We don’t use one now, but we have in the past, and I plan to re-start it.
About 6-7 years ago, we had someone come in once a week, but that was really expensive (especially when I quit my job - cleaning service as the first expense to go). But, now that we’re more stable and more organized, we want to have someone come in and scrub the joint once a month.
Most people I know have cleaning services; I definitely miss having one.
Every other Wednesday, a team from The Cleaning Authority comes over and does their thing. It’s just me and my dog in a ~1000 sq ft house (single level, 3BR, 1 BA), and while I’m good at things like keeping counters clean I suck at cleaning floors, vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms. For me, it’s totally worth it to pay for that stuff. Plus, while I never *clean *before they’re here, I kind of like having the motivation to de-clutter every couple of weeks; I’ll finally fold the pile of clean sheets that have been on the kitchen table, etc.
I’m near DC (same location as Tom Tildrum), and pay $75 each cleaning.
I voted no, but I’m very much interested. I think we’re almost at the point where we can afford to give it a try.
One question: are you supposed to tip the workers as well, or is it covered in the cost?
We have one woman who cleans for 4 hours every other week. She asked for $50, we countered that’s not enough, she accepted $60 (I’m a skilled negotiator). We give her $100 for xmas.
That’s all tax free. Is that true for everyone?
I’m on my third house cleaner and so far am very happy with this one.
House cleaner No.1 was my neighbor’s adult daughter and her teenaged daughter. They earned enough to buy fancy cell phones and some clothes, and then they stopped showing up.
House cleaner No.2 was recommended by the same neighbor and turned out to be a “reformed” hooker. Hookers do not know how to clean a house. The final time she was here, she showed up with a nasty looking guy that she’d picked up at a bar the night before.
No.3 is a recently retired man, looking for extra income. I found him on the neighborhood web site. He comes once a week. Normally he vacuums, dusts, and cleans the kitchen and bathroom, but he’ll do whatever special tasks I request. He completes his tasks in about two hours and gets paid $100. He charges based on house size and number of rooms.
I don’t now, but when I was married and my kids were young, I was working a lot of hours, and I had a wonderful woman come in to clean every two weeks. I loved it. She even took down blinds to wash them and did a load or two of laundry.
The rule with the kids was if their rooms weren’t picked up, the cleaning lady didn’t enter, which meant they had to clean their rooms AND dust and vacuum on Saturdays. When they got older, the cleaning lady moved away, and the kids and I split up the housework.
We have a lady that comes every Wed. She does laundry and changes the linens. She does whatever needs doing. We pay her $100 a week. It is well worth of for us as there is no time to do it expect on weekends and that is not happening. I do tend to pick up and put stuff away before she comes.
A “cleaning service” refers exclusively to a company that has multiple people on staff–one that is very often a franchise. If the cleaning is done by a single person working as a sole proprietor, that is simply a cleaning person.
In my late twenties I had a business running proposal teams. I was doing very well, but running myself ragged because I was afraid to say “no” to work.
Discussing this one day with my Mom she asked “Well, if you didn’t work for three months would you have to give up eating?”
I said no, but I might have to give up Lilliana (she was my housekeeper, the best I’ve ever had.)
There was a pause on the phone, and then my Mom said “Give up electricity.”
ROFL! I am hopeless at cleaning. I am very good at organising, but once things get out of whack I tend not to notice it until the problem is very large and complex to solve. Day-to-day maintenance is not my forte.
No tips for the regular service, but I give them something extra at Christmas.
I’m a proposal manager. It’s why I have a cleaning service *and *a lawn service, despite living alone in a relatively small place. 