If you have a regular housekeeper, what do *you* do

[Excelsior! Academy]

to keep house?

[KatieJ]

I had a housekeeper weekly or bi weekly for a while when I was taking in sewing professionally. 
It's easier to tell you what she did.  Thorough cleaning of both bathrooms and all rooms of the house.  She scoured the sinks, wiped out the microwave/fridge, change sheets on beds, etc.  I never had her do spring cleaning kind of things, like windows, cupboards, that was just not in the budget. 

I kept up the house daily with dishes, making beds, laundry, but left all that picky cleaning stuff for her to do weekly.

[bolt.]

We have a once-a-month house cleaning service -- today in fact!

 

Myself, I do the usual daily things: cooking, dishes, laundry, sweeping, light vacuuming, spot-cleaning hard floors, keeping things tidy and organized, deal with garbage, recycling, cat litter, and clear the snow... All that sort of stuff.

 

In between cleans, I truly clean the bathroom once, and I mop the hard floors all-over (not just spot cleaning) once or twice.

[Spryte]

Laze around eating bonbons that the kids bring me, of course.   :D

 

We have a weekly maid service.  For 2 reasons: my health tends to be on the precarious side (long, chronic history); and DS has severe allergies, and we want to keep our dogs (he is allergic to dogs, but it's one among many allergies).  But we had the maid service for the first reason even before the allergies, because DH takes the attitude that he would rather have me spend my *limited* energy on family time or homeschooling than on something like mopping floors or vacuuming.  Yes, I know that I'm lucky to have him.  

 

So what do I do?  Daily maintenance in kitchen and bathrooms, cooking, laundry, extra furniture care (weekly leather conditioning and monthly lemon oil on large pieces), and, for me, the hardest chore is pulling down and washing all curtains weekly in hot water, and rehanging (allergy issue, again).  Yard care, which we have worked hard to minimize (again, due to my health issues).  I'm sure there's other stuff, but that's what comes to mind.  

 

ETA: it really is easier to say what the maids do!  They scour/sanitize bathrooms, kitchen.  They do the floors.  Dust.  Change bed linens.  They vacuum the stairs.  They don't do spring cleaning or windows.  They don't do the fridge or the oven or inside cabinets.  HTH!

[SKL]

Not sure what "housekeeper" means.  I don't consider my maid service to be a "housekeeper," but maybe others would.

 

We pay for 6 hours of cleaning roughly 1x per month.  They sweep, wash hard floors, vacuum, dust, and clean the bathrooms.  If I ask them to concentrate on one particular area of yuck, they will do that.  I clean up before they arrive so that all the surfaces they clean are easy to get at.  :)

 

What do I do?  The same kitchen work as everyone else, minus one monthly floor washing; laundry; keeping after clutter; fridge, garbage, any spills etc.; bathroom cleaning between maid visits; organizing closets etc.; purging stuff that we no longer need; whatever else seems necessary between maid visits.

 

And work full time, take care of the kids, afterschool, manage the finances, volunteer, help family and friends out, occasional outdoor work, car maintenance, and every kind of errand that everyone else does.

[Happy]

Try to keep up.

 

One of the reasons we have a gal come in once a month is to keep us from getting too far behind. We try to keep everything tidy and picked up between her visits. Basically she does the floors and the bathrooms...and tidies the kitchen.

 

Like an above poster, we pick up a LOT before she gets here so she can do what she is asked to do. That helps us as much as her actual visit. :)

[Jackie]

Oh, I miss having someone come to clean for me. I've had weekly and biweekly service when I worked full time.

 

I did the daily/frequent things: laundry, dishes, straightening up and decluttering, quick wipe downs of the bathrooms, Swiffering, quick wipe downs in the kitchen, taking out the garbage.

 

Unlike Spryte's cleaner, mine did do spring cleaning, windows, ovens, etc. I negotiated however much time her regular cleaning took her plus an extra 30-60 minutes per visit, during which she would tackle a "project". Sometimes I had something in mind and sometimes she would choose something that needed done.

 

I really miss having someone clean for me.

[abba12]

we had someone come in once every week originally to take some of the burden off my husband while I suffered hyperemesis but we have decided to keep her on because I am legally blind and, frankly, she can get a lot more done, quicker and more thoroughly, than me. I'm also sensitive to chemicals so now dh doesn't need to do the bathroom etc.

