topic Re: Hiring housecleaning help in Home

Hiring housecleaning help

SunSprite — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 19:52:45 GMT

I'm still working full time (50-60 hours per week) and I'm at the point where I think I want to hire cleaning help to come in every two weeks. I called a local franchised cleaning service and was given a quote of $350, with the first time being more expensive than that. This seems very unreasonable to me, and I certainly can't afford to pay $700+ per month.

My townhome is small, under 1400 square feet. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. I want the bathrooms done (hate that part), kitchen and utility room mopped, carpets vacuumed and dusting done. I don't want beds touched, nor laundry done. I keep my own kitchen very clean so nothing to do there, except maybe to wipe the counters down.

I was hoping to pay around $200 (or less!) every two weeks....is that unrealistic of me? I live in the south, cost of living here is much lower than other places....

also, how do you find someone? I don't have an easy time trusting and just not sure how to go about finding an individual....

thanks in advance for any advice, it will be greatly appreciated

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

gidgetgh — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 19:56:03 GMT

We pay $100 every two weeks for a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house.

I I would expect to pay more for the first visit, but not that much. I live in Atlanta.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

SunSprite — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 20:01:17 GMT

@gidgetgh

Thank you for responding, and that sounds so much more reasonable!

do you mind me asking gidgetgh how you found your person(s)?

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

PinkyPetunia — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 20:11:36 GMT

Ask neighbors and coworkers who they use. Check in local giveaway newspapers for ads for house cleaners. Some local stores have bulletin boards where this kind of info is posted. Does your community have some kind of neighbor net online where you post garage sales, baby sitters, etc.?

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

paulazaj — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 20:23:30 GMT

I live in the north and I have a six room ranch...3 bedrooms,two bathrooms, a good sized kitchen,livingroom and family room. My woman vacuums, dusts, does both bathrooms from top to bottom,does everything in the kitchen, and does all my hardwood floors for $70 every two weeks. She is worth her weight in gold. She is from Brazil and I got her through word of mouth. It takes her about 2 1/2 hours of non stop work and my house just sparkles!!!

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

I am still oxox — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 20:29:57 GMT

I do not have my apt cleaned on a regular basis when I did she charged me 60 for a 2 bed 1 bath, unfortunately she is no longer cleaning

Today I used a local service and it was $125 for 3 women they were in and out in an hour and 15 minutes, they brought everything from rages to cleansers to vacuums

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

Berlybaby — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:07:38 GMT

I pay $130 once a month for 2 people to clean my 3 bedroom 2 bath home. I found them through a friend. I live in NC.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

FancyPhillyshopper — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:12:31 GMT

My mother hired a local cleaning service and they had different people come every time.

One of the women stole some of her jewelry (in her bedroom) --another rifled through her medicine cabinet and took pills.

Now family members help her clean the house.

It seems it would be better if you could find one dependable person that you could trust.

You may also want to consider how much access you want the person to have in your house.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

NickNack — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:16:09 GMT

I live in Tennessee and have two ladies clean my 1200 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath house once a month. They do a very thorough job, and I pay them $80 each time. I think I paid $120 the first time. The quote you got is outrageous. My sister recommended them to me.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

Hoovermom — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 15:22:02 GMT

I got my cleaning lady from NextDoor. It is a site from your neighborhood with recommendations on all kinds of services. She is great, cleans my 2700 sq.ft. home for $150. She comes every two weeks. I would go on local recommendations.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

RedTop — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:40:40 GMT

Start asking friends and neighbors in an effort to find someone trustworthy.

Several of my friends who worked in housekeeping at the hospital cleaned medical offices and houses on the side. School janitors are often looking for side jobs as well.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

Kachina624 — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:41:43 GMT

Do you have the Nextdoor app for your neighborhood? It's a message board similar to QVC's but for specific areas. That's how everyone here seems to find all kinds of workers. Others often chime in and offer references or comments, which are not necessarily favorable.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

AuntG — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:47:28 GMT

@SunSprite that amount is laughable. You indicated a twice a month cleaning would be sufficient with you lightly cleaning on the other two weeks. No more than $200 a month.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

AuntG — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:49:48 GMT

@paulazaj you are lucky indeed. I'd give her a month wages as a Christmas bonus just to keep her around.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

kivah — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:32:07 GMT

Always hide ur jewelry, money and valuables. Housekeeping is ripe for thieves. I'm on nextdoor dot com --- and many people on there ask for referrals for housekeepers. You can check out that site in ur area. You may also want to install a camera (and tell them that there's a camera). I wouldn't use a cleaning service - where they send different people. Also, google their name to see if there are complaints.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

KathyM23 — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 01:42:19 GMT

The quote you received is ridiculous unless you are having a very deep cleaning - i.e., windows, closets, walls, moving furniture, etc.

