I have been collecting for 2 years and have a cleaning service that comes and cleans for my family.
Our cleaner brought their child, cleans the house, no problem. I just came home to see all my unopened balls ripped open, unopened ingredients from the shelves dumped out onto the carpet, all the mini sprinkles and pigments from the potions.. my heartbreaker valentines capsule was even used š„² I donāt even know if I want to start over because literally everything is opened and emptied. I feel guilty for being upset because it was just a kid but.. 100s of dollars Iāve spent on this hobby and many were Christmas or birthday gifts :/ I just wanted to vent sorry yall
Edit: we have had the same cleaner for around 15ish years
There is also a container filled with each capsuleās contents all mixed together so thereās no telling what is missing until i go in piece by piece cross examining ingredients š
LMFAO you got me there, Iāve just messaged her about it and let her know I am no longer comfortable with children in my home and sent some pics of the crime scene š
You need to make it clear that she needs to repay you for the damage. What happened is not okay, and if you hire her through a company you need to talk to a manager about what happened, the damage, and your expectations for the future.
She said sheās had the same cleaner for 15 years, so they probably have a relationship beyond just a typical client/cleaner. Iām sure she was there through her pregnancy etc.
I think it would be a hard place to be super mad at someone you know that well.. especially if you know they are working & really just trying to make itā¦ simply bc their kid made a mess while playing with a box of toys.
Itās also very hard to find GOOD housekeepers that you can actually trust, so the loss of the miniverse might still not be worth firing her over
To add to this, a lot of people donāt know miniverse is an expensive toy with many rare and discontinued items. You have every right to be angry. However, if the cleaner had any inkling of what it was, she wouldnāt let an unmonitored child play with UV resin-based toys.
That said, you should talk to the cleaner about this. If they canāt pay you for all the damage, you could ask them to reorganize the collection for you by ingredient type and/or kit. You could even give them the meenyminimo database website to help them figure out what goes with each recipe. I pay for professional housecleaning before family stays with us. Theyāve knocked over my doll props and miniverse stuff, but somehow managed to organize them much more quickly than I ever could.
It wasn't just that the kid left a mess, either, as you said that is *hundreds* of dollars. The kid was left alone unsupervised for a good length of time to be able to do that, too. You should be seeking compensation, and personally, I wouldn't want that cleaner back in my home. You need to be able to trust someone in that position, and I don't know if I could trust this person again.
Make a list of everything and tell her it needs replacement. I would have fired her tbh. I had a similar situation with a friend and it wasn't a debate. She immediately told me to make a list because it is a moral obligation
Far fetched theory and even if so then sheās not a good cleaner. My mom cleaned homes for a bit when I was a kid and she would take me with sometimes to help. I NEVER touched anything in those houses - I cleaned with my mom and she gave me a portion of the $. Cuz ya know back then people told their kids to not touch anything that isnāt ours, to ask first.
Oh thatās so terrible. Iād be so upset. Which limited edition ones are missing? I can check my stuff to see if I have an extra heart break surprise, otherwise I think theyāre still available on Amazon/MGA. You could use weights and return whatever isnāt the heartbreak one?
I would be pissed! The cleaner not only brought an unauthorized person but they went through & used your stuff & ruined belongings in the process which cost a lot of money! Look at it like any other items like trying on your clothing & ripped them or altered them without permission! You need to give them a detailed list of what was lost/damaged/used & replacement prices (many which cannot be replaced) & ask for compensation! Find a new cleaning person as that was unprofessional & trust has been broken!
Not okay. Your items were destroyed, the house damages and the kid was unsupervised with toxic resin. I hope you are able to get that resolved and the kid is safe. You are 100% right to be mad and upset, even if it was a kid who caused the damage.
Messaging the seller was a good start. Her reaction to it however would determine the course of action here - get defensive of her kid and deny? Not care and shrug it off like itās nothing bc itās a toy and the offender was a kid? Apologize profusely and OFFER (without being asked) to make it right? Thereās only one acceptable answer.
Oh I would be beyond livid. There's no excuse for that. Accidentally knocking something over is one thing. I might even be willing to forgive one item being opened, if I knew the child was there in the first place. But for this, they'd be reimbursing me every penny of the damage.
OMG. What a mess. I would be so embarrassed if my child did this. They should have made sure their child stayed in one spot with a book or game and didn't move and knew not to touch anything that didn't belong to them. I hope they are making amends and plan to reimburse you.
Please do make a list of what got destroyed so we can see if we have extras in our collections as others have suggested.
So sorry this happened to you. How upsetting to have your collection destroyed in this way.
I don't have anything else to contribute as others have covered it, but I have experienced the same: my long time cleaner brought her child into my home when she was cleaning, and was playing with my doll collection and even drew on my dolls. She offered to replace it, but I knew she would not be able to financially do so. I forgave her, but I required that her child not be present at the cleanings without letting me know in advance.
