Getting a Cleaner so that I CAN be 'Oldstyle'

Molly41

I love my cleaner. She has been with me for years now and I treat her with the greatest respect because she does a wonderful job which I really appreciate. She has become a friend and since Im now disabled her input has been vital to the smooth running of my home as I have four older kids. When she cannot clean I get my kids to help but its such a hassle and I get tired supervising them:eek:

My cleaner does all the heavy jobs for me. She vacs twice a week top to bottom as we have a lot of pets, cleans the bathooms and loos, shines the sink, cleans window, empties the bins and has a good wipe down of the skirting boards every so often. She also dusts kids rooms sometimes when it is reasonable for her to do so - ie. tidy. She would also help me with laundry and dust but I like to do that myself at the moment.

I always make her a cuppa and cake as she works really hard for those two hours and provide her with all the stuff to clean. We bought a ne vac as our old one was useless which she appreciated.

sofababe

I have my own cleaning business and "do" 11 houses each week. In 4 hours I would expect to have a good clean all through the house. I normally do this:

Kitchen- fronts of cabinets, worktops, appliances (outsides), sinks, cobwebs, hoover and mop floor.
Living Dining, Hall- all surfaces polished, cobwebs, skirting and doors/frames wiped, hoover and mop if hard floors.
Hoover stairs and wipe/polish handrail and banister.
Bathrooms- scrub bath, shower floor & basin, wipe any tops, clean loo and seat/lid, cobwebs, hoover/sweep and mop floor.
Bedrooms- dust/polish all furniture, cobwebs, hoover. I have a couple of clients who strip the beds and leave the clean linen out for me to put on.

On top of this, mirrors are always done with glass spray.

Every now and again, when there's time or if specifically asked, windows (inside), inside fridge, inside oven.
Some people I iron for as well.

Top tip- make sure u have the right equipment! A long handled duster for cobwebs, skirting & behind furniture, a decent mop, broom and hoover, plenty of dusters & cloths. I tend to use whatever products the client has but most have asked if there's anything particular I like to use.

2 hours twice a week sounds better than 4 hours at once. I do one like this, so kitchen & downstairs loo get done Monday and Friday, rest of d/s on Monday & u/s Friday, but that is a very large, grand house. A normal 3 bed I would say 2-3 hours a week.

*Maya*

Alison_Funnell wrote: »

I do love the irony of discussing cleaners on an MSE board...

Why is it ironic?:huh: This is Money SAVING Expert, not poverty expert. If people have the money to spend on a cleaner and need the service then why not? :huh:

grumswifie

My fab husband is treating me to a cleaner for 3 hours tomorrow as a wee surprise treat. Have been moaning for ages about hpusework getting on top of me and have had building work done in the last couple of weeks in our old kitchen, taken it back to the stone and insulated it properly. So you can imagine dust and other yucky stuff everywhere.
What should I ask her to do for me?? haven't a clue.

bubbs

Hi,
Im a cleaner, i do everyday day housework, bedrooms, kitchen, living room , bathroom etc. I also change beds if required. Do ironing if required clean windows etc, so all i would say is make sure you say what you want doing and if my customers want anything different doing they leave me a note

meritaten

ok the cleaner has three hours. you mention the kitchen is in a state - I would ask her to concentrate on that and if she has time to spare after to do another room. bathroom maybe?
I know it sounds stupid to men - but women will understand this - have a tidy up before she comes! its much easier to do a good cleaning job when the clutter is tidied away!

bubbs

If you want the walls dusting or hoovering ask her, i have done this in the past for people that have had work done, the dust will settle for weeks though

Penelope_Penguin

grumswifie wrote: »

My fab husband is treating me to a cleaner for 3 hours tomorrow as a wee surprise treat. Have been moaning for ages about hpusework getting on top of me and have had building work done in the last couple of weeks in our old kitchen, taken it back to the stone and insulated it properly. So you can imagine dust and other yucky stuff everywhere.
What should I ask her to do for me?? haven't a clue.

Lucky you :T

Take a look at this week's Flylady thread - you may want to ask her to do the level 1 jobs on that list.

You'll need to tidy away all the detritus before she arrives, as you don;t want her to spend all her time moving gibble around

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add this to the existing thread which may give you more ideas.

hotcookie101

OH and I have decided to get a cleaner. Not very OS I know, (and please move me to a different board, or merge me if there is already a thread) but we both work incredibly hard, and very long hours, and we have the money for it, so have decided to get one so we can stop spending all our free time cleaning and arguing over whose turn it is to mop the floor :rotfl:

I have a couple of questions tho, if anyone can help.

We are planning on getting her in for 2 hours a week. We have a 3 bedroomed house, but the loft conversion is the 3rd bedroom and is unused, so call it a 2 bed. There is downstairs bathroom and small ensuite (just loo and sink) off the master bedroom. We will obviously tidy up beforehand. Is it reasonable to expect her to:
hoover floors, carpets and stairs
mop hard floors.
wipe down kitchen sides/clean hob/cooker exterior
clean bathroom and ensuite
dust 2x bedrooms and living room?
empty bins
I thought that was probably do-able in 2 hours-do you agree?

Also-we are going on holiday soon-is it OK to ask her to do a more thorough clean-eg clean out kitchen cupboards etc, as the rest of the stuff won't really need doing on the 2nd week?

Also-if she goes on holiday/has time off-would we still need to pay her? We are hiring her privately, not through an agency, I presume we don't pay holiday time?

Thanks for any advice

meritaten

This is something you need to discuss with the cleaner. I wouldnt, personally, expect ALL of that to be done. I dont think I could do that in two hours, but then, I am disabled (good thing I am not a cleaner)! its just a thought, but could you and OH do a time and motion study on how long it takes either of you to do these tasks? that would give you a better idea of just how much you can expect from a two hour session.

As for paying holidays etc - as long as the cleaner knows that if you are away she doesnt get paid I dont see that as being unfair. (but you may want her to have access when you get to know and trust her). it can be handy if you want her to get in some provisions and do a quick tidy up before you return.