I have always had someone to clean every two weeks. Presently I am paying $65.00 each time for general cleaning of a 7 room, 2 bath house, only 2 of us here so it doesn't really get very dirty, some rooms not even used - vacuuming, mopping floors, dusting, bathrooms and normal general cleaning whatever that is, as I am not a cleaner. I pay extra for separate jobs like cleaning the fridge, kitchen cabinets, etc. and whatever would not be considered general cleaning. Fortunately, DH does the hard stuff like windows, moving furniture out, etc

I do use a commercial service for carpet cleaning, but have been using the same one for many years and it is owned by a relative of a friend.

I would never consider using a franchised or even a local cleaning service. Because of the cost for one thing and they often have more than one person come and not always the same people. I want to know who is coming into my house and that it is someone I trust.

I have been lucky as I have alway found someone I knew or a friend knew. I had a long-time cleaning lady of 25 years who finally had to give up cleaning due to health. My house was the last one she gave up as she said she really enjoyed coming here.

To me, it was always worth paying someone to do what I hate to do. And I would not want to come home after working all day and have to clean too and spending my weekends during housework. I guess I am definitely not domestic.

Hopefully, you will find a trustworthy, dependable cleaning person and you will find what a relief it is to have free time for yourself to enjoy. Believe me, it is worth the money. If you still want to do housework, I'm sure you have home projects that you never had the time to do

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

SurferWife — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 02:22:42 GMT

Our house is ~1,000 sq. ft. (1 BR, 1BA). We live beachfront, so when I say I have dust, I mean DUUUUUUSSSSSTTTTTT!! Dusting this house is a full-time job!

My current cleaning lady charges $20 hour, but I am expected to provide all the cleaning supplies. She takes ~5 hours, so that comes to $100, plus I throw in an extra $10. I have her come every 2 weeks. I like her but she is not as "seasoned" as my previous lady, so I kind of check up on her as she moves from room to room. She is sweet as pie & works her hiney off.

My previous lady charged $35 hour, and she provided all the cleaning supplies. She was great & worth every penny, but she is young and got pregnant with her second child, so she started hiring others to work for her and she as well as her team became undependable (cancelling last minute & taking over a week to reschedule) so there went that one. She took about 4 hours, but I think she was more seasoned & could get through with everything quicker.

You should really go by personal reference if you have friends or professional colleagues who have a cleaning lady. I think the cleaning companies charge more simply because of the overhead.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

morganjen — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 02:52:14 GMT

Do you all stay home when the house cleaner is present? I think I'd be too OCD and be watching them the whole entire time. I've never had help. A coworker priced a service one time, and for the initial visit they quoted $700.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

SunSprite — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 10:15:21 GMT

I can't thank you all enough for your replies. I'm so glad I asked,

as that amount I was quoted seemed astronomical to me. They did say they send a crew of 3-4 people so I imagine they are fast, but I don't want to pay for 3 people to be speedy lol...I just need one person to do the job. Thanks to you I have a reasonable idea of what that should cost.

@Kachina624 That's the second time I've heard about the NextDoor ap. I will check that out.

I'm fortunate that I have some flexibility on my job as far as coming and going--once I find someone I will have to be here while they clean. I'm just not comfortable with trusting someone in my home while not here.

Re: Hiring housecleaning help

Boehm Collector — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 13:43:10 GMT

@SunSprite, I pay my cleaning woman $75.00 a week. My home consists of two bedrooms, living room, dining room, dinette, 2 kitchens (one is in the finished basement), 2 bathrooms (one is in the basement) and a finished basement. So the price you are being quoted seems terribly high.