Informal Survey: Cleaning Up

I'm about to do something that plunges me into my discomfort zone:  hire a person to clean my home.

I don't know why I'm so conflicted about this.  Perhaps it is because my own mother "did it all", juggling home, kids, cooking and even a part-time job at times.  Maybe it is because I can't imagine that something I do regularly is worth paying someone else a large sum of money to do.

When my husband started school, we had agreed to get help around the house since he would no longer be able to pitch in on the cleaning chores.  With me homeschooling, doing the errands, handling our finances, cooking, doing laundry and housecleaning, it was decided that this would be a necessary charge to get through the next two years.

But, I resisted.  For nine months, I told myself I could do everything just fine.   I am a stay-at-home mom:  isn't this what we're supposed to do? 

Well, see that white flag?   Yeah, it's me. 

So here is the 'informal survey' part of this post.   For those of you who use a cleaning service, what is reasonable?  I've spoken to a few which require a one-time "upfront" clean where they scour your entire house.  Unfortunately, this one-time clean can run upwards of $200 which is stopping me dead in my tracks (we live in a mid-size colonial, by no means a McMansion; nor is it a cesspool of clutter and filth).   For those of you who have your home cleaned less than once a week, is it worth it?  Do you feel like you get a break from cleaning in between, or are you still cleaning on your off weeks?

And, I realize I will still be 'cleaning' every day---there are toys, play-dough, dropped socks, crumbs, cat hair and all those things that never really go away.  Plus, there is laundry (oh, the laundry). 

What I really need is the Brady Bunch's Alice.  Too bad I don't have a spare bedroom, and a money tree, for her.

Comments

[Liz]

I couldn't do it without my cleaning people. I think the first time was around $200, but now the every-other-week charge is $75. Every other week works for me, and it is money very well spent. To know that my floors will get done, my bathroom will be clean, countertops and stoves back to shining... totally worth it. I've never been a particularly good housekeeper, and I'm not a neat freak, so the every-other-week is perfect for me. Sure, sometimes you need to vacuum in between visits, and it's not like it keeps you from wiping down the countertops. But I find it makes the day-to-day a lot easier if I know someone else is going to be more thorough every other week.

[Miguelina]

The one time clean fee is pretty standard. We get our house cleaned every other week and I do VERY little in between cleanings. The trick is to find cleaners that will do a "deep" clean so that all you have to worry about is picking up and sanitizing the kitchen and bath.

We live in a mid-size colonial (4 beds, 2.5 baths) and we pay $90 every other week. The first clean was $180, I think.

Don't feel guilty about hiring cleaners. Think of it as temporary help until the kids are older.

Good luck!

[Erin]

My housekeeper comes every other week. I've had both weekly and every-other-week housekeeping and every-other works for me. I still vacuum and dust every couple of days but I like knowing the real heavy cleaning (bathrooms, etc) will be done thoroughly every other week.

I think the initial cleaning can run you upwards to a few hundred dollars depending on the size of your house, how long it takes to clean, and how much furniture you have (because they have to move it to clean). For what it's worth, I live in the western burbs and pay $90 every other week.

[Erin]

BTW Miguelina and I have the same house cleaners!

[Miguelina]

Erin: I was just about to tell her that! :)

[Mommy, Esq.]

Upfront 1 time cleaning is standard at an hourly rate (since they don't know what condition your house is in). Twice a month makes more sense if you have 2000 sq feet or less - otherwise the costs just isn't worth it (I pay about $85 a visit). The only thing I do between cleanings is when we have guests coming over I wash the kitchen counters and sweep any visible dirt. I also leave out new sheets and they change my bed.

[margalit]

I don't use a service (I have in the past, just don't now). An upfront cleaning rate is, as everyone else said, standard to get your house up to par. It includes stuff like doing baseboards and ceiling moulding that they don't do that often on a weekly basis.

As for anything other than weekly cleaning, I wouldn't advise it. We have weekly and if I could afford it, I'd have it twice a week. My house (and you've seen it at it's absolute worst) goes from spotless on Monday, when the cleaner comes, to pretty horrid by Friday, to call DSS and get these kids removed from this filth, which btw is all caused by them, on Sunday night. I mean weekends are BAD.

I've never cleaned my own house. Ever. I've always had a cleaner. I was brought up in a home with 2 full time maids and I am a complete virgin at cleaning. I wouldn't even know how to start, so I don't. I mean it, I'm pathetic.

My cleaning lady does the following tasks weekly:

kitchen counters, sink, stove top, appliance wipedown, floor washed, dusted.

both bathrooms cleaned inc floors, counters, toilets, etc.

LVR and DR, dusting, wood floors vacuumed and then washed, carpets vacuumed, sweeps under furniture (deal is all change found is hers) and vacuums furniture, straightens up, cleans glasstop on coffee table, polishes wood furniture, removes piles of papers and puts away.

Hallways vacuumed, dusted, floors washed.

My bedroom vacuumed, straightened up, laundry taken to washing machine and washed, clothes hung out to dry (we no longer use a dryer), sheets changed, bedside table straightened up.

She works about 4 hours/week and does that.

Now, I don't pay for my housecleaner. I get cleaning services through the office of rehabilitative services because I'm disabled, but when I did pay for it, it was about $85/week for a 2300 sq ft house with 3 bdrs and 3 baths.

[Caroline]

When I had help coming in (oh how I wish that were RIGHT THIS MINUTE), she did three "heavy cleanings" in a row, one per week, then moved to "maintenance". Perhaps, if you don't want to do the big up-front clean all at once, you could arrange something like that. I think it's to ensure that you don't blame the housecleaner for things not being spic and span that the cleaner hasn't done?

Also, my cleaner was an independent, not part of a service. That makes a difference, I think.

[Adrienne]

We have had the same person for quite a few years and before us she worked for my aunt for 25 years. She charges $135 to come once a month and dig down deep into the grit and grime that our house has become. In between I do NOTHING (except dishes every night)!

If the grandbaby is coming over and the dog has had a particularly large shedding experience then I may vacuum.

[Crystal]

I loathe the day when we stop using a cleaning service (which will be after the baby comes, when I'll probably most need it). One of the best luxuries of working before I was pregnant and while I'm pregnant is saying that I'm too tired to deal with the house.

Spoiled? Yes, but I'm definitely one of those wives/friends who puts in a ton of effort for everyone else (and I know it will be like that for my daughter when she arrives)and doesn't do a ton for herself. The cleaning service is for me.

Yes, I know how to clean a house--I was handed a dishtowel for the first time when I was something like 4 and had to stand/kneel on a chair to reach the cupboard to put away the cups and such. I know how to scrub away grime, how to vacuum, how to iron, and all that jazz. And I hate every second of it.

When we first got a service, we did the deep clean for something like 200/250 (we're near Boston so I assume it's a bit pricier the closer you get) and then it was 80 every other week. When we switched people, it was 70 every week, which was what we went to after I got pregnant and couldn't touch the litter box anymore.