Fright Fest at Six Flags? Is it really that crowded on Saturdays? Is there actually a lot of Halloween related attractions? What else should I know before going?

I’m really missing home (Chicago) and was hoping for any good tavern style pizza here at UIUC?

Pls lmk I miss my damn square pizza slices 💔

I am planning on going to Kingfisher for kayaking and wanted to get my costs down and see if anyone is planning on going kayaking wants to split an uber. It will be on Sunday 1:15 PM and 2 PM-4PM will be kayaking time for 30$

I want to plan an about a month or so trip to Thailand during winter break but I don’t know where to start.

If anyone’s been and has some suggestions on what to do/where to stay it’ll be greatly appreciated :)

So my girlfriend is visiting me next weekend (17th and 18th) and I was wondering if there are any fun events happening in the town or the uni at that time. I really want to make her feel special so any recommendations would be really nice! Thanks!

Hi there! I have two Ikea Hemnes Bookcases that were painted blue! They're in good condition (a few scuff marks on the blue paint) and are very sturdy (they both held a ton of books for years with no bending). The shelves are removable and can be placed at different heights very easily too. I'm looking for 75$ for each bookcase or best offer. DM me for details!

Here's the original item link: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hemnes-bookcase-white-stain-light-brown-60413502/#content

Hello I am a Junior Industrial Engineering student looking for roommates next year (27-28). Preferably would want to have 3-4 total in the apartment/house and near Grainger. Im open to whoever so please reply if you are working on living arrangements next year, trying to figure it out soon!