Do you have a cleaner?

[blue411]

Just dont be tempted to clean up before she comes round as my friend did!!! she felt ashamed that the cleaner would see how messy she was?????
Go figure! lol

[The Doctor]

In our house, it's the other way around.

I've been trying to persuade my wife that we could do with one, if only for a couple of hours a week.

I work full time and she is a teacher and does three days in the class a week (any teacher will tell you this IS working the equivalent of full time, and no she wasn't on strike!).

So, when we do have free time I can think of many things I'd rather do than clean the house!

We had a leaflet put through the door recently by what I assume is a franchise chain and I was very tempted.

[HeyWayne]

I'll let you know how we get on Doc - she starts on Wednesday 7th. Once a week �25 flat rate (not hourly).

She'll sweep and clean all the floors downstairs (lounge, dining room, kitchen, study, utility room), clean the kitchen (except oven), vacuum upstairs (3 bedrooms), clean both bathrooms and dust and polish everywhere. If we want anything else done (cleaning the oven or windows for example), we just leave her a note and she'll charge accordingly.

[Nicos]

I had a cleaner for years whilst working more than full time , 2 children, 3 lotties and a horse- we'd never have coped without them.
We had 3 over about 15 years and they were all superb.
5 hrs a week just about kept on top of things and it certainly made everyone more tidy than we would have been.

I agree- the family time gained certainly created a better quality of life for us all.

It's not a sign of not coping, purely common sense- although I have heard of a few stories of cleaners from hell!!!
As they say- start as you intend to continue and if there are a few things she does which really irritates you then mention it at the start- she should be keen to please you both and for you to appreciate what she has done!

I'm sure things will work out well!

[Finedon.Dandy]

Just dont be tempted to clean up before she comes round as my friend did!!! she felt ashamed that the cleaner would see how messy she was?????
Go figure! lol

Thats why I gave up with ours!!!

[Farmer_Gyles]

i work from home (most of the time) and i keep the house clean and tidy and end up not working as much as i want to ........ i'm going to try and get a cleaner sorted out next week ..... some useful info here !

[Becca]

I'm not tidy enough to have a cleaner.. :P tho that might actually make me put stuff away after myself.. far to good at staggering in from work or the lottie or shops or wherever, putting a bag of stuff down so I can flop and have a cuppa and then just walking around it rather than putting everything away properly... :-/

[Alison]

Wouldn't even consider it, we both work full time so although we don't have much time to clean, we're not there making mess much either. If you keep on top of it and do it as you go along it doesn't take long and regardless of how trustworthy they were I'd still hate the idea of somebody in my house when I was out.

[jackie j]

All this talk of cleaning has made me go and give my kitchen a good clean instead of the quick clean it gets everyday. Didnt do the cooker though get OH to do that tomorrow.
I have persuaded him to take some time off soon so that we can have a good clear out far too much stuff comes in and nothing goes out we need to be ruthless this time.

[SarzWix]

I have a cleaner, but she's rubbish at cleaning....! She the mum of a friend of ours, and when I was struggling with everything (I was totally crippled/bent double for 18 months) OH suggested that I get her to come once a week to help out. I pay her for 3 hours, but these days she doesn't turn up til 10.30 and leaves at 11.45
But I know she needs the money, so I haven't had the heart to tell her to stop coming. I'll have to soon though, coz I need the money too!

[Paul Wagland]

I'd always have a cleaner, so long as my hourly rate was more than theirs. In other words, if I can earn more per hour in my office than I'd pay per hour of cleaning, then it makes sense to hire someone to do it. I do have the luxury of choosing what hours I work though.

As it happens, one of our lodgers is a cleaner, so he does it as part of his rent. The other lodger is a security guard - how perfect is that?!

[Alison C]

I actually enjoy cleaning. What I hate is ironing, if I could afford it I would definately have somebody to do my ironing.

[ironed out]

I do cleaning AND ironing I clean 2 houses on a Tuesday, and iron for another lady every other week. I enjoy doing it for others, but when it comes to my own.....
I think it does all come down to trust..on both sides.
One lady I went to about a year ago was a terrible gossip....she's in her 90's and totally slagged off another lady that came in 2/3 times a day to help with meals/shopping etc so I gave her up. I simply couldn't work for someone who was so openly nasty, and knew darn well I'd be the next person she'd be talking about

I used to have an ironing business but gave it up about 3 years ago to do something different, but it fit in with the kids and I could do it from home as and when.
I'm considering another cleaning job, but to be honest don't know how to fit it in with the others along with the lottie, caravan, and my main job. (but my porch needs replacing!)

and I don't charge anywhere near some of the prices on here....perhaps I need to up my rates

[janecurrah]

We have a couple of ladies that team clean once a week! It is great, as we both work full time and want to relax a bit at weekends. The big bonus is that the kids have to tidy up their rooms in readiness for them, so the pigsties are less disgusting these days

[TPeers]

We also have cleaners - a family team of three. Nelson does everything high and all the hoovering, Vanusa does all the ironing and their daughter (whose name escapes me) does a fantastic job on the bathroom and kitchen including washing up and a full wash of the floors.

They come once a fortnight and cost me �40 for two hours but the house sparkles!

And yes - it does make Hazel tidier! (Pity it doesn't work on TOH)