That list is a good start. Next, be very specific about what “dust” and “clean” mean in each context.
To me, “dust” means: take a clean cloth. Spray it with some aresol or spray cleaning stuff - Windex for glass and metal, pledge for wood, general lemon based cleaner for painted surfaces - and rub the cloth over the surfaces, lifting and wiping each item I bump into on my way. This is done once a week if I’m being good, though every other week is more reasonable.
To my grandma, “dust” means: take an ostrich feather duster and fwap it at all surfaces, picking up objects along the way and fwap at them with the duster as well. This is done every day.
To my mom, “dust” means: take a clean cloth and run it under water. Wring it out as best you can and wipe down every surface, going around the nick-nacks most of the time, but perhaps picking them up once a month for a good going over. The “quick dust” is done once a week, the “thorough dust,” including nick-nacks, once a month.
To dust a chandelier, I’d take each crystal off and wash it in a mild soap and vinegar solution. I’d only do this once a year. Twice, if I was feeling perky. Grandma would fwap at it with her duster every day. Mom doesn’t own chandeliers for this very reason.
So, I’d make up a definition for “dust, clean, polish, wipe” and all the rest and carefully apply each to each task as you want it. That way, you’re not upset with someone for wiping what you want dusted.
The only thing I would be a bit concerned about is dusting the ceilings - do you have one of those long swiffer type things, or is this person going to be teetering on the top of a ladder to get to your vaulted ceilings - this sounds like a big insurance claim waiting to happen.
The ceilings (except for the Rose Room and the Writing Room) are beadboard, and have to be dusted because they’re varnished. (Actually, it’s polyprope.) I exempted the kitchen ceiling because it’s very high. (Part of the Great Room is too.) And yes, we have a Swiffer.
WhyNot, when I say dust, I mean pretty much the same thing you do. I’ll make sure to clarify that.
Oh - I totally agree with cleaning and dusting the ceilings - I do mine about once a week with a damp cloth. However, me risking life and limb on the top of a ladder is probably better than me paying someone for the same job.
In Spanish, the word for “house servant” is criado… criada for a maidservant. Literally, “raised”, because that’s what you have to do if you want them to do things your way: train them yourself.
My mother has had two maids that she got when they were 14 (that was the legal working age back then) and each of them stayed with us until their marriage; both of them have remarked more than once that everything they know about running a house, they learned from my mother rather than theirs. They cleaned exactly what she wanted and in exactly the way she wanted and they also knew how to take care of my brothers and me.
The other cleaning ladies she’s had have all been strictly cleaning (no “picking the kids from school”), they get paid by the hour, they all have different favourite products and they all have certain spots which she knows they don’t clean (of course, different spots for each). Since she needs the help because there are tasks she just can’t do (like ironing), she’ll take what there is. When she needs a new one, she makes sure to check the things in her Must Do list, check what times will she be available for extra work (the big fall and spring cleanings), etc. Being “deep cleaners”, they have the force and delicacy of a hurricane, so she never asks them to do the silver (which does not require strength and does need a delicate hand).
My own advice, and I know some of it is repeated:
check around,
look for independents,
ask direct questions (I’m looking for a job right now and those guessing games are just horrible, you never know what to say - and for the same answer, someone with a technical background wants a “realistic” answer and a psychologist wants an “optimistic” answer so there’s times I’d like to be able to ask “excuse me, before I answer that question, what exactly is your background?”),
be aware that your best bet may be someone who can do 90% but not 100%.
Be ready to pay.
And when you make your wish list, also mark how often do things need to be done. Does the couch have to be polished once a week, twice a week, once a month?
You also need to specify what you mean by polish. Most people assume polish=pledge. Most will not think you mean Johnson’s paste wax (which is much more involved).
I don’t think you are asking for too much as long as you are willing to pay forthe services.
If you lived in certain parts of Texas I could probably recommend someone.
About “dusting” all those beadboard ceilings: Personally, I’d specify that they be vacuumed instead, using a soft brush attachmen and a wand extension if needed.
This has a lot of advantages:
It’s faster.
It actually gets rid of the dust instead of knocking it lose to eventually settle on something else over the next couple of days.
It leaves the maid with her feet safe on the ground, reducing the chances of her being injured and yourself being sued.
Most important, hauling a ladder from room to room all over your house each week is just ASKING for damage. It’s hard for anyone to be aware of where both ends of a six foot long object are, every second, while maneuvering around furniture, through doorways, up and down stairs… All it will take is a split second distraction and you will smashed knickknacks, beat up moldings, dented in plaster, broken lamps/mirrors/windows, etc, etc.
Really: go for the vacuum dusting.
Also, given the apparently high value of your stuff, be sure to talk things over with your insurance agent, and try to get a maid who is already bonded and if not (maybe even if she is) a background investigation might be sensible.
