How do I prepare for the cleaning lady is a question I have heard many times through the years.
Whether you just hired your first cleaning lady, if you are considering hiring one or you already have one and it isn’t going so well, this advice will help you. We owned a residential and commercial cleaning business for many years so our advice is real.
Also See How We Started Our Cleaning Business
I have been asked a number of times over the last almost 20 years of owning a cleaning business, “Why do we have to clean the house before the cleaning lady comes?” That question usually comes from acquaintances who need a better understanding with their cleaning lady.
Do you have a cleaning lady or a housekeeper, I might ask. The two are not created equal. Let me explain.
What kind of cleaning agreement do you have with your cleaning service?
Cleaning Lady or Housekeeper?
The cleaning lady usually comes from a service you have hired to clean your home. They may or may not send the same person to clean your home on a regular basis. You may or may not have even met the person(s) who clean your home. If you have a problem, you usually call the company office.
The Housekeeper is a person you hired personally, have met and are on a first name basis with. She is very familiar with your home and family and is in fact considered to be a extension of your family. She will likely do more personal cleaning services for you and may even be willing to pick up scatter and do dishes.
Also See: How To Set Up A Speed Cleaning Kit
Most common services you can expect:
- sweep, mop,
- vacuum, dust,
- clean the exterior surfaces in the kitchen including the sink and counters,
- thoroughly clean the bathrooms (tub, toilet, sink, floor, shower and mirrors),
- take out the trash
- and probably make the beds.
You may be able to negotiate with your service provider to wash the bed sheets as well. We never mind washing the sheets as the washer and dryer are running while we are cleaning so no problem.
What NOT to expect your cleaning lady to do
- Pick up all the scatter
- load the dishwasher or wash dishes
- laundry
- clean up behind pets
- anything outdoors such as enclosed porches
You Should Pick Up Scatter!
You can expect that your cleaning lady will NOT pick up scatter.
Scatter would be defined as anything which is temporarily out of place. Dirty clothes on the floor are the most common scatter. Sofa pillows on the floor, socks and shoes left in the living room or anything out of it’s natural place, is scatter.
Scatter and clutter are nearly the same with very minor differences.
Clutter has taken up residence in it’s location. All of the mail from the last several months in piles on one end of the kitchen counter is clutter.
Bathrooms are a common location for clutter. Do your bathroom counters look like a store shelf with lots of grooming and hygiene products to select from? Be sure to put all of those things away when the cleaning lady is coming so your counters can be properly cleaned and disinfected.
Do these things before the cleaning lady comes
- Pick up all the scatter
- Clear the clutter from areas expected to be cleaned
- Load the dishwasher
- Do not leave dirty dishes out in the kitchen
Communication is key. Make a list of questions prior to getting a quote for cleaning. If you are getting quotes for cleaning, that should be done in person. Someone from the service will have to come out to your house and meet with you and see your home for a proper quote. This is your opportunity to communicate everything you wish to have done on a regular basis. Use this time to ask those questions.
Here is a good tip for you. When you take care of your housekeeper, she will take care of you and your family.
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Jenny says
Great tips! I wish I had a cleaning lady. If I ever do, I will remember this.
John says
Our family is pretty busy and we don’t have much free time. We also thought that the cleaning lady would be a perfect solution. But then we found out the price.. And decided that we can clean house ourselves 😀 I read somewhere that it’s important to have the right tools and then you can clean the house really fast and easy. I started my “expert” journey by reviewing different products, including vacuum cleaners. And you now what? I had a chance to use different vacuum cleaners, even bots, and found out that the right tools really mater. We realized that a robotic vacuum cleaner is what we need, we bought one, and now we just adore it. It makes our life so much easier + it was a great investment because it cleans the floor every time we need it, even if we’re not home. So I suggest to think this through before paying someone who cleans the house, as it costs pretty much. 🙂
But thank you for the informative article! There were some things I didn’t know 🙂
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Ivy Baker says
This is some really good information about cleaning ladies. I liked you explained that just because you hired someone to clean they do have the right to say they are going to clean certain things. It does seem like a good thing to know that way you won’t’ get surprised when they don’t want to clean up super gross things.
Kim~madeinaday says
I’ve had a cleaning lady for almost a year. I can’t live without her. It’s the mopping and vacuuming that is so tough to keep up for me. Great post! Sharing on Twitter #MM
Kim
Mrs Tubbs says
Brilliant list. I had a cleaning job whilst I was at university and it was quite the eye opener! I can still remember the family who split squash on their wooden dinner table then left it for a week as that was the cleaning lady’s job … Of course, by the time I’d got there that squash was overlaid with further ick and was not coming off that wooden dinner table without scrubbing, which risked damaging the table. If they’d done it at the time, it would have been fine.
Kelly says
This is such a great post! I have been discussing with my husband for some time about the possibility of getting in a cleaner once a week and he couldn’t understand my reluctance when I explained I would only have to tidy before she came anyway. This post sums it up nicely #saygday
Jenn @ The Art of Better says
YES! We have a fantastic woman named Joi that comes every other week and she is amazing. I would be so embarrassed if there was crap laying around everywhere. I may be tidying up an hour before she arrives but that still counts, right? 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Jenn @ The Art of Better says
BTW- pinned!!
Shirley Wood says
Thank you for the Pin:-)
Shirley Wood says
Jenn, you sound like the perfect client! It’s nice to have a cleaning lady for all that sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting and scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms. Even when we clean our own homes, it takes longer and sometimes doesn’t even get completed because we are so buy putting away scatter and clutter. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
I’ve been thinking about hiring a cleaning service. I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is really helpful.
Amanda Smith says
My aunt used to clean houses and she complained all of the time about people leaving days worth of dirty dishes and stuff lying around everywhere. I agree! A housekeeper and a cleaning lady are totally different and I would never expect mine (if I had one) to do those things.
Shirley Wood says
Oh, the stories I could tell :-). Some people are just so much more thoughtful and kind than others.
Renew Your Space says
I can’t believe how rude some people are to leave that kind of mess for you :/ This is a GREAT resource to know how a cleaning lady works & what to expect, especially with the clutter. ~ Renee
Shirley Wood says
Cleaning ladies don’t clean clutter. You would not believe some of the stories I could tell. Sometimes, families get very busy living their lives and clutter occurs at home. That is going to happen to all of us from time to time. Other’s just live a cluttered life, similar to the Hoarder’s show on TV.
Anna @ Northern Homestead says
Good information to know! Thankfully right now I am able and like it to do myself, but you never know when things change.
Shirley Wood says
Thanks, Anna. Treat yourself sometime to a good house cleaning by a professional. Most cleaning ladies/services offer a whole house ceiling to floor (Spring Cleaning) service. That can be a bit costly but everything is negotiable to make it more affordable.
Kristen from The Road to Domestication says
FANTASTIC post, Shirley! I’ve only had someone clean my house once, and she didn’t do a good job, so I swore off it…for a bit 🙂 I’d love to have someone come once a week! Could you give a ball park of what that might cost? Or am I asking TMI?
Shirley Wood says
There are variables which determine the price. I don’t know how large your home is or if there are cats (we charge more when there are cats b/c of all the cat hair) but a 2,000 sq. ft., 3 bdrom, 2 bth, eat=in kitchen, living, dining den…should be between $75-85, ballpark figure. Your neck of the woods might be very different. Most couples go with bi-weekly. It’s the families with children who like the weekly service the most. Hope this helps.