Things to Know Before Booking

Over the years, I've had situations come up that I think I should start sharing. 

Perhaps you're booking your cleaner to come in just before you move into a new home. Maybe you've purchased, or already own, a rental and would like a good cleaning before you or your tenants move in.  

That's great! but please have the renovations and any other work done before you have the cleaning done. I don't much like cleaning around service people. It doesn't make sense to have the cleaner there while carpet installers, painters, plumbers or electricians are there. We're in each others' way and the contractors usually create dust and debris so it takes longer and it's frustrating for everyone.

I've cleaned cupboards, blinds, ovens and nasty refrigerators and other areas of a house and then am told don't bother, they will be getting replaced or renovated. So please communicate those things to your cleaning person too.

Do I still charge for that? Yes. I do.

But I feel bad about it and am usually disappointed that I had to do way more work than I needed to in order to get the job done. It could be several hours of work at $40 per hour that you didn't have to pay for if I would've known that I didn't need to clean it.

If you're booking a clean for the first time, it's nice to know if there isn't any parking near your front door. Or if I have to trudge through a foot of snow or slip and slide on ice to get to your door. 

I'm carrying a few pounds of supplies and equipment and falling down isn't something that thrills me. I may need to grab my cart for transporting supplies from my vehicle to your house or apartment. It would just be nice to know this prior to showing up for your clean.

I should remember to ask more questions but most customers will give me details such as if they have several hairy pets or a dog that bites.

I love cats and dogs but often, more so with dogs that may be adopted or rescued, pets may have a sketchy past. The pets may be well-behaved and loving in the home with their family but if someone who comes into the home waving tools around and making noise with the vacuum cleaner, they might mistake me for someone who might hit them with my duster as they see it as a weapon. 

"My dog wouldn't hurt a fly" turns into "Yes, but they may hurt a housekeeper". 

This is my workplace. Would you work somewhere that has a dog standing in front of you and growling or barking and the owner is nowhere around to control its behavior?

Another request that I'd like to make on behalf of house cleaners, is that if you're going on vacation or some other reason that you need to cancel and you know well ahead of time, let me know as soon as you can. I can then try to find other work. I realize sometimes things change last minute and I'm up for switching gears quickly but if you know in summer that you're going to Mexico in Winter, please let me know at least a few weeks or days prior. I have several clients that I sporadically clean for that I could pop into your spot but even they usually need at least a few days notice. 

I get it if there's an emergency or someone is really sick and that's understandable.

Many times I can still come into your home and clean extra things while you're away too. I have had many clients whom I've done more deeper cleaning--wiping out cupboards, moving furniture to vacuum behind if I can, cleaning light fixtures, washing walls or whatever else I generally don't do during a regular cleaning.

Being told so last minute of a cancellation leaves me with no way to find more work and I like having a moderately full work schedule. It's my paycheck.

Empty shampoo bottles and other containers in a bath or shower area is another waste of time and money. Any house cleaner likes to be efficient and the bathroom is one of those rooms in most homes that takes awhile if it's is a well used room. I don't know if there's still a tiny bit of conditioner that bottle you'd like to use up or for some other reason you're keeping the empty soap container, so I move everything out of the shower or bath area, clean, then move everything back into the area where you had it. It would just be a lot better if empty containers are removed prior to cleaning. 

If it's too frustrating to clean a particular house or dealing with the clients, housekeepers tend to quit or be unreliable as they're feeling disrespected. I definitely feel disrespected if I'm in the process of washing floors and someone walks in the house with dirty shoes and walks right in front of me. Or worse, they leave pet waste for when I show up.

These are just a few things that I wonder if people even realize they may be stressing their housecleaners with. I hear people say that their housekeeper just quit one day. Lots of things go through my mind when I hear that. Housecleaners like to make their clients happy but they also have standards to make their job efficient. Was the housekeeper unreasonable or did things in the household make them throw up their hands and quit. 

The ideal house cleaning job would be 

-I am able to park in front of the property or at least a heads up where I may park

-the home is tidied up the best they can. I don't know where things go and you probably don't want to pay me to look around the house and find "homes" for items.  

-I have clear instructions on what to focus on and areas that don't always need that much attention

-animals are friendly or secured or not in the house when I'm scheduled to be there

-nobody is home or at least in another area for most of the time I'm there

-I can lock-up when I leave

-payment is prompt, preferably same day

I give everyone the benefit of the doubt but if I'm uncomfortable cleaning somewhere, it makes for a miserable time for me even if I get paid promptly and things are tidied. 

So what are some things I've missed? whether you hire a cleaning service or you are a house cleaner?

Plan? What Plan?

I know I've been bouncing around with jobs and careers lately and I sincerely apologize for confusing those around me!

I tried selling real estate, tried working for minimum wage at a butcher shop and a high school cafeteria. I 've even tried cleaning for other property management companies but one thing that I can't seem to get away from is my own housekeeping business. 

I've been trying to find something that wasn't physically demanding but I've decided to exercise more, change some habits and keep on the house cleaning gig. 

