For those with housecleaners...

[transformed]

A couple of questions.

1. Did you put out an AD, or did you seek out people who cleaned houses and already had yellow pages ads or whatnot? (I am going to be having them us all my cleaners which include no chemicals-only vinegar, baking soda, essential oil type cleaners) So I wonder if I should be the one to place the ad. (B'c most cleaners here use their own products)

2. Do you have to get new housecleaners often? It seems like after a few weeks, they start to slack off a bit-from what I have seen at friends houses.

3. I want to make a list of things I want mine to do, what does your housecleaner do? I wonder if I can throw in "fold some laundry?"

Thanks!

Jenny

[imahappymama]

House cleaners

Originally Posted by transformed

A couple of questions.

1. Did you put out an AD, or did you seek out people who cleaned houses and already had yellow pages ads or whatnot? (I am going to be having them us all my cleaners which include no chemicals-only vinegar, baking soda, essential oil type cleaners) So I wonder if I should be the one to place the ad. (B'c most cleaners here use their own products)

I am a housecleaner, so I'll tell you what we do. We use eco-friendly cleaners a a matter of course, but I have never had a problem using a client's products if they aren't scary strong, due to my own allergies. Some people prefer different scents and detest others. Most of our clients come as referals.

2. Do you have to get new housecleaners often? It seems like after a few weeks, they start to slack off a bit-from what I have seen at friends houses.

Hmmm....let's remember that you are referring to people here, not new shoes. This comes across as very demeaning. You are going to be contracting with someone to perform a service. If you have an issue with how that service is performed, discuss it with your cleaning crew. If it is not corrected, you may have to find someone else.

3. I want to make a list of things I want mine to do, what does your housecleaner do? I wonder if I can throw in "fold some laundry?"

We have been known to walk around with cranky babies, let dogs out in the back yard, etc. Making a list of what you want done and being specific about your pet peeves is very important. If you are up front with what you want done when the people come to look at your house for an estimate, it should be very clear what they will and will not do.
Thanks!

Jenny

Hope this helps!

[transformed]

Originally Posted by imahappymama

Hope this helps!

Thank you!

BTW, when I was about 18, I started a housecleaning biz and I noticed myself slacking off after a few cleanings, so thats partly where I got that.

[momto l&a]

When I cleaned house for a neighbor I knew what she wanted done each week and then she would have a few extras to be done that week also.

I did at times do laundry for her, mostly bedding as she had a bad back and doing that big stuff has hard on her.

[imahappymama]

Originally Posted by transformed

Thank you!

BTW, when I was about 18, I started a housecleaning biz and I noticed myself slacking off after a few cleanings, so thats partly where I got that.

We noticed that we would slow down after doing more than 2 houses a day, so we only scheduled one in the am, took a break and one in the pm. Also, we have lots of people who are there when we clean. They like to talk and stand in the exact place where we need to clean and then are upset that we don't get everything done in the time given. :

[transformed]

I will definatly be leaving! Or else I have to keep the toddler out of the cleaner's hair the whole time....and if my 4 yr old is there : He is gonna want to chat. About everything. 3 times.

I am realy struggling with getting the house picked up enough to even hire someone to come in.

[imahappymama]

I have been told that knowing that we are coming is a huge motivation to get on the stick and get stuff picked up! Some places are adamant (sp?) about not picking up stuff. We're independent and much more easy-going.

[Mothra]

We got ours through word-of-mouth. He uses his own products, but would use ours if we asked.

I would NOT place an ad. I would look for someone who already considers this his or her profession. When you place an ad on craigslist or whatnot, you can get people who think, "Hey! I can do that!" even though they have no real experience. Unless you're prepared to check references or whatever. IME, it's easier to find someone who is advertising him or herself. Better yet, get recommendations from friends.

[transformed]

What would the difference between a professional and an ameteur be?

[normajean]

I used to exchange housecleaning for piano lessons. The lady did a good job the first time. She vacuumed under the couches, cleaned the walls, cleaned the ceiling fan blades... After that it was more general tidying-vacuumed the main part of the room, cleaned the obvious dust. To be honest, it took me less time to do a better job than she did.

However, since I didn't want her to put in her time picking up clutter, knowing she was coming was a good excuse to get it all picked up. That was a good routine to get in, and after she stopped cleaning for me, I kept up with the clutter, and then would expand to do the cleaning myself.

[transformed]

at the moment, it would take me a good 5 hours of clutter pick up....and being pregnant-that isnt happening right now.

Every time I get a room picked up, the tornado team goes back in and trashes it!

I cant figuire out how to do this!

[Caneel]

I agree with the other posters, referrals are the best way to go in finding someone.

