Cleaning - the good ol' days

tootles_2

Hi Choc,

Afraid the rates have gone up a bit since then..... LOL and I have given up work, it takes me longer now....... even in out little house I split the upstairs and downstairs and do one each day once a week!!!!!! apart from the kitchen and bathroom, they get wiped over each day and cleaned thoroughly once a week.....

nearlyrich

I pay my cleaner £20 per visit, she cleans 2 bathrooms and a cloakroom, hoovers through and dusts, she will also do any ironing if there is any. She usually does about 2 and a half hours per week.

I do try to keep the place tidy, clean the kitchen as I use it, have a clear out of papers each weekend and deal with junk mail as I get it.

Penny-Pincher!!

This is the cleaners weekly list:

CLEANING ROTA

KITCHEN
Fronts/Tops/handles/kickboards of cupboards and utilities
Worktops wiped down and buffed up
Inside windows/windowsills/blinds cleaned
Dust for cobwebs/ceiling light/wipe bin
Fridge cleaned inside every other week
Wipe down tiles & buff up, cooker hob and extractor
Sweep & Mop-Hoover Mat
LOUNGE
Polish everything (ornaments, fireplace. light, etc)
Blinds wiped down & inside window/windowsill
Fireplace wiped down
Plump up cushions and hoover down crumbs(if needed)
Dust for cobwebs & skirting board/coving
Sweep & Mop All floor and under sofas
TOILET
Clean Toilet In, out & around
Wipe all surfaces & window sil, window etc
Dust for cobwebs, skirting board, ceiling, door frame etc
Empty Bin & wipe
Sweep & Mop
HALLWAY & UP THE STAIRS
Inside windows/windowsills/blinds cleaned
All pictures, lights & ornaments polished
Stairs & landing hovered
Dust for cobwebs, skirting board, ceiling etc
OUR ROOM
Polish everythin
Blinds wiped & inside window/windowsill cleaned
Dust for cobwebs, skirting board, ceiling, door frame etc
Hoover
Change Bedding
DAUGHTERS ROOM
Polish everything
Blind cleaned & inside window/windowsill
Dust for cobwebs, skirting board, ceiling, door frame etc
Change bedding
Sweep & Mop
BATHROOM
Scrub bath & sink
Clean & buff tiles
Inside window/windowsill
Dust for cobwebs, skirting, ceiling, door frame etc
Sweep & Mop-Empty Bin


Cleaner does 4hrs a week. I pay her £7ph, but she is great and does the cleaning how I like as I'm quite fussy.

HTH

PP
xx

Murtle

these hints, tips, sympathies and motivation are fantastic. I am reading them and really appreciate all the support! I have a two bed flat, so cleaning shouldn't take that long....so I am going to use some of these to put together a plan of action.

Tootles, I think you could sell your post as to a detailed description of how to do the house cleaning. Such a motivational post, I read it and wanted to start cleaning. Then realised I was still at work and they wouldn't appreciate my efforts!!!


Penny-Pincher, thank you for your list of what gets down, I can delete the things I don't have and add things I do have and I know what I need to do.

Those who have downsized, thank you - that's how I feel after finally moving my things out of my Mums place into mine, I was shocked at the amount of stuff I had.....added to living with someone and their stuff too....it's shocking how much stuff two can collect....I love the idea of think caravan........

x

susank

Gosh PP how does she get all that done in 4 hours!! She must be a miracle and I could do with her here.

larmy16

Sounds like slave labour to me. She deserves more than £7.00 an hour for all that!

Penny-Pincher!!

Its only a small 2 bed semi.

Cleaner normally gets done in 3.5hrs. I think she manages to do quite abit as the house is clear of clutter and mess, so she gets around quickly and has her own set routine now. Obviously some jobs dont need doing weekly and just need an eye kept on them. The job list sounds extensive but if you look closely alot are very small jobs that go hand in hand with another IYSWIM. I have listed it that way as thats what the cleaning company wanted me to do.

She has access to tea/coffee/snacks and often has a sarnie with us at lunch time.

I dont think its slave labour and £7ph is well above what most cleaners get paid. She originally only wanted £5.50ph.

PP
xx

[Deleted User]

My dd needed money when she was a student and lived at home. This was 12 years ago. I gave her the job of cleaning the house at £5 an hour then. I know it was good money but she earned it and it was a good way to give her the money

I haven`t had a cleaner since she left home but I will sometimes buy myself a gadget which will help me to clean. I now live in a 3 storey house with steep stairs and I have just ordered vaccuum cleaner number 3 for two reasons and the main one is safety in carrying a big object up and down stairs and the second reason is that my sebo, which is a fantastic cleaner, is very heavy so I don`t want to be lifting it too much. My new vaccuum is a sebo felix. The one on the top floor is an oreck.

The sebo comes with its own built-in hose so I can just pull it out and use the dusting brush instead of a cloth. The house seems to stay dust-free for longer this way

poppycracker

My mum used to do the same thing, kittie. Every job that needed doing got given a 'star rating' and we had to do a certain amount of stars per week then got our pocket money accordingly. Now it's just me and the OH in a tiny two bed flat and although it can be a pigsty, it is always clean (even though we have a dog that seems to think that her main job in life is to shed hair!) I try and keep my papers and stuff in the spare room where the computer is and keep the living room tidy for guests.

Thanks for the list PennyPincher, maybe I can print it out and stick it to my OH's forehead when he's asleep

larmy16

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Its only a small 2 bed semi.

Cleaner normally gets done in 3.5hrs. I think she manages to do quite abit as the house is clear of clutter and mess, so she gets around quickly and has her own set routine now. Obviously some jobs dont need doing weekly and just need an eye kept on them. The job list sounds extensive but if you look closely alot are very small jobs that go hand in hand with another IYSWIM. I have listed it that way as thats what the cleaning company wanted me to do.

She has access to tea/coffee/snacks and often has a sarnie with us at lunch time.

I dont think its slave labour and £7ph is well above what most cleaners get paid. She originally only wanted £5.50ph.

It just looks such a lot written down PP - it also depends on the area you live in. If she only wanted £5.50, then she must be very happy to get £7.00. The house being clutter free makes a huge difference too. I live in the Surrey area and a lot of cleaners charge £10 plus - the cheapest nowdays is £7.00, however there has been a lot of Polish ladies advertising for £6.00 per hour recently, so I guess eventually the rate will have to stabilise at say £8.00.

It is worth paying for a good cleaner, you can trust and who is reliable. You hear so many horrible stories of people getting their stuff nicked or people not turning up and not letting them know etc.