Exhausted caretaker carries mirror to skip (5)
I believe the answer is:
caper
'skip' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'exhausted caretaker carries mirror' is the wordplay.
'exhausted' means to remove the middle letters (the word is emptied out or exhausted).
'carries' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters carried inside).
'mirror' becomes 'ape' (both can mean to imitate or copy).
'caretaker' with its centre removed is 'cr'.
'cr' placed around 'ape' is 'CAPER'.
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for caper that I've seen before include "Skip/dance about" , "Frisk" , "Frolic - plant with edible buds" , "Frolic - edible flower bud" , "Frolic - bud used in cooking" .)