If you have someone clean your house

[mom2happy]

How much do they charge?
How often do they come?
What do they do?

[leafwood]

they come once a week and charge $70 (cash). we live in a 1600 sq ft, 3 bed, 2 bath split-level house and we have a med size dog.

they straighten up, dust, do floors (vacuum rug downstairs, vaccuum area rugs upstairs, vacuum hardwoods, tile in entryway and tile in bathrooms and then mop those areas...they also move the couches to mop and vacuum).

clean kitchen (stovetop, microwave, counters, sink, outside of fridge and oven).

clean bathrooms (tubs, shower walls, sinks, mirrors, counter tops)

every other week they change bedding and wash and fold and put away the used sheets. on the off week they make beds

take out all garbage/recycling

we started having someone come in when i was pregnant w/ #2 and working and it was just too much for us to keep up with.

[cappuccinosmom]

My parents have a housekeeper (and living here, I am getting so spoiled! )

She comes 2x a week. Works 3 hours each time, and gets $100/week. So about $16/hr, not bad for around here.

She tears through the house. She's got the business of housecleaning totally figured out.

What she does:
-kitchen cleaning/dishes if there's any to be done
-floors (vacuum, mop. My parents provide her with whatever model of vacuum she asks for to make the work more efficient, because they love her and want her to keep coming. )
-bathrooms (2 full, 1 half)
-straighten and tidy living areas. We're all technically supposed to do our own bedrooms, but if she's in there cleaning floors or dusting, she'll also tidy.
-organization/putting away stuff. We all know that if we leave something sitting out for 2 weeks in a row, it'll be "put away" and only the housecleaner will know where she put it away to.
-extra days or extra deep cleaning upon request.

There is something about the way she cleans, it seems to last longer. All the things she does, we could all easily do. But when we clean, it just doesn't look like it looks when she cleans, and it doesn't last more than 5 minutes. The way she does it, everybody takes a little more care because it's embarassing to be the one to sully the beauty of her work with mess.

[just_lily]

I don't have a cleaner on a regular basis, but did hire someone from my church to help me out before my wedding (we had a backyard reception). She charged $35 an hour and would have done whatever I asked her to. I just left her a list - she did the bathrooms, floors, baseboards, etc.

[kindchen]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

My parents have a housekeeper (and living here, I am getting so spoiled! )

She comes 2x a week. Works 3 hours each time, and gets $100/week. So about $16/hr, not bad for around here.

She tears through the house. She's got the business of housecleaning totally figured out.

What she does:
-kitchen cleaning/dishes if there's any to be done
-floors (vacuum, mop. My parents provide her with whatever model of vacuum she asks for to make the work more efficient, because they love her and want her to keep coming. )
-bathrooms (2 full, 1 half)
-straighten and tidy living areas. We're all technically supposed to do our own bedrooms, but if she's in there cleaning floors or dusting, she'll also tidy.
-organization/putting away stuff. We all know that if we leave something sitting out for 2 weeks in a row, it'll be "put away" and only the housecleaner will know where she put it away to.
-extra days or extra deep cleaning upon request.

There is something about the way she cleans, it seems to last longer. All the things she does, we could all easily do. But when we clean, it just doesn't look like it looks when she cleans, and it doesn't last more than 5 minutes. The way she does it, everybody takes a little more care because it's embarassing to be the one to sully the beauty of her work with mess.

This sounds so wonderful to me! I want someone to come tidy my house. I feel like ads that I see on Craigslist never ever list things like tidying or laundry or dishes. They advertise the fact that they do baseboards and windows or clean with toothbrushes or something, but all I want is for someone to do my dishes and pick up a few toys.

[marrymeflyfree]

We went through Molly Maids and I just couldn't be happier with them. Two cleaners come every two weeks, and they charge $118 for our 2700sq ft home (minus two bedrooms that get little use). They do all of the typical things; dusting, vacuuming, baseboards, bath tubs and toilets, etc, etc. The extra touches are great; they always manage to artfully arrange the clutter on my half of the bathroom counter as well as the mass of stuffed animals in the girls' room, etc. I try to declutter before they come, but I did leave a mess of dishes in the sink on a very bad day. To my surprise, they washed, dried, and put them away for me! Hiring them seemed extravagant to me at first, but I've definitely changed my mind about that.

[mooshersmama]

They come every other Monday and we pay $60.00 per visit. We have a small 2br/1ba condo. They do everything - clean the kitchen, including inside the fridge, mop, vacuum, under the beds, bathroom, take out trash, dust, etc.

[tea_time]

We have 2 cleaners that come every other week for our 3400 sf house. $120 each time, they bring their own supplies. They take about 3.5 hrs and do the usual: floors, countertops, sink, stove, bathrooms (my favorite part), take out all the trash/recycling, clean sliding glass door, vacuum furniture, dust blinds, wipe stainless appliances, etc.

They also change our filters (1x a month) at our request.

They would have done the beds or wash dishes if we wanted (would be extra). I try hard to pick up all the junk around the house before they come.

When requested they'll wash windows for $5 a window.

I think they're fabulous and recommend them to everyone! Having housecleaners was one of the best decisions my DH and I have made for our marriage.

[Erinz]

We have a teeny house and our housecleaner comes once a week (most weeks) for 2 hours and we pay her $50 cash. I tidy and do/put away dishes before she comes because that's what I prefer (can't stand to have to look for things!!) but she could care less what she does, I get the feeling she's just stoked to have the work. She goes nuts on the kitchen, floors, bathroom, cobwebs, under/behind stuff. We have all bamboo or tile floors and she wipes as she walks out even. The place is SPOTLESS when we walk in. My husband and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE it. I find it's also very motivating to organize and get shite put away before she gets there. So, win-win! There are some weeks we just decide we can't spend the $$ so we cancel and deal, and then when I do see her the next time I give her a hug! LOL!

[Naturallove]

We have a pair of house cleaners that come every other Wednesday and charge $90/visit for our 4br 2ba 1700 sqft townhouse. They bring their own all natural supplies many of which are made locally.

They clean the kitchen, take out all garbage/recycling, clean the bathrooms, vacuum, dust and make the beds

If you can make it work in your budget I definitely recommend getting a house keeper.