House Cleaners - having someone come and clean for you

[blessed3x]

I have broken down and admitted that I need help with the house cleaning.  :ohmy:

My house is what I like to call 'surface clean', where I can keep up with dishes, laundry, vacuuming and such but the *deep* cleaning does not get done as often as it should or as I would like. Bathrooms? Good dusting?   You get the idea.

 

So, a homeschool mom has posted that she is available for cleaning houses. Yea! Helping our community, and I get my house cleaned. Win-win to me.   :hurray:

 

My question:  What would you ask to be done? How often?

 

She is coming over Monday afternoon to give me an estimate and for us to talk. She is also bringing references, though I do know of her from mutual friends.  I am thinking of asking her to come 2x per month, but also do spring and fall deeper cleanings. Other than general cleaning, floors, bathrooms, dusting and baseboards, what would you specifically ask her to do?

 

 

[saraha]

I cleaned houses when I only had a couple of kids.  I had a set list every week, like floors, dust, bathrooms and baseboards, then they would leave one extra task for me to do. Sometimes the task was broken up over more than one visit.  For example, take all curtains down and run through fluff cycle.  That would take longer than my work day at a particular house, so I might do downstairs one week, upstairs next.   Another might be washing windows, same thing.  Or washing walls, or wiping out cabinets.  Sometimes if there was something big they wanted done, we would agree on what normal task I would drop to accommodate.  These conversations are had in advance, and a lot of times by note.

For example,

Dear Sarah,

This week do the usual, and can you straighten the pantry?  Kids put groceries away wherever.  Just tidy and organize.

Thanks!

 

Or

Dear Sarah,

Next week, instead of doing the usual, can you pull up all the rugs and hang them outside and clean under where they were and do the bathrooms?

Thanks!

 

Does that help?

[blessed3x]

Yes, thank you! 

[AlmiraGulch]

I have house cleaners come every other week.  (They'll be here in about an hour, as a matter of fact!)

 

They do all of "normal" cleaning every time they're here.  So, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning vents, mopping floors, bathrooms, kitchen, etc...You know...the normal stuff.  They also change linens if I leave clean ones for them (which I always do).  

 

Sometimes I need them to do something extra, so I'll call the owner of the place I use (it's a small, family owned business) and request the extra.  By extra, I might mean, like Sarah said, straightening out the pantry, or doing the windows in one part of the house, or cleaning the oven.  Sometimes they charge extra and sometimes they don't.  It just depends on what I want done. 

 

Also, I should mention that they started with a deep clean so that every week now all they're really doing is maintaining.  I have them do the deep clean twice per year.  In fact, I'm due for one soon.

 

It's invaluable to me.  Every once in a while my husband gets on a "we can clean it ourselves" kick, to which I reply yes, we can, but I have other things to do with my time and I happen to be able to afford it. If either of those things change, then no more house cleaners.  I also am much happier with them coming, which makes for a happier household entirely.  

[Moxie]

What does the deep cleaning look like?

[AlmiraGulch]

For me, it meant that they cleaned the blinds (not just dusted them, which they do every week, but actually washed them), scrubbed the baseboards, washed out the insides of my cabinets and fridge, cleaned the oven, did the tops of the fridge and kitchen cabinets, cleaned the insides of the the windows.....really quite thorough.

[Jan in SC]

When my children were younger, I had someone come every week. She did the usual cleaning- bathrooms, vacuum, mopping, changed linens, dusted, etc... That way when I had some free time, I could work on the projects that needed extra attention- the refrigerator, polishing silver, baseboards, etc...

[Happy]

What I want each month (oh, to have her come more than once a month!) is for the floors, bathrooms, and kitchen cleaned. She also dusts and tidies.

 

[VeganCupcake]

I have someone come weekly and in addition to the regular stuff, she does an extra project most times, like taking down two sets of blinds and washing them, or washing one or two windows or patio doors, or dusting my ceiling fans, or washing the outside of my cabinets, or something like that.

[Spryte]

We have weekly cleaners. They do the basics, which here include some things listed above as extras (ceiling fans, etc). Also, they change linens, and vacuum under the couch cushions. We kind of laugh because they even ruffle our tissue boxes and do origami with the toilet paper ends. :)

 

I do bigger projects - oven cleaning, fridge, organizing, and they do the daily stuff. They'd probably do it, if I asked. In fact, I might ask.