Working out at least twice a week and yoga two or three times a week is definitely making me feel better physically and mentally. Cutting back on booze has been one of my best decisions....not realizing how shitty it makes me feel. Gettin' old, am I? Probably.

I enjoy talking to people who need cleaning in their homes and rentals. They feel so much better having someone do it for them so they can get on with other business. Or sometimes my customers just don't know where to start and what to use. 

I love deciding what I need to take along for the next job to be at my most efficient. I'm generally very organized so I have my supplies and equipment clean, full and ready to go by the time I'm ready to leave for my appointment. I'm usually ready the evening prior to the job.

If I've been at the house before, I plan in my head how I will tackle the cleaning but am ready for obstacles. If I've never been to the house, then I plan for everything. I've never regretted taking too many supplies with me. I never know what I'll come across!

I have my favorite cleaners and tools that work well for most homes. Although I've come across situations where I didn't, it's very few and far between. Most times, if I can't clean something over the course of a few cleanings, it usually needs to be replaced, fixed or taken apart ...or I need to be booked more frequent and scrub at it! I'm talking about moldy showers, stained fixtures or badly scuffed doors/walls that are in need of fresh paint.

I've met such interesting people along the way...since 2010. Some of my clients and former clients I have become good friends with or coffee comrades. 

I started house cleaning when the kids were young as working retail just wasn't getting me anywhere. I tried doing manicures and pedicures, as much fun as that is! it doesn't pay well. Then I found that there was a need for residential cleaning and I got the feeling of being useful and helpful. 

Maybe it's the hardworking Mennonite in me?

Organizing the Clutter

The best way to start cleaning a home is by organizing your clutter. 

What? you may say...

Putting things where they belong, whether that be in the garbage, recycle bin or in the proper closet, drawer or shelf, makes a world of difference before you start cleaning--or before your housekeeper shows up. 

Doing a room at a time is what most people seem to think of, and that's great! but I suggest tackling it a little differently. Walk around your house for a few minutes and put stuff where it belongs, throw it out or give it away. And then do it again next week! And the week after! and eventually you get your home under control by doing what you can each time.

Making the home easier to clean will usually give you incentive to keep going. I don't do all my cleaning in one day like I do when I clean other peoples' homes. I pick a day where I have time to clean the bathrooms, then a day when I have time to dust. After that, I will find time to vacuum and wash floors. It may not always be the same day of the week. As long as I get to it between 1-2 weeks, I'm happy.

In my house, I have a tenant, a.k.a. son who moved back home, who cleans the bathroom downstairs. I don't clean the bath/shower area very often on the main floor bath because that one very seldom gets used so I wipe the sink and give the toilet a swish and wipe once a week or so. That only leaves the ensuite bathroom that has a small shower that I'm more particular with, as my husband and I use it frequently and I don't want soap scum to build up.

It's been so much easier to clean the house lately as we don't have very many people living in the house any more but boy, I sure remember those days! As the kids got older, they understood the importance of cleaning and how important it was to me and would pitch in more often. 

Yes, it is a never-ending task but that's the cost of having a home. 

If you have an area that doesn't necessarily need cleaning as often because it really doesn't get used, skip it until it gets used. Maybe you can get away with just occasionally dusting and vacuuming a seldom-used room. Get the junk out of there and don't bother with it too much.

Have a bin in the house that is for donations. Clothes that don't fit well but still in good shape, unused toys, pare down the stuffies on the children's beds, or excess towels and bedsheets are great candidates for the donation bin or better yet--box that closes. Kids will try to pick out stuff that you put in! When the box is full, drop it at a thrift store or the donation bins that sit in the corners of parking lots. I will drop donations on my way to work or shopping so it's not an extra trip. Save one or two Amazon boxes or swing into the cardboard recycling lot some day and pick up a box or two specifically for donations.

Professional organizers so often say to do a big declutter. If that's the way you want to do it, then that's great! but remember, you need to maintain it. Do bits at a time and you will naturally maintain it. It doesn't need to be perfect and your home will be easier to clean and keep clean.

I lived in small homes for many years so I couldn't let stuff build up or there would've been no room to live. Now that I have a larger home, I still go through all my stuff and junk because one day I may go back to a smaller space. 

I've cleaned homes that were on my bi-weekly schedule for over 9 years and the homeowners kept the same almost-empty shampoo/conditioner/body wash bottles in the shower the entire time. So for over nine years, I moved those bottles out of the shower to clean it. And then I put them back. 

Taking 30 seconds to throw out unused shampoo, soaps and shower puffs makes it so much nicer to clean and looks better too.

I have a smaller bin in my office/spare room where I throw flyers and other pieces of paper that accumulate and when it gets full or annoying I take it to the garage and dump it in the recycle bin.

Tip that works for me--I leave things like this at the door or stairs and grab it on my way out or in. 

But Rebecca! I'm not that organized!

You don't need to be an organized freak. 

When you meet Jesus, who's going through your crap? 

Here's an old TV show I found on YouTube of two ladies who help clean people's homes. 

I think it's a comedy 😁

https://youtu.be/uYEfAAUQnXI