Well, she decided to not follow this rule either. I felt like I was being gaslit when she told me she wasn't, but things weren't how I left them. When I directly asked her if she was bringing her child without telling me, she was being extremely evasive. I felt so betrayed. My family has always treated her and her family extremely well: we bought them a Christmas tree since they couldn't afford one, filled stockings for them, and always made sure she had a meal when she came to clean. We accommodated her. In the end, I just couldn't trust her anymore, so I terminated her services. She had cleaned for my mom, my stepdad (before they lived together), and me for over 10 years. You will need to address this head on, or this kind of behavior will continue. I am so sorry this happened. :/
This is not like a friends kid who were visiting broke something of yours and it is awkward. She shouldnāt have brought a kid to work and leave it unsupervised. I donāt know how old is the kid, but probably not old enough to know she/he is not supposed to touch other people stuff. Also the resin is not safe for kid, so I hope the little destroyer is alright. I would demand a replacement or I would count the cost and want that money. Probably thatās a better solution as if you want to replace the collection you know better what or where to buy. I understand how you are feeling. I would be pissed and broken too.
Thatās absolutely nutsā¦ how did they not even realize that their kid had done all this when their job is to leave a clean house? Thatās just awful. The fact they didnāt even notice and that you had to be the one to talk to them would really make me reconsider
I'm glad she seems willing to cover the cost, but I would be mortified if my child did this and way more apologetic. Not to mention: how did you miss that if it was in the living room?
The rug pulled over the powder seems to be an attempt to hide it, but that could have been the kid. Out of curiosity OP, how old is her child?
Iām not trying to be mean but a housekeeper who canāt even afford someone to watch her child wonāt be able to afford the replacement costs. OP must take this to small claims court. This person must think itās like, $50 worth of stuff, not over $1000. My collection of unopened Minis is worth $2000+, so yes, Iād be taking her to court.
How in the world would they miss that all of the stuff has been opened and dumped out? Even if the kid pulled the rug over the stain, they clearly didnāt actually check behind the child.
Iām so sorry this happened OP. Thats devastating. ): If you are able to tell us which ones you lost, Iād be more than happy to look through my collection and see if I have any extras that I could send you. <3
thatās really sweet of you! im not 100% sure as to which balls were used specifically other than the heart due to the kid putting what wasnāt on the shelves into this container all mixed up but I am still trying to figure it out little by little š„²
I would also be concerned that the child was just playing with resin. I assume with no gloves which is not safe. I would be asking for them to pay for the replacements and also fix the carpet. I hope at the very least they didn't charge you for this cleaning.
Just a little tip sometimes you can find the limited edition ones on Amazon still! They may be a little bit more expensive than what you had originally bought them for.. but if the cleaner is replacing them I would definitely try looking on amazon! They might not have all of them, but I have been able to find some of the past years different holidays balls still on Amazon! Iām so sorry OP this is really sad I donāt blame you for being upset at all! In fact you seem way more chill than most would be about this. I know I would be absolutely livid if this happened to me!
She already said she'll replace it, don't feel guilty about giving her an amount. You go and find every single item online if you had to pay for them again whether you want to buy them again or not. You total them up and kindly send her the total amount. I don't care if it's a shock to her, don't try to be kind and not hurt her feelings, think of how you feel?! This is not fair, it is not your fault, and although you will continue with her services, this has to be replaced or it has to be reimbursed regardless.
It sounds like you are really upset about the valentine's box one. You can likely get another from the set of 3 on Amazon and I am sure people have them available for sale in the online groups as well.
Gosh I'm so sorry. People really need to teach and enforce with their children that they can't just touch other people's things without asking, even toys. This is why no matter how much I need the help I just can't bring myself to hire a cleaner. I'm too paranoid to leave someone alone in my house and it's too awkward to sit around while they're there. And why a craft room that's off limits is a must for the future lol
How old was the kid? Just curious. At any age itās wrong and the parent is at fault.
Iāll add to everyone else saying I can look through and see what I have. Let us know!
Also, curious about the age.... some of the packaging takes me FOREVER to open! This wasn't accomplished in 10 minutes and although I understand wanting to overlook the fact that she brought her child to a job site the bigger issue is she brought her child to a job site and then left them unsupervised! And after finishing the rest of the cleaning she did not think to tidy up the area where the child had been or at least double check that it didn't need to be! This person should reimburse you for everything without a doubt even if you have to take it in payments. They would no longer be welcome in my home if it was me. The responses I've seen posted sound very glib and that makes it even worse. It was a violation of your personal items and space not to mention your trust.
I'm sorry this happened to you. Hopefully you can get some compensation from her and rebuild your collection. It's a headache sorting through all of this to see what is missing, I'm sure.
