Has anyone got/had a cleaner/maid

[vinvac]

I personally have never had someone else do my work. Two years ago I had someone mow while I was on vacation and it was a disaster and expensive. I used to care for a person that was dying from cancer, the family hired the "home helpers" to come in and clean....I had the cleaning done before they arrived and so they spent time visiting with Sophia and I made breakfast.

In your case, it sounds like your parents won't be open to this. I totally understand that and I think your family needs to honor that as well. Perhaps the family can come in on weekends such as Mother's Day or Fathers Day and do a complete spruce up and spend time with them. Rotate the chores thru the family letting someone come in each week and do the weekly cleaning.

I am like my grandmother, she was almost 98 when she gave up cleaning and cooking...it still gave her joy. I am the same way, I enjoy it, especially mowing and yard work in the summer (as long as it is not hot).

 

[nycwriter]

I guess some of us ...

... have different ideas of "high" standards.

 

[electrolux137]

While Arlee and I are not filthy pigs, we don't exactly have "high standards." I had a high school English teacher who used to say, "I don't mind a few dust bunnies and cobwebs around the house as long as I have a good book to read," and that's pretty much my philosophy! (*)

At the same time, neither of us wants to have housekeepers coming in and snooping around and eating up all the food in the kitchen and watching TV instead of doing their work. We have had several different ones over the years, and only one of them was really acceptable in terms of results. She was a young teenage girl who was the daughter of the housekeeper of my employer at the time.

I am, most of the time, the only one who does housework. Arlee is a real "princess." His favorite line is, "You love vacuuming so much, why don't you do it more often?" He does wash the dishes which is great because I hate the chore. But clean the cat box? HAHAHAHAHAHA forget it! Turds would be spilling over the sides before he would deign to clean it out!

(*) funny story about that teacher. Her name was Mrs. Dixon. She and her husband lived in an old, old house that, yes, was chock-full of cobwebs and dust bunnies (hell, there were dust elephants in that place!!), and stacks and stacks and stacks of books. They were everywhere. Well, one evening Mrs. Dixon was seated in her parlor reading one of her favorite books when all of a sudden there was a creaking, groaning sound in the ceiling. Before she knew it, her husband Jasper came roaring down through the ceiling, along with the bathtub full of water that he was bathing in. The old wooden floor was rotten and finally gave way!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

If you want one, need one and can afford one..

go right ahead. I don't need, want, nor can afford a 'cleaner'. I enjoy doing it myself. Sometimes I have to pace myself better. This old place has 11 rooms. Thankfully, I have an arsenal of cleaning equipment.
My sister has a cleaning person who comes in. She gives her strict instructions on what to clean, what NOT to, etc.. One day, she discovered the cleaner drinking soda out of WATERFORD CRYSTAL. They had a little talk about that. When I visit, I make sure her HOOVER has the correct bags, etc. She bought a Bissell steamer. She thought it was made by HOOVER. I told her,"That's it..no kidney for you".

 

[davetranter]

Help with cleaning

KirbyLover, I fully understand where you are 'coming from' on this....

Unfortunately, no 'professional' or 'semi-professional' cleaner will set foot in your house without the householder's prior consent. You will be best off making a private arrangement with a friend (or friend's sister or brother) to give you a hand with the cleaning up. This will be a much cheaper option, particularly if you can make it a reciprocal arrangement. Try to find someone who likes dogs!! It will also avoid the 'stranger in the house' problem if it is someone your parents (vaguely) know... This MAY also 'shame' them into being a little tidier in their ways!

From experience, I don't share your confidence that your parents will appreciate the difference and 'change their ways'. As R2D2 said, trying to raise your parents can be a truly thankless task. If they are comfortable living in what you consider to be squalor, you are unlikely to make any lasting change. I'm afraid you are probably stuck with it until you can get a place of your own, where you can set your own standards. I know I was!

I truly wish you the very best of luck

Dave T

 

[vacman117]

My dad is not married and owns 3 businesses so cleaning the house really isn't something that he has the time for. We have always had a housekeeper come every 2 days and do the cleaning. It's nice because you never come home to a dirty house and it always has a fresh smell. I can't imagine what our house would be like if we didn't have one.

I can understand that some people may have the time and enjoy cleaning though. Every once and a while I'll give the house a good cleaning, even when it doesn't need it. Just because you have a housekeeper doesn't mean you can't clean the house too.

