If you use cleaning services...? Lotsa questions!

[Theoretica]

How often do they come? How much do you pay? What square footage are they cleaning? What all do they do? Is it weird having someone come clean in your house? Do you stay while they are there or not? Do you clean before they come? How much 'clutter' do you personally struggle with anyways (if they didn't come) and does their coming help you stay on top of it?

I worked as a cleaning lady for a while and HATED it because the people would be home and REALLY snooty or leave 5 mile long notes of what to do and NOT to do. I've worked a lot of service jobs so now whenever someone comes in my house to repair appliances or phones or whatever I make them cookies and ice tea and feel really uncomfortable We had a guy mow our lawn for a while one year and it drove me nuts because I felt like he was doing me a favor so when he did it wrong (or had his 8yo kid do it for him ) I didn't have the guts to say anything. I'm kinda spineless apparently and have always had issues with needing to be extra nice to 'hired help' at the expense of my own satisfaction with a job well done, ykwim?

Anyways there's a thread in PaP that made me start thinking of this. If it's something we could ever afford I think I'd really like to look into it. I looked online and there's 'free estimates' but I have to give them my phone number and address and I'm just not that ready to commit to getting calls from them ykwim? So any info you can provide would be really helpful

TIA!

[pumpkin]

We used a service while our house was on the market. Now that it sold we are back to cleaning ourselves.

2 full bath, 2 half bath, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room and family room. We had them skip DHs office.

$170 every 2 weeks.

We were home because DH works from home. When DD was a few weeks old we would hang out in the guest bed while they cleaned around us. As she got older I preferred to leave. They did a better job if we weren't in the way.

[newbymom05]

I only did it once, $80 for an 1800 3/2 one story home, it was a lady and her sister and they were here 4 hrs. The first time the sister came, after that it would be $80 for just her. I picked up all the clutter and put out fresh sheets. They cleaned all the floors, bathrooms, changed the sheets and dusted the fans and surfaces. It didn't really affect my cleaning or clutter at all. I would have done far more if I had scheduled a play date.

As far as leaving, I took my 4.5 and 1.5 y/o and left and it was so inconvenient that I decided not to use her again. Plus, in my house, I'm not so concerned w/ deep cleaning as much as clutter, and that's all us, y/k? But it was super nice to have the sheets and floors done. A couple of weeks later she came by to tell me she'd do the house for $65, so I think most prices are negotiable.

[noobmom]

It REALLY depends on where you live. I'm in a very LCOL area and had two women come to clean my house for $45 every two weeks. We "pre-cleaned" the house and picked up everything. I even removed everything from the bathroom counters and whatnot. So what they did was bathrooms, vacuumed and mopped floors, and dusting. They cleaned the stove, counters, and sink in the kitchen. I keep those wiped down anyway, but they would scrub them to remove marks. It took 2 women about 1.5 hours. I know I paid very little compared to people in HCOL areas, but it was they asked for, plus a little as tip.

I was mostly home, but I would stay in out of their way in the office. Sometimes I would leave, but since they didn't have a key to the house I was always here to let them in. It was a little awkward to have someone clean my house when I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, but I have to say, my house was a lot neater! 1) because I was always "picking up" so they could clean and 2) because they did the floors much more frequently than I do.

[greenmansions]

I had a housecleaner while DH was in night school. We paid $70 every 2 weeks for about 1500 square feet for 2 people to clean - about 4 man hours. 2 BR, 2 Bath, hard floors with rugs. I was a crazy woman with tidying up before they came, mostly because they threw everything out that they found on the floor. Sippy cup under the couch? In the trash. Never mind puzzle pieces and legos, playmobil stuff etc. Jeepers! I have two young kids here! I dug through the trash after they left and every time found stuff that I had missed with the picking up. (Luckily the cleaners came on garbage day, so the only bag in the can outside was the one they dropped in with what they threw out.) At least I know they were thorough.

Most of the time I tried not to be home when they came, but when they had to change days on me I could no longer arrange to be out everytime so we were home more. I just tried to stay out of the rooms they were in, and kept the kids out of their way.

I learned that I am not the type for a housecleaner. Yes it was nice to have the entire house clean at the same time. They were really nice people. But they unintentionally damaged several things (actually quite a few things) because they did not know how to clean/use them the right way. Lord only knows how long it will take us to get around to fixing and/or replacing the stuff - some DH can do, some he can't and then it's more money. I'm not the type to leave a mile-long list of instructions, and I'm uncomfortable telling people what to do - I don't want to offend them. Plus they did not speak English and so the few things I tried to explain, weren't clear to them. I won't be getting a housecleaner again. I'd rather do it myself, even if it doesn't get done half the time.

[prone_to_wander]

We have a cleaner who comes in once a week and cleans our 700sf apartment for HKD$300 or about US$40. We live in Hong Kong. We do a quick tidy but she clean the bathroom, does the dishes, floors, laundry, ironing and dusting in 4 hours. I love having her. My DH works from home and she just works around him.