 

I usually tip whoever comes. I like to think they can leave here and grab lunch.

 

They do a great job! Once every month or so, their boss checks in or comes along to help.

 

ETA: they also put leather conditioner on our couches. :)

[briansmama]

Ours come biweekly and they have the same list each week:

Change linens on all beds

Bathrooms/Kitchen

Sweep/mop/oil/vacuum all floors

Dust, including ceiling fans

Glass cleaning

Clean all surfaces

Trash

 

Sometimes I pay them to stay an extra hour to do one or more of the following:

Baseboards

Clean fridge/oven

Ceiling fans (deeper cleaning)

More windows than glass sliders/mirrors

Steam clean carpets

 

There is no way I'd have time to keep our house as clean without their service. We love how clean our house is. Once they come it sets the tone and it's easier to keep up with maintaining until the next time they clean.

 

Enjoy it!

[prairiewindmomma]

On the super deep cleaning....cleaning the light fixtures, having the drapery cleaned, wiping out the cabinets/drawers, conditioning the woodwork, etc.

[blessed3x]

These are exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks, Hive!!

[Jackie]

When I had someone coming regularly, we actually decided that for the first few visits, I would continue with all the "surface cleaning" I normally did and she would do only deep cleaning. Then when the house had been thoroughly deep cleaned, it was ready for her to take over the regular cleaning, usually adding one special task per visit so that the deep cleaning never again had to be done in a big 10-15 hour go again.

 

I'll be honest enough to say I don't even know what deep cleaning really consists of. She had a lot of experience and I just let her go to it. I did notice that my utensil drawer was no longer full of crumbs, the inside of my dishwasher no longer looked scummy, and the cobwebs all disappeared. In fact, I think she washed my walls entirely. And I know there were a few things hauled outside to be washed down thoroughly. I tried not to pay too much attention so I could go on living in my denial and believing my house had always been "clean".

[skeeterbug]

I've never had my house cleaned by someone, so can I ask a question? What do you do while they are cleaning? Every time I try to imagine someone cleaning my house I picture myself guiltily standing nearby wringing my hands. :D

[Isabella]

My dd has a housekeeping business, which I help her with sometimes. Most of her clients are not there when she comes (she has a key), and the ones that are might do stuff in their office/garden, chat on the phone...all sorts.  We don't really take much notice!  There is only one or two that are a nuisance and like to chat a lot, or want you to come have a look at something.  Of course, we are polite and talk to them, and go see whatever it is etc, but we don't want to appear to stop work either.  So we continue cleaning, while trying to be polite and interested! ;)

[DawnM]

I am thinking of making a large list of these sorts of "duties" and attaching extra $$ to them for the kids!

 

Windows cleaning inside and out

Spider webs cleaned off on front porch (and any inside)

Baseboards and chair rails dusted/sprayed with wood cleaner

mopping

etc.....

 

My boys are old enough to do them and I don't mind paying them well for a job well done (and it will most likely still be cheaper than a cleaning lady.)

 

I hired a woman ONCE here in this home and it was $100.  I could probably squeeze a lot out of the boys for $200/mo!  

 

 

[Sherri in MI]

Yay!  Congratulations!  I would hire a professional organizer and a housecleaner if I could!    I've only hired someone to clean the house twice:  once before my wedding and once years later to get ready for Christmas.  The first person was great, the second person not so much.  They spent a lot of time and didn't get much done.  I also used to clean houses eons ago.  Each customer was different.  All of them wanted bathrooms, dusting and vacuuming & kitchen wiped down.  The kitchens were usually already clean.  Surprisingly no one asked me to mop the floors!  I would so have someone mop my floors.  One woman had me oil her butcher block.  Someone else had me do their laundry.

 

Definitely agree about what tasks you want done and how long you expect it to take, including the cleaner's input on that.  Do you want them to declutter as well as clean or just to clean?  Definitely I would ask them to clean the bathrooms, dust & vacuum, sweep/vacuum floors and wash the floors, wipe down kitchen cabinets, clean frig, dust near the ceilings.  Distinguish between weekly duties & special/seasonal projects you'd like done.  Projects would be extra or else swapped out for their regular duties.

 

Enjoy!

 

Each