We have someone come in to do the cleaning. There are days that it takes me one to two hours to pick up (de-clutter) before her visits and our common areas are relatively clutter free.

Yes, there are times I feel like "well I have done this much, I would rather finish myself and save the $" BUT I know that I won't. I would just simply not de-clutter and not clean the house on a regular basis.

My husband is messy and a semi-packrat so having a cleaning person is almost a necessity for the peace of our marriage. He actually hired her after one too many breakdowns (me) about keeping the house clean. He is now trained to keep his areas and paperwork in check if he wants to have the house clean.

A few things our cleaning told us right off the bat:

She will not clean with anyone in the house. Her reasoning was that she has her own methods and timeframe and didn't want anyone getting in her way or looking over her shoulder. Because of her references, I was entirely comfortable letting her in the house alone and who was I to question her methods?

She will not, under any circumstances, pick up clutter, newspapers, etc. She is there to clean not pick up dirty socks and look at our bills laying on the kitchen counter. (you can't imagine the pleasure I took in hearing this! It really gave husband a wake-up call.)

If it is something you want to pursue, give some serious thought to want you would like done and how often. Make a list. A five hour declutter 2x a month in exchange for heavy duty cleaning may be worth your time commitment.

[transformed]

Hmmm...Would it be good to call out of the ad;s in the newspaper? I dont know anyone who has a cleaner.

I am quite concerned with finding someone who will use natural products. It is not common in my area. (most people I have spoken to think the windex with lavendar is natural. )

[Peony]

Originally Posted by transformed

Hmmm...Would it be good to call out of the ad;s in the newspaper? I dont know anyone who has a cleaner.

I am quite concerned with finding someone who will use natural products. It is not common in my area. (most people I have spoken to think the windex with lavendar is natural. )

I've went though two people who's number I got out of the paper. One didn't work out and one I love. She really is great, she had an ad that said cleaning was her zen.

I've had someone come in and clean for me for the last several years, I went through one that didn't work and then found one that we kept for a couple years until we moved. A new long search began, I went though 6 different cleaners until I found our current one that I am very happy with.

When I call them on the phone I ask about their supplies, if they bring their own or use mine, then I talk about how my DD's have allergies (easy way to insure that non-natural supplies are never used) so i need to use natural supplies. If they agree, and we proceed to a walk through then I go into more detail. My current cleaner only uses natural products, they are her own supplies, but I've gone though some that used mine that I supplied and that was fine as well.

I've gone though many different times of the day for cleaning, and I really like early-mid am. I start picking up the house the afternoon before, DH and I finish when the DD's are in bed. I generally like to be gone when she is cleaning, but sometimes we are here. I just try to keep out of their way, and DD1 actually loves to follow her around and watch.

[transformed]

My List!!!

I have made a list, and I feel like some of the things only need to be done like once a month, like the showers? I hardly ever do them at all at the moment : and I wonder why they would need to be cleaned every 2 weeks? What do you think?

Also, the "extras" at the bottom, would I be able to throw those in as "once every 2-3 month" items or are those just not duties of a housecleaner? Its stuff I never seem to get around to, yet kinda needs to be done from time to time. (And I am happy to pay for it!) I think I have some kind of 'different' requests though.

How do I format this into a list for the person I am interviewing...because its going to be like "every 2 weeks" (which is how often I would like someone to come) "once a month" and "once every 2 months"

Oh, and I have ceramic tile throughout the house (and 3 - 5x7 rugs) so cleaning my great room floor (400 sq ft) with a mop or something, (I love my bissel floor scrubber thing. the person can use whatever they want) is a good sized job, but the bedrooms dont really need to be mopped or anything special so you save time there.

Last-do you tip a housecleaner? Or just yearly bonus mabye around xmas. I need to add this into my budget as well. (Where can I get info about bonus amounts...If I have the cash, I am pretty outragously generous, but dh always brings me back to earth so I at least need to be within the realm of "good.")

Kitchen

1.Wipe Table, chairs, and base of table
2.Wipe counters/stove
3.clean sink
4.wipe appliances (once a month)
5.wipe cabinets (once a month)
6.wipe wall behind trash can (small job, gets really nasty!)
7.sweep
8.mop

Living Room
1.DO NOT CLEAN TV
2.Dust furniture (there is like one surface in the whole room)
3.vacuum rug (5x7)
4.vacuum couch ?? (once a month, is this even appropriate? I totally need it done for ds with allergys)

Bedrooms
1.Wash sheets (Can a cleaner get the sheets done in the time it takes to clean the house? We have 1 king bed, 1 queen, and a crib)
2.dust furniture (Not alot of furniture)
3.dust ceiling fans (Every time!)
4.sweep/vacuum rug
5.mop (once a month, they dont get that dirty)

Bathrooms
1.Wash shower/bathtub (once a month)
2.toilet-inside/outside/base (little boys rock! )
3.wipe sink and cabinet front
4.wipe tile wall (in master) (once a month, weird half wall of tile)
5.mirrors
6.sweep
7.mop

Extras (once every 2-3 months?)
1.clean windows and sills
2.clean/dust baseboards
3.wipe doors to bedrooms

[transformed]

PS-Would you hire "Merry Maids" or something like that, or usually better to look for an independant.