 

[portable]

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;">Kelly and Hans....I loved your stories.</span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;">NYC Writer: I completely agree with your opinion, as I do with Fred's. I have both been, at times, an employer of cleaning help AND an owner of a cleaning business. When I cleaned for a living, I enjoyed much more when the "boss" was not underfoot. All my clients were appreciative, though only a few had actually done much cleaning of their own houses, ever. </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;">It is hard work cleaning for a living. Good help does not sit around (except on agreed breaks) eating the boss's food and generally making themselves at home, unless they are live-ins, or have a personal rapport with the family. I would've never DREAMED of doing that on a job. I also charged a professional rate AND made it clear in pre-assignment interviews with clients why I charged what I did, and what they could except from my work. I heard HORROR stories of what previous cleaning help had done to cleaning equipment, furniture and floor coverings. The most hideous thing I witnessed was the damage done by a previous cleaning woman who had taken straight bleach to a teak dining room table. She was the same one who had murdered the owner's previous Dial-a-Matic. </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;">Some people should not clean for a living.  </span>

 

[electrolux137]

Just to clarify, the people we've had in for house cleaning were not members of a professional cleaning service but were referrals by friends or "friends of friends." One guy in particular was a real case. Every time after he was here for "cleaning, we noticed a distinctive diminishing of stuff in the refrigerator. We also figured out that he liked to snoop around in closets, dresser drawers, etc. The final straw was when we came back from a day of shopping and errands and found him asleep on the couch with the TV on....... "Your services will no longer be required."

 

[spiraclean]

I used to own a small housecleaning business, with myself and four members of staff doing the work. Our approach was pretty much the same as what Portable detailed a couple of posts up. We charged a professional rate, and made sure we did a professional job. We had a meeting with every new client before taking on the work, which involved a detailed walk-through of the entire house. This allowed us to tailor the service to the customer's needs, manage expectations (only when everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet will both sides be happy with the arrangement), and address any questions or concerns. Plus we could discuss pricing in person, having seen exactly what we were getting into. Never, ever would we give prices over the phone or on our website.

The vast majority of our clients were executives or self employed working 60+ hours a week. I wouldn't call them lazy for not wanting to come home at 9 PM and start cleaning a six bedroom house. We also had some elderly and disabled customers, who needed a little extra help with certain tasks. For them, it made all the difference between keeping on top of things and maintaining their independence, versus not coping fully and allowing things to go to rack and ruin. Again, not lazy.

Now the only ones I didn't have any time for were the desperate housewives who only wanted a cleaner for the sake of having one. Wildly unrealistic expectations, and usually under the false impression that they could set our prices for us. Also the most likely to talk down to our staff, because he or she was "just the cleaner". We got to be quite good at weeding these ones out from the start, and declining their business with the polite excuse of being fully booked.

Personally, I always preferred to clean when I had the house to myself. No interruptions, and no fear of disturbing the client or making them feel as though they had to keep out of my way. Sometimes though it was unavoidable, for example when they couldn't get into the office and had to work from home. One thing I would never do, however, is snoop amongst their belongings or help myself to the contents of their fridge. That's just creepy, and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of it.

If you do employ a cleaner, I'd say the most important quality to look for is someone who actually enjoys cleaning. You don't want someone in your house who resents doing other people's dirty work, because that's basically what the job is all about. Make sure they have full insurance, and if possible, ask to speak to some of their other clients. A good cleaner will advertise very little (other than when first starting up business), because most of their work comes in through word of mouth recommendation.

These days I'm in a completely different job, working 12 hour night shifts, but I still do my own cleaning. This does eat into my free time a little, as I like the place to be absolutely spotless at all times. Given the hours I work I wouldn't feel at all guilty for hiring a cleaner if that's what I wanted to do, the only thing stopping me is the fact I get satisfaction out of doing it myself.

 

[compactelectra]

I Agree

Hiring right is the key to success. I have had a housekeeper for going on 40 years (I still can't believe that.) During those years there has been normal turnover. Getting a good referral is the key to success since a housekeeper is a most personal service. In between housekeepers, I have gone months without one during the search. Well worth it. During those years I amazingly have not been disappointed.

 

[unimatic1140]

We would love that!

Fred and I are talking about getting a cleaning person, we both do it but hate to do it. Fred loves to vacuum and I love to do the wash obviously, but the rest of it we'd rather have done while we are at work. Can I say how nice it is to have a husband who likes to vacuum, I totally love that!

Years ago with my ex we had a cleaning person who was gay and he was always very nosy asking all kinds of inappropriate questions that amused me and mortified my ex-partner lol. I would be fine with that except the house was never as clean as I thought it should be and I would always have to "redo" some things.

I think as Fred N said above, the key is finding the right person.