[akwifeandmomma]

I hired a gal off Craigslist. She's a SAHM who does housekeeping for extra income.

She comes in once a week and cleans both bathrooms, sweeps and mops the kitchen, dining, and entry floors, vacuums the stairs (I HATE the stairs! And we have 18 or something! ) and changes the sheets on all 4 beds. I list out a few extra chores for her to tackle if time permits. Last week she did my microwave and stovetop, this coming week I'm going to see if she has time to clean off the top of the fridge and clean all of the glass surfaces... sometimes she dusts, etc., etc.

I pay $50/wk for 2.5 hours of cleaning. 2300 sq.ft. house, 4 bedrooms. Worth EVERY penny.

Oh, and we're always home. I run a small in-home daycare. We just move up or downstairs, depending on where she's needing to be. I am a bit of a neat freak and hate clutter, so my house is pretty surface clean and tidy most of the time. She just makes it sparkle and keeps everything REALLY clean, so I don't have to worry about it. I make sure everything is ready before she gets here - clean sheets in the closet for the kids, my clean sheets out on the bed ready for her to change them, everything picked up and put away in the areas she'll be cleaning. I move the chairs out of the dining room, too, just to save time, we have a big table and 8 chairs.

[joyluc]

We use Merry Maids every four weeks and it is about $180 for two people for about four hours to do a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath house. They do the floors (I HATE FLOORS), bathrooms, dusting, and kitchen. It isn't perfect but I love coming home that day to a totally clean house that I didn't have to clean . We chose Merry Maids because they take care of the taxes and bonding. Because of that we give them a key and they come while we are at work. A couple of times my DS was here last summer when they came and they just worked around him. They walked through the house with me the first time to ask me what I wanted and have been good about following directions. We do tidy the night before which my DH thinks is crazy 'we have to clean now because the cleaning people are coming' but it is the only time of the month all his stuff is away so I don't care.

[Theoretica]

This is great info, thanks so much!

[SuzyLee]

I will answer for my parents (although I don't know exactly what they pay). They have someone every other week, and the person does a list of core stuff (master bath, half bath, kitchen, 1st floor mopp/vac. Then my parents pick one extra thing for each time- like polish the kitchen floor (vs. just a regular mopping) or steam clean a carpet, or whatever. It works well for them bc. they live alone in a big house, so not all the house needs cleaning- they never use certain rooms unless the kids come home over a holiday.

They had problems with one lady- she kept bringing her grandkids with her. They only knew this bc they have nosy neighbors who kept an eye on the house (they came while my parents worked durign teh day). This correlated with a bad job cleaning, plus my parents didn't want the liability of several small kids in their house while the lady cleaned. So they asked the service (a small local company) to not send that lady every again, and they haven't had any other problems.

[*bejeweled*]

[annekevdbroek]

I have two ladies who come once a week for $90. They are here for about 4 hours. I am usually gone all or some of that time. I'd be out of the house, either way. I don't worry much about being home or not. They have a key. I trust them. I've had house cleaners on and off, mostly on, for the past 10 years and at this point I no longer worry about bring in the house or not when they are here. I really like the women who come and they enjoy the kids and are very friendly.

Anyhow, $90 per week. They do all the usual stuff like floors and bathrooms. They also change and wash all the household linens. They fold all the clothing that I've washed the night before. If they have time and I haven't finished the clothing they will wash that too. They are even good about things that require special care (like wool sweaters). They empty and clean out the inside of the fridge every week. They move the furniture and dust and clean behind the beds and such. If I am out they often will sweep out the garage and/or back patio.

Did I mention they are totally AWESOME?

I've had good and not-good cleaners. The current ladies are by far the best. I pay them to come when I am on vacation and they do special projects like clean out all the kitchen cabinets.

I pick-up all the toys and any clutter before they arrive. I am pertty clutter-free as it is, but I want them to CLEAN, not pick-up, so I make sure to do it myself.

[olien]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

How often do they come? every week
How much do you pay? $35 for a base price which covers 3rooms. Then its $10per room extra. I love this bec you can have her do it all or only 3 rooms if you want. The affordability & flexibility is great!
What square footage are they cleaning? Its by room
What all do they do? this lady does not do windows. she cleans all surfaces/floors/mirrors/doors/cabinets/inside microwave/outside of appliances/stairs.
Is it weird having someone come clean in your house? yes, very
Do you stay while they are there or not? absolutely!
Do you clean before they come? clean - no. put away all of our messes - yes
How much 'clutter' do you personally struggle with anyways (if they didn't come) and does their coming help you stay on top of it? I feel like it is overtaking us & YES is does force me to stay on top of it.

BTW, I have had other services that charged around $90-95. We have kit, very sm DR, sm LR, PR, 2 full BR & 3 Bed R & 2dogs