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My aunt and uncle have had a cleaning lady for years. Basically she comes in every Friday morning and cleans the house, top to bottom. For the most part it's just base cleaning like vacuuming, mopping, toilets, showers, counters, dusting, windows (but I don't know if that's every week), etc... No dishes or laundry.
Whether or not my aunt is there when she's cleaning really depends on what she has going on for the day. Their cleaning lady has been a family friend forever so she's fully trusted.
ETA: I can't wait for the day that we can have a cleaning lady. This whole mopping crap is for the birds! lol
My mom used to have a cleaning lady. She would come every other week to dust, vacuum, mop, bathrooms top to bottom, clean stove top, cabinet outsides, appliance outsides. Sometimes my mom would have her clean out the fridge or vacuum the couches. If I forgot the cleaning lady was coming and had my room a mess, she would put my clothes away, make my bed and tidy up.
My parents have had a cleaning lady my whole life (since my older sister was born). They come weekly and mop, vacuum, dust, wipe down tables and countertops, clean toilets and tubs, change the sheets, etc. If there's something extra she wants them to do, she just asks. They have a key and come when my parents are at work, but we've also had the same person for 30 years so she's obviously trust worthy.
We're actually going to be gifted a cleaning lady from my grandma when we have our baby. I'm assuming she'll also just do the normal cleaning, and if I have anything extra I will just ask her. I'll also be fine giving her a key b/c she's worked for my grandma for a while, but I'm assuming I'll be here most of the time anyway.
We are hoping to start having a cleaning lady come at least once a month. We're just having a really hard time finding someone!
My parents have had a cleaning lady come to the house every Friday since '89...she's like a friend of the family now, she's even invited to my wedding! She vaccums, mops, and scrubs all the bathrooms. She used to clean our rooms when we were kids unless they were too messy, which they usually were. It was always really nice to have her there once a week and you can definitely tell when she hasn't come. I think if you have someone coming to your home then you can ask them to vacuum the furniture after they're done with the floors. That is a part of my cleaning routine so I don't see why anyone wouldn't do it (or charge extra for it) She's there for like four hours and I think my Mom pays her $60
I've had cleaning ladies when I was abroad, but never here in the states. I'm totally just curious, but what do you all pay for the basic cleaning? How long does it take them? Do you just pay by the day or whatever?
Our house isn't dirty really, but chores are the one thing that cause tension between DH and I with any sort of semi-consistency. We're moving again soon, but I think I'd definitely just want to pay for someone when we find ourselves here again.
So what's a cleaning lady run in the US/Canada? I always assumed it was just way out of our budget.
My mom had a cleaning lady come once a month (or once every two weeks, can't remember). She was a friend from church, so we trusted her. She cleaned while everyone was gone, and usually was still there when I got home from school. She was very thorough, to the point of cleaning in between the rails in our staircase. I think if you pay someone money to clean your house (depending on how much) they need to clean everything thoroughly.
Side note: she didn't clean our rooms, like make up the bed or anything. My mom would make us clean our room before she came so she could vacuum. She told her if the room wasn't clean enough to vacuum the floor them she could skip vacuuming that room and she would make US do it when we got home. Haha! Not like we didn't vacuum and clean ourselves... but this was just a monthly thing.
We hired Merry Maids. We are here when they come to clean. Their duties are:
Kitchen: Clean the countertops, stove range, sink. dust the blinds and vacuum/mop the floor. And take out the trash/recyclables.
Living room/family room: Dust, vacuum the couch, vacuum and mop the floor.
Bedrooms: Dust, vacuum the floor, make the beds, change the sheets if they are laying out.
Bathrooms: Mirror, sink, counter, bathtub, shower, toilet, and floor.
What they don't do: Wash the dishes, do the laundry, or knitty gritty details like wiping the vents and baseboards. They only washed my windows the first time they came (when they do a deep dive), but now they only clean the patio door which is usually full of baby kisses on one side and doggy smudges on the other.
We have them come every two weeks. That's definitely the LONGEST we want to wait for them since we have dogs.
I think there is probably an hourly rate and they could tell you what they can do in a given time. The family I babysit for uses a maid about once a month, only in the summer when they are busy. She only does the bottom floor, as instructed. Sweeping and mopping the floors are the key thing and she cleans the kitchen and bathroom really well. I try to take the kids out for a walk when she comes.
When i was a swinging single gal, i hired a weekly housecleaner. She dusted, did baseboards, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed and mopped and tidied my porch. She came every friday afternoon and I LOVED HER. I loved coming home from a week of work to start my weekend with a sparkly apt. I paid her $80. I felt like it was totally worth it.
When i moved in with my partner he wouldn't even consider it ...booooooooooooo.
Both my parents and my future in-laws have household staff. My mom's housekeeper comes in from 8-12 M-F. Usually she sweeps and mops the floors, does the dishes, cleans the bathrooms, makes the beds, does the laundry, and sometimes does the grocery shopping. Occasionally she'll come in extra if there is company coming and my mom needs help preparing a meal. I always find it a little awkward to have someone running around the house doing stuff, but they live in a part of the world where 1) it's not that expensive, and 2) they're expected to have a housekeeper (you're considered rude and greedy if you have the money for it and don't employ someone). My parents' gardener doesn't really do much... just comes in once or twice a week to trim the bushes and keep the yard looking nice.
my ex & i had a housekeeper that came every week or two, depending on what was going on. she used to clean all the thing that you'd expect, & then do the things i HATE to do. like emptying the dishwasher, cleaning inside the microwave, and changing the sheets. i think looking over the agreements from a couple of places you're concidering can be helpful in deciding what you are looking for. once you know what you want, be clear about it up front, it's better for everyone that way. do you want someone to bring their own supplies (i did not simply because i am picky & like to use as few chemicals as possible)?? do you want a team so they are in & out faster (i didn't, as they often have different helpers & i wanted to know who was in my home, & the helpers are not all as good)?? as far as them coming when you are there or not, the first few times i was home, i stayed in my office the whole time though, then i would go in & out while she was there- but didn't tell her when i'd be back, then once i was comfortable with her, we would leave a key out her her on the days she was coming & we'd come home to a nice clean place
My parents used to have a lady that came in every fortnight.