 

[spiraclean]

Robert, someone I know has a cleaner just like that. Drops by once a week, bringing his boyfriend in tow, and only makes a half-hearted attempt at cleaning. My friend gets home later that evening and has to finish off the jobs that were missed or not quite done right. I mean, seriously, what's the point of that... paying someone to do half a job and then finishing it off for them?

When I suggested that he may as well fire the cleaner and look for someone else who actually wants to be there, he agreed but pointed out that's it's such a hassle finding and interviewing a replacement. You can bet his existing cleaner is all too aware of this fact, and is pushing his luck to see what he can get away with.

 

[unimatic1140]

Yeah Spiraclean, I do have to admit that is why I kept our old cleaning person, because it is a pain to try to find someone. After a while I did get fed up and when he said he wouldn't be available for a few weeks, I decided not to have him come back. I do want to try again though sometime soon.

 

[air-waycharlie]

I have a fantastic live-in housekeeper that not only cleans the house, but does the laundry AND all the yard work. Best of all, free!

That would be my partner Todd. I used to do a lot of it but he is like Mrs. Morgenstern and would come behind me and re-load the dishwasher, not sort the clothes properly or fold them the right way. He is now, "trained"!

I still like vacuuming and I always move the furniture--Todd does not. Move the furniture that is. I received a G-4 from Fred N., sent it off to the Kirby spa and it is now one of my favorites.

 

[tolivac]

Remember used to have housemaids at some time when I was a child-both my Mom and Stepmom used them at times.They did well and no problems.Usually were very nice black women.One was German-only thing about her was she fixed saurkraught all of the time--HATED that stuff-would try to feed it to the dog under the table--even he didn't like it.The stuff would make me barf!
Today-would NOT use maids-many today you can't trust.And what would they think and do about all of my vacuum cleaners?Those ones during childhood were very good.

 

[countryford]

I've never had a housemaid(growing up or now), but my grandmother used to clean houses for a while. I remember once, that she mentioned while cleaning one of her regular houses (A single gentleman lived there and was normally working when my grandmother came to clean). She showed up at his house at the regular time and started to clean. After a few minutes he came out from the bedroom in I believe just a towel and tried to suduce my grandmother(she would have been in her late 30's early 40's at the time.). Needles to say, she left there and never went back.
Growing up my parents weren't the best housekeepers. The house was never dirty, just cluttered and would get dusty. When I mean cluttered it would be mail and newspapers covering the sofa and tables. Had to move things to sit down on the sofa. I would bout once a month dust, organize, and vacuum. Also would make the beds.
Now my partner is very much a neat freak. He stays at home(On disability) and does the upkeep during the week, then on weekends we do the majority of the work. It works for us, He enjoys doing it. I tend to do the outside upkeep.
We have jokingly talked about getting a "House-Boy".

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I had a customer who is a cleaning lady come over one time to get her vacuum serviced. While she was here I told her to tour the house and tell me what it would cost me. I said all I want is dusting (main thing), bathroom, change all the beddings, regular vacuuming with a vacuum I had set out for her and simple wipe downs. No laundry The price was good but I just can't bring myself to do it. I can use that money else where but maybe someday lol. I'm not home much and when I am yard work takes up a lot of time so the dusting ( and there's a ton of it) gets backed up. What i'd really like is lawn service but I could never afford someone for my huge yard.

 

[vinvac]

Phillip,

That is me...I could never justify the cost. I will have to hire someone to mow while we are in Russia....and it is killing me. First, I know they won't do a good job and for our yard it cost about 65.00. It takes me around an hour to mow the three lots we have.... I mow in a pattern and leave them instructions...it just won't happen. They are never allowed to use our mower because they won't clean it up properly and keep the blade sharpened.

Last summer due to the heat and the drought, inside cleaning and work managed to stay on task...it was too hot to do anything outside so inside cleaning never slipped..LOL

 

[compactelectra]

Mowing the Lawn?

Yikes! I hire that out too to professionals. They were just here this morning. I definitely would not consider myself lazy. Now that I am keeping the house and renovating it, I really don't have time on the weekends. Spent the morning cleaning out the garage to get ready for cabinet installation, and packing up books to move them to the basement. I love the sound when they are here. Knowing the lawn will look great when it's done. I sit on a acre with about a half acre of lawn. It would take me forever to mow with a regular lawn mower. And in the August heat? No. Gave my wonderful Honda lawnmower to Greg. Have fun Greg!

 

[compactelectra]

Actually

I think they do a good job. They do the spring cleanup of the beds, trim the bushes and do the fall cleanup. When I first moved back from California I asked if they clear the snow. They said yes. I said then we are all set! They even put in the snow stakes in the fall. When Charlie was here in the winter he asked what those sticks were around the driveway. Silly Southern boy.