House Cleaners

[Night Elf]

How do I find a person to clean my house? I don't want a maid service because they send out a crew and expect to clean the whole house. The ones I've looked at want to know the square  footage of my house. All I really want is someone to clean my two bathrooms, surface clean the kitchen and sweep the upstairs. I can do all of that in under an hour but I don't want to do it because work just makes me tired and I have zero motivation to do chores. I don't mind laundry but DH usually starts it when he gets home and then we work on it together when I get home and it finishes. But the bathrooms and kitchen are just too much for me to contemplate. Today is my day off and I've had all day to clean the bathrooms and frankly, I just don't want to do it. So... how do I find someone who is working on her own and not part of a maid service? I tried Angie's List and didn't put in all of my information because it said I matched 3 services so I'm assuming it meant these companies in my area. Do you think one of the matches on Angie's List is a person? I thought about trying Home Adviser but I'm assuming they match companies as well.

[freesia]

Have you called the agencies?  I find it strange they only do the whole house.  I’m pretty sure they’ll do whatever you want.

I know your kids are older now, but if you have contacts with folks on a homeschooling list, you might be able to see if a teen or mom would like the extra cash.

[lexi]

We have a maid service come. They have the ability to create a custom clean where they only clean certain rooms. If I only wanted kitchens and bathrooms they would put together a plan and create an estimate. I would think most companies would be flexible and work with you on this. 

[linders]

I recently arranged for a maid through a small company and the owner was happy to make a list of do this-don't bother with that. And the first few times our lovely lady has come, she has been happy to modify the list as we fine-tuned what mattered to me.

[SKL]

Can you ask around and see if any of your friends / acquaintances has a maid who is not working through a service?  Maybe they could make a recommendation.

Also I think it wouldn't hurt to call a maid service and describe exactly what you need.  They may have some ex-employees who have moved on but would do that kind of light job for a few extra bucks.  Or they might be able to refer you to another service that would customize better to your needs.

[Ailaena]

Individual cleaners often advertise on Craigslist here, but I hired a service and told them I only want kitchens and bathrooms.  They sent somebody out to look, decided to charge me the minimum fee, and I had a (partially) clean house every two weeks

[Annie G]

I would ask around at your church. There might be someone who does that or who might need some extra income right now.  You don’t need a pro, you need someone who is reliable and trustworthy. If you can help out a church member that would just be a plus. Even a college student would work.  You could ask in the office if they know anyone or if they have a network to advertise your need. 

[Night Elf]

Ok thanks. I didn't think to check my church. I'll phone them in the morning. I'll also call a couple of agencies and see what they say. Failing that, I'll go to Craigslist but I must admit I'm a little leery of Craigslist. I've heard so many bad stories. With my luck, I'd get someone here that will case my house.

[Guest]

You can find an individual on, I think it is Care.com. 

I did used to clean houses for a job. I wasn’t a team, but I did clean the entire house. I never had anyone hire me to just clean bathrooms. There’s a good chance I wouldn’t have agreed to a job like this, because it puts my reputation on the line. If your friend comes over, for instance, and she thinks to herself, “well, Night Elf’s bathroom looks clean, but her floors are dirty and I see big dust bunnies hanging on her light fixtures...she certainly doesn’t have a very good cleaning lady!” I would be concerned that my name is attached to inferior cleaning jobs. 

Also, it wouldn’t have been to my benefit to go work in someone’s house for only an hour, say. I cleaned big houses (most were 3200-4200 sq ft.) and I would have 4-5 hours of work, which made it worth the effort of booking my day, packing my tools into the car, and driving to the home. 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

On the other hand, if I’ve got a few 5 hour jobs, I’m not going to schedule another 3-4 hour house on top of that and a 1-2 hr house would be nice to finish off the day.

Maybe, if the second house wasn’t far from the first. IME, five hours of very physical cleaning work was about the limits of my physical ability. I’m sure there are more energetic people, though, who could do that. 

[J-rap]

I've used them occasionally, and have done it a couple different ways.  I'll look on Groupon...  They often have anywhere from 25-50% off specials, and you can usually hire them for either two or four hours, requesting whichever rooms you want.

Or, I look for an individual by word of mouth, or who advertises in my local newspaper, on the grocery store bulletin board, etc.  (But then we live in a small town.)  Usually individuals will be more flexible and just be there for as long or as little as you like.  I've also heard that care.com is a good place to find individuals.