[Caneel]

I have no first hand experience with any franchise services but from what I read in Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed about her experiences working for one, I would not hire on. That's just my opinion, there may be some very good owner/operators out there.

On to your list. Very good start and sort of similar to what I do. We increased our cleaner to once a week, up from once every two weeks recently.

Kitchen, living room look entirely reasonable. Vacuuming the couch is appropriate, my clean removes all our cushions every other visit and vacuums under them. That is not a difficult request at all.

I can't offer an opinion on time frame for the sheet washing.

Most of our house is hardwood and tile with just a bit of carpet so I know what you mean about the great room and the lesser used rooms. I have the kitchen (tile) and baths (also tile) done every visit but the balance of the house only once a month.

Bathroom - we have our shower/tub every visit, we have a ton of soap scum. Only you can judge your own shower. Everything else is totally reasonable.

Extras - appropriate, reasonable requests but windows might be pushing it depending on the size, style and timeframe. We live in an old house with double hung sash windows and there are more than 50 of them so there is no way anyone could possibly tackle them once a month. In fact, only the newer replacement windows (tilt in) have every been cleaned. Those I do on my own.

The cleaner may ask for additional money for the extras.

I think your format is fine. You may want to do a Every Visit heading, listing the categories underneath and do the same for Once a Month and Once Every Two Months.

[transformed]

thank you! I could easily do once a week but dh is already wincing at the cost of once every 2 weeks. LOL. I would LOVE to have that clean of a house.

My shower and tub dont seem to get that gross....despite having horrible hard water. ?? (Well, sometimes the tub gets dirty cause of 2 kids, but I just rinse it all down at the end of the bath so it doesnt really leave much of a mark. )

I also totally think that everyone has their own definition of "clean" and I am not too bent on things being sparkley, or disinfected, etc. I am pretty laid back, and basic clean is good enough. (With a few smooshed grapes on the floor.)

[lakesuperiormom]

we have had several housekeepers and none at the moment...my dh is begging me to get one! word of mouth has been the best way to find a good housekeeper.we have had them mostly do routine stuff like clean the toilets,bathroom,vacuum, make beds etc etc. when i was bedridden with me 2nd pregnancy i hired 2 housekeepers from hell and made a detailed list for them that was too complex for them we hired a lady from an ad in the paper and i told her exactly what i expected and she did it. my advice; ask around or put a detailed ad in the paper with what you want, be very clear and maybe type up a list about what you want done. that way if there is a problem you can go back to it and say "see."

[PancakeGoddess]

Over the past 15 years we've had several - mostly we've not had them, because whenever we get them it ends up not feeling worth the money. Too much gets missed, or some other problem. I don't feel like I'm a perfectionist, but I do like to feel I'm getting my money's worth.

A few months ago my MIL told me about a friend's cleaners who are supposed to be good. We were hopeful because said friend is a very fussy woman So, if she is satisfied, we thought, this could be good.

The woman shows up for an estimate and I started to tell her all the things I like done and what I don't think she needs to bother with - for example, I just do my own kitchen and vacuuming because it needs to get done constantly anyway, and I mentioned about not worrying if we don't get all our clutter up - she doesn't need to dust if we haven't cleared a surface.

Finally, she stopped me and said, "can I just make a suggestion? I really think you need to let us do more than what you think. Just let us come in here and do everything once, and see what you think. We don't mind picking stuff up - our job is to make your life easier and your house look good." I swear, I could have kissed her right on the spot.

The 2 or 3 of them show up, do my DISHES! and pick up whatever random things didn't get tidied up (and I really do try hard but you know how hard it is), crack jokes with me and the boys, and finish off by cleaning the floors with their hands, so they can see it all. I can't tell you how much I adore these women. They are kind and thorough.

So, the moral is, keep looking.

And one funny story about our fab cleaners. The first time they came, I walked in and said "oh, it smells great in here!" and the one woman goes, "yea... I farted."

:

Can you believe the risk that was? Probably not very smart, but here in the house of 4 fart-loving boys, she had just cemented her job.