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Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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Have you tried posting for recommendations on your cities forum on here? I'm a professional house cleaner in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC and have met several clients via our triangle forum. My only gripe is that I'm not allowed to recommend myself per terms of service.
Not sure about looking fora cleaner on Craigslist. I will say that I advertised on there years ago,when I first started. It was a big mistake. Out of the hundred replies I received,not one legitimate inquiry. African email scams galore. They were funny till months later,when they weren't. Never again
Have you tried a temp agency? The employment office at a local college? Asking a few pastors if there is anyone in their congregation that could use a part time job?
Your best bet is asking neighbors, coworkers, etc.
You want someone who does a good job and who plans to be doing this for the next several years. Track record count.
Craigslist might have some good ones. But they will likely vary in their housecleaning approach and may not be as reliable/dependable/long term as someone who has been doing this for a time.
The downside of asking neighbors, etc. is that anyone who does a great job of cleaning a house and has reasonable rates and interpersonal skills is usually already booked up. You have to wait until someone drops out of the rotation.
I moved to a small city in the Midwest from a large city in the south and am having a terrible time finding a housekeeper. I had a couple try out but they both just didn't work hard like I was used to. Honestly I am used to immigrants (both Mexican and African) as housekeepers. I pay VERY well and it's a 16 hour a week job (2 full days).
I have asked around, several ads on care.com, messaged several people on care.com. No luck. A couple people inquired but they were babysitters, not housekeepers. I'm not interested in services because I need laundry and dishes done too.
So I am thinking posting on Craig's list. Eek! I never thought I would! But being a small city it might be better? I looked on there and and saw a couple off color ads (like looking for a nude housekeeper).
I'm desperate! Any ideas? Any real jobs come from Craig's list?
I've used CL housekeepers plenty of times and never had an issue. Some of the outfits did seem a little sketchy where you would make an appointment with one lady but someone else would show up. I didn't like that. I did find a lady that did an awesome job but then she kept raising the rates although I had her do less work so that bugged me too. I would say maybe try out a few or maybe go the merry maid (or some other national chain). You know they will have a bunch of holiday deals this time of year. I agree that if you have valuables to lock them up and now a days people are after perscription drugs so I put all of those in the safe.
Have you tried a temp agency? The employment office at a local college? Asking a few pastors if there is anyone in their congregation that could use a part time job?
The problem is that the OP isn't just looking for a random person who says "Sure, I can clean a house, how hard could it be?" They are looking for a 'nose to the grindstone', 'I need this job so I'm going to do a fantastic job', 'I know what I'm doing and exactly how to do it' style of cleaner, who you just won't find in most of small town America.
The problem is that the OP isn't just looking for a random person who says "Sure, I can clean a house, how hard could it be?" They are looking for a 'nose to the grindstone', 'I need this job so I'm going to do a fantastic job', 'I know what I'm doing and exactly how to do it' style of cleaner, who you just won't find in most of small town America.
It's exactly the kind of work done by people (mostly women) who live in