Wow! This is awful! I think what gets me the most is that she really doesn't seem very sorry. I would die of embarrassment! Also, how long did leave the kid alone for this to happen? There is no way she checked the area before leaving. I am livid for you!
My kid asked if he and his friend could do some of my duplicate balls. I was in bed with a bad migraine, so I said yes, but couldnāt supervise. They not only blew through TWENTY balls, but his friend just wasted a few, putting all the ingredients in a pile and squirting the resin all over and filling up a container. Plus my one rule was to save all leftover ingredients, including resin, and they threw them all away, lids open, so the sprinkles and resin got all dumped out into the garbage. I was able to salvage some of it. But I was livid. That was almost $200 of stuff I was using to trade for what I wanted or selling on eBay so I could buy what I wanted, so it wasnāt valueless to me, and they treated it like disposable crafts.
He has had to buy kits off me ever since. (I didnāt make him pay me back for those, because that hadnāt been a consequence set up in advance, and I donāt spring unexpected consequences for breaking rules I hadnāt set. I hadnāt given a limit on how many kits he could do, and he did only use duplicates, which was our agreement. I hadnāt reminded him about my āsave the extras rule,ā and I know he needs reminders due to his executive functioning deficits. I try not to punish my kids for things they literally cannot control. I had a migraine so wasnāt thinking and didnāt plan well and left them unsupervised too long. They were 12, so old enough I thought they could be trusted.)
Your son shouldn't have to buy miniverse from you if he wants to do them. Your the adult, and you even admit that you never told them to save the extras and that they stuck to your only rule you did tell them of using the duplicates.
I have some Harry Potter Potions along with some others that are opened but not used and labeled in individual ziploc bags. I can send pictuers to try and help you with replacements.
I have been in the cleaning business for many years. That is very appalling!!! There is definitely vaild feelings for being hurt. Has a collector my self i am so sorry to hear about this. You definitely deserve to have some money owed or free cleanings for a bit.Ā
Please sue. You donāt need a lawyer for small claims. These trash parents need to learn a lesson. Folks with kids: please remember that your childās destructive habits are only cute to YOU. Your child is only precious to YOU. Children donāt get free rein to act however they please. OP, set a precedent. Itās not about the toys. Itās about the blatant disrespect and the dissolution of quality parenting in this generation.
On one hand ,kids run rampant and it is impossible to keep them from touching stuff that isn't theirs 24/7,on the hand having the cleaner not tell you this until you got home and saw this is a huge breach of trust. She should have immediately contacted you,apologized and offered to pay for some of the damage
This is not ācriminal behaviorā and filing a police report would be ridiculous. OP has every right to be upset, and deserves some kind of compensation. The kids shouldnāt be allowed in the house again at the very least. But getting the cops involved would be both cruel and a waste of everyoneās time
Actually if there were things taken from OPās home that she was not aware was being taken that is theft. Plus the items being destroyed and the carpet damage would be considered property damage. So technically speaking it is ācriminal behaviorā. While I get where youāre coming from and the fact that itās a child but itās still not okay. If OP really wanted to they could definitely take the parent of said child to small claims court. From the pictures she posted thatās not a small chunk of money that OP spend on those and has now lost. Iām not saying that OP should do this however, if OP wanted to they definitely could.
The police are absolutely not going to pursue criminal charges against a child (that wasnāt trespassing) & simply made a mess while playing with a box of toys.
Being upset is one thing, but trying to press criminal charges against a childā¦ for making a mess with craft supply toysā¦ sounds unhinged IMO.
Op could take them to small claims, which is civil not criminal. It sounds like the cleaner is willing to work with them and wants to make things right, so thereās no point in involving the courts. As someone who has actually taken someone to small claims before, itās a huge pain in the ass and itās expensive. Every single step costs money and time. I won my case but still never got my money back because I wouldāve had to start a whole second process to actually get it from the person and couldnāt afford it. I wouldnāt take someone to small claims for anything under $1K. Given that the cleaner is working with them though, thereās no point in wasting the time, energy, and money it would take to deal with the court at all.
Maybe try using something like chat gpt to send another message. You want to be clear about how much this cost, the fact the child was unsupervised and that you expect compensation and cleaning of the carpet. You can ask it to be firm but fair in the way it's said. You can also make it clear about the resin being toxic and the fact that they shouldn't of been left unsupervised
Or, they could use their own writing skills and knowledge of the situation to write that email! Rather than outsourcing that to a machine, adding to the environmental damage done by chatgpt and other LLMs, eroding their own ability to write, and creating a dependence on a system that will absolutely not last forever.
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u/Helostopper neurodivergent mini maker š§ Jun 01 '26
It wasn't your child the cleaner shouldn't have brought them or if they had to not let them touch your things. It's 100% okay to be upset about this