She would do windowsills, floors - mopped etc, benches, bathrooms, toilets. It was quite a big house so it would take about 4hrs.
She never ever came into our rooms as that wasnt allowed and it was our own job to do our own room.
Then when we moved out of home, mum would get her to come in once a month and do a big clean - would take most of the day. Cleaning the oven etc.
Then now my parents dont get a cleaner except when the go on holidays. They come home to a spotless house and they love it!
Just depends on the lifestyle. We cant afford a cleaner at the moment, but i might go eventually down the road of once a month.
omg paying for a cleaning lady is, IMO, the best investment ever. We're too tired when we come home, and I have better things to do on the weekends than clean my house. Mine was a recommendation from family - i pay her $60. (for reference, i have a 2bd/2bath 1600sqft condo, with lots of choctkis and the such) She dusts everything, polishes everything, cleans the bathrooms, the floors, the counters, windows, etc. She changes my bed linen. She doesn't do laundry or dishes, which irritates my fiances since the housekeeper he grew up with did that. I told him we don't pay her enough :) I pick everything up and put things away before she comes so she can clean, and not spend her time picking up after me. I'm never home when she's here. I let her in, and then she locks up when she's done...
I dont think FI and I would be together if we didnt have a house keeper. LOL.
@HoneyBear: LMAO! My DH was squarely against it until I convinced him to try it once. Now, we agree the maids are a must. :-) We both always feel the other one is making the mess. Plus it forces us to organize every 2 weeks so the house is ready for cleaning. I laugh that DH "cleans the house before the house is cleaned."
I love my cleaning people!!!!! They come every other week and clean the house from top to bottom...
They dust, vaccuum, change sheets, clean bathrooms, mop, take out trash... basically everything that FI and I don't want to spent our weekend doing!!!!
Funny that this thread was started a day ago...
My mom just suggested on Saturday that my FI and I get a cleaning lady to come every other week to come clean for us. The thought really hadn't crossed my mind, but it kind of make sense. FI and I both work 40+ hours a week, plus our weekends are full of weddings, home improvements, and other stuff. FI wasn't too crazy about the idea because of the stimga associated with having a "maid." I tried to explain to him that more and more people are getting cleaning services, because Americans are working more hours and just have more important things to do with their time. He doesn't agree with me, but wants to hire landscapers to the cut the grass and pull the weeds (oh the irony!).
We were having someone come...until I quit my job. Now, I feel like I can't really justify paying someone to come clean when I'm here all day. Too bad though--I LOVED having a cleaning lady! We had her come twice a month, and she cleaned the bathroom, kitchen, vaccuumed, changed sheets, wiped down window sills, dusted, did any dishes that were in the sink...pretty much anything that you would want them to do. She also would have done laundry if we had asked her to. I say go for it!!! You won't regret it.
As for being home, we did have to be home because I hadn't given her a key. But you can give them a copy of the key, or leave it with your doorman if you have one. I personally hate being home while someone else is cleaning so I would let her in, and then give her the key to lock up and have her leave it under the mat. I would leave the apt and go do my own thing, and come home to a clean house! So nice.
We have a maid that comes every other Friday and we love her! She's been cleaning my husband's house for close to 7 years.
We pay $100 each time she comes for a 3BR/3BTH 2500sqft home. She picks up, does dishes, the floors, makes our bed, dusts and just generally scrubs from top to bottom. She used to do our laundry, as well, but we decided to save a bit of money and had her stop. If I leave her a note with a special request (like can you please clean the baseboards) she will do it, no problem. We have dogs and so aquire a ton of hair, but you'd have no idea that we do when she leaves.
Also, we can leave the house as messy as we want...she knows where everything goes in our house, so can put things back if needed. We try to get everything out of her way, but we don't stress about it if we leave stuff out.
She has a key to our house and lets herself in.
I honestly don't think I could live without her. Of course, I still have to clean during the week and constantly sweep pet hair, but just knowing that every once and a while I can just leave the dishes and someone else will do them feels amazing!
DH and I have considered getting a cleaning lady because we figure our time is valuable to us and it would be worth the expense to not have to spend our weekend time cleaning.
We'll probably hold off doing so until we get a house though. The apartment is small enough that I can knock out the work quickly enough to not want to have the added expense.
DH's parents have a cleaning lady and they LOVE her.
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The Mister and I are seriously considering hiring someone to clean our house. Not often, but once in a while (maybe twice a month?). We both work long hours at, we're both full time students too, and I am starting to fail to see a reason that we should have to spend any spare time we have cleaning the house. So anyway, I'm just wondering what your average maid DOES?
Do they just vacuum and mop? Do they take care of pet hair on your furniture? (That's my biggest frustration...) If you have a maid or cleaning service come to your home, what's the extent of their duties? Also, do you have to be home when they come, or how does that work?