 

she comes for 4 hours every second monday. she does the mopping, full vaccume of the whole house, full clean of the bathroom and toilet, the weekend pileup of handwashing dishes or standard ones we are behind on (we have a dishwasher but tend to get behind on weekends). she also mows the lawn, dusts, and periodically does the walls and windows. if she haa time she will do spring cleaning items like cleaning the fireplace after winter, getting behind the fridge, cupboard doors, curtains etc.

 

we do daily pickup and neatening, vaccume the lounge room more frequently, all cooking and laundry, any organizational or purging type jobs, spot cleaning toddler disasters, dishes and standard kitchen cleaning, other outdoor work, etc

 

my husband also thinks my time is more efficiently spent on children, cooking, schooling, health issues, and of course him. we really value being able to just sit and spend time together most evenings with all my work for the day done. yes, I am very lucky.

[FeFe]

We have cleaners come every other week. I spot clean the floors and vacuum as needed. Wipe down toilets and sinks almost daily. Daily kitchen maintenance and keep the inside of appliances clean (except the microwave-they clean that but of course I spot clean it too). They do all the deep cleaning and dusting.

 

We "pick up" so they can do their job. Honestly, my four kids are in school and it's takes me about at least an hour each day pick up after everyone, wipe down bathrooms, clean up breakfast and get laundry going. We're a messy bunch.

[NavyMommy]

I have someone come in 1-2 times a month (they're scheduled every 2 weeks but sometimes I have to cancel). It's a 2 person team and they're here for 2 hours. They take care of the deep cleaning, changing sheets, bathrooms, mopping, ect. 

 

In between I keep things picked up. Sweep on occasion (no pets and we're not really messy), and keep up with laundry and everything. I often feel guilty for this extra expense, but DH doesn't mind and we have an awesome rate and 2 wonderful people that come every week. I have my own business that I need to focus on during quiet time and in the evenings so it really takes a lot of stress off of me.

[craftyerin]

I have someone clean every other week.  I do as little as I can get away with in between. LOL 

 

Daily:

kitchen cleaning

wipe down bathroom surfaces (no scrubbing)

run a broom under table and bar for crumbs

laundry

 

As needed:

vacuum and other floor spot cleaning

potty bowl cleaning as needed (it's always needed in kids' bath in between visits from Linda, not always in mine)

 

I never touch appliances, tubs, or any dusting or scrubbing in between Linda visits.  I want it to be worth what I'm paying her, so I leave those tasks for her! 

 

[Amira]

I think it really depends on how often they come. I don't personally have a housekeeper, but all (every.single.one) of my American friends here do. If the housekeeper comes 2-3 times a week, they just keep up with the kitchen, maybe some general straightening on the off days if they have children, and maybe a little spot cleaning and laundry if absolutely necessary. If their housekeeper comes more often or lives in, they only do the cooking and cleaning they want to do, or what has to be done immediately if the housekeeper is busy with other things.

[LMV]

We usually have around sixteen hours of cleaning services weekly.  [usually two people for two four hour sessions a week.]  Our cleaners do mostly deep cleaning (wash windows, wash walls, deep steam upholstery &curtains, shampoo rugs, periodic polishing, etc).  We have a rotating schedule for these tasks but sometimes DH or I will adjust that a little.  We also have periodically done some deep clean tasks either to ensure the kids have exposure or due to convenience.  DH and I and our kids do daily and weekly cleaning plus laundry.

 

We have a large house, we have five kids still at home, I still work as a physician, DH works as an attorney, we cook from ingredients, we grow most of our own vegetables, and while we want (and to an extent need for DFD9's health) our home very clean and pleasant we just don't have the time to do all of the necessary deep cleaning without robbing time from somewhere else (like time with each other, more time with the kids, time for adequate exercise, and time for adequate sleep).  For us Sparkle Services is a very worthwhile financial investment. 

[Entropymama]

Some of your 'maids' sound wonderful! 

 

We had a cleaning service once per week right after a car accident when my back was so bad I couldn't do much. They did bathrooms, floors (vacuum, sweep, mop), dusting and they wiped down the kitchen. They refused to do dishes or windows and if we left a mess (toys on the floor, stuff out on counters) they would skip that area. They did a great job on the bathrooms and floors but it was irritating what they wouldn't do, especially since they charged almost $150 per week. We originally had thought we might keep them on just so I could get a break but they weren't worth the money. I'd rather hire a teenage girl to do dishes and laundry.