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We got one a few months ago. I personally never felt it was necessary, but after living in a house with two 3-year olds it's just a never ending battle to keep the place clean and usually meant tackling the floors and tub and sink in our rare free time.
So we ended up hiring someone to come in, while we were at work, to mainly focus on things like washing the floor, counters, sink, tub, and quick vacuum around. For the most part we keep the house neat, but the two toddlers are like a pair of hurricanes when you take your eyes off them and we frequently find ourselves playing "What's that smudge" when we notice something on the floor/wall/counter/etc.
Ours comes in every 2 weeks, for 3-4 hours. $70. And yes, we tidy up before she comes.
This is my story as well and same price. We recently stopped having her come regularly. But, she has been coming while we've been selling our home and will do a final clean just before closing.
I would love to have her at the new house, but we'll have to see what we can swing when the time comes.
We have two awesome girls who come every two weeks. I work from home so I'm here when they are. We justify it since my husband and I both work full time, we have two teenage daughters and are so busy. Our house is kept very neat anyways (my husband is a former Marine) so the girls don't have to pick anything up or move anything around. The only thing I do prior to their visit is clean all my piles off of my desk so they can dust. They do the bathrooms, kitchen, dust, vacuum, mop floors. No dishes, laundry, changing linens or anything like that. Doing floors & cleaning the bathrooms is my least favorite thing so I really appreciate having them. And we really like them, so that helps. We live in a 2K square foot house and pay $65 every two weeks. And they provide the cleaning supplies!
I think the person cleaning the house, if you treat people nice they treat you nice and do a good job for the work they agree to do.
I don't treat them as if I don't trust them, If I did not trust them, I'd not let them in to do the work.
when I lived in another states, when I'd go on vacation the lady who took care of my house also came and took care of my dogs as well. She had her own key for use when she was to come and do the work. She told me, she only does a few homes for a very few people, because it gives her something to do, she did not choose to be a service available to any and everyone. I actually knew her daughter before I knew her, and she always asked her daughter who took care of my home for me, so she wanted to do it. I was invited to their family gathering and they were a very good family and very close with each other. It was a great situation.
I think people have to find the right person when it comes to this service, then one can be comfortable with them and they will become comfortable with you and still do the work needed.
We have cleaning ladies who come every 2 weeks also. We held out on doing it for years but it is honestly the best money we spend. We both work full time (50+ hrs a week) and have a small child so having someone else do the deep cleaning is well worth it to us. We pick up before they come. We pay $95 for a 2700 sqft house. The way I see it is this - I'm home for maybe 4 hours of waking time a day. Do I want to spend it cleaning? No. I'd rather be outside playing with my son, walking my dog, cooking dinner and relaxing.
In between we do some vacuuming and obviously clean the kitchen after we cook and such.
Since posting in May I now clean for 2 ladies who live here in the summer months and I still manage to keep my home clean and tidy.
Neither home is difficult but I do laundry, ironing and clean. One of my ladies describes me as her 'wife' (I'm more like her personal assistant than housekeeper)
We also took on added chores of chickens and ducks this summer and are currently fencing for alpacas ... never a dull moment and always ready for my bed at the end of the day but life is grand, I wouldn't swap it for the world.
I've even diversified, I am housesitting a pair of goldfish and 3 very large bird of paradise palms for my ladies, my living room looks like a tropical paradise ... no Christmas tree for us this year
Because of living on the border, I have grown up with Mexican maids. I am not going to say what the going rate is here (PM me if you are curious). We have a lady that comes 2 times a month , once to do ironing (mostly for my wife), and once to do deep cleaning. I am the "assistant maid" and do what my mom used to call " a lick and a promise" cleaning. However, since there are only two of us and we pick up after ourselves, there is not much to clean. Vacuuming , dusting, Mopping the kitchen and cleaning the toilets and sinks. Since our beloved dog died , that has really made things easier as she shed a lot. I think it is money well spent and perhaps the "assistant maid" will retire someday. LOL But for now, I don't mind and it is good exercise and satisfaction of completing a task.
The lady that we have come in has become basically part of our family. She is supposed to work some number of hours for $65. However she usually spends most of the day at our house. She plays with he dogs, has lengthy discussions with he kids, bakes something to give us (which she does not count as work time). She does not count the work hours and neither do we. She gives us more than we pay for. If she is not feeling well or otherwise is not as efficient as normal - that is fine. She might give us more than she should for five weeks and then have a low day. We still come out ahead. As far as trust, she is one of a few people I would not have any qualms about handing a winning lottery ticket to hold onto for a few days knowing I would get it back.
"Hey Hon, do we have a house cleaner or maid? Hon!?" .... she's not answering right now, I'll wait till she turns off the vacuum cleaner and check back
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They do the bathrooms, kitchen, dust, vacuum, mop floors. No dishes, laundry, changing linens or anything like that. Doing floors & cleaning the bathrooms is my least favorite thing so I really appreciate having them. And we really like them, so that helps. We live in a 2K square foot house and pay $65 every two weeks. And they provide the cleaning supplies!
