Cleaning lady

Posted: Sat, Nov 04 2006, 8:54 pm Post subject: Cleaning lady

My husband and I have been thinking about hiring a cleaning lady to come once a week for a few hours.
My only concern is, will that really make a difference? I mean what would she do and if its only once a week that means house wont stay that way- or will it?
Feedback please

Posted: Sat, Nov 04 2006, 9:02 pm Post subject: re: Cleaning lady

It will only make a difference if your house is relatively clean right now. If there is a mess ( and I am not saying that there is) then the cleaning lady doesnt know where to put your stuff, so she will be cleaning around the existing mess. So if you have the time to do a quick put away, you will see how nice and clean your house can look with out YOU having to do it.
You should for sure try it, and enjoy it. Dont spend time fretting over how it will look, its better than you doing it!

Gold Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 1859

Oh, for sure it will make a difference! She can clean the bathrooms, clean the refrigerator, wipe down the walls, vacuum, mop, clean the counters, change the bed linens, do your laundry, straighten up, dust, wash windows, clean the oven, wipe out the microwave, ...

I have a lady on Tuesdays - She is absolutely amazing and gets the house sparkling clean in one day. The rest of the week I keep things picked up, and I do sweep daily and wipe off the toilet seats with a Clorox wipe daily, but that's basically it. On Friday afternoon she comes to me for another two hours to do the floors and the counters and anything else that needs doing. It is a complete lifesaver. (She's also great about doing things like organizing closets, etc. if I ask...honestly, I don't know how I managed without her!)

Posted: Sat, Nov 04 2006, 9:45 pm Post subject: re: Cleaning lady

Alright, I'm convinced- I'll definitely try it out.

What's the normal price range and do people leave their cleaning ladies home alone?

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 10 2006 Posts: 6561

I live in NJ, and it's usually $10-12 /hr. Most women are home, but some women work all day and they trust their cleaning lady (who is also a cleaning lady for several others in the development, so if she got in trouble by one person, she'd lose a LOT of work) to come in by herself. Of course, one has to be smart and not tempt them. (ie. leave money/jewelery out)

Platinum Member Joined: May 16 2005 Posts: 6262

I makes a [/b]HUGE[b] difference!! My cleaning lady comes once a week and this is what she does:

cleans the bathroom
vacuums the carpet
sweeps and mops all the floors
dusts everything
cleans kitchen and oven, wipes down cabinets etc
cleans all the mirrors.....

once in a while cleans windows
or fridge, microwave, inside oven... or any odd jobs I have and then she stays a little longer.....

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 03 2006 Posts: 4473

DH and I don't make so much of a mess that we need a cleaning lady.
That said...
If I had cleaning lady there are plenty of things that I would love to have her do.
Clean the bathrooms, clean toilets and tubs.
Clean my oven (still haven't gotten the hang of that)
Clean my fridge.
Dust all the places I never get around to dusting.

It's nice to dream....

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48136

I've never had one.

I've timed myself, howver. Washing the floors takes 9 minutes. The bathroom, 5 minutes total.

You might think of what you want her to do, to fill up the time....

Posted: Sun, Nov 05 2006, 12:38 am Post subject:

SaraG, maybe I should hire you?
I was wondering where to get a reliable & reasonable cleaning woman in Brooklyn. I want to get one just once in a while - maybe once a month or when things start piling up.
Any suggestions? or anyone has some cleanign help to share?
_________________
"G-d's gifts to you are your talents...How you use them is your gift to G-d."

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48136

My sister has someone just once a month, but she doens't clean anylthingin the meantime, and her places looks DISGUSTING before the cleaning lady comes.

I would not want to live like that!

Posted: Sun, Nov 05 2006, 12:47 am Post subject: re: Cleaning lady

I think it makes a big difference because they can clean the bathrooms, do the floors, and scrub the fridge. That is all stuff that you just don't want to do.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48136

It might depend on your schedule and what else you'd do with your time and money.

Chani is a lawyer, right? She makes a lot more than me. My five minutes to clean bathroom might be worth it, however if she is billing her clients $350 an hour, it'd be cheaper for her to hire someone to do the work at home.

Same principal appplies elsewhere. Say I'd pay someone to wash and set my sheitals if I couldn't do it, or if it took me an hour of blow drying it. It'd be worth it.

Conversely, it wouldn't be worth it to pay someone to wash dishes; I'd just use plastic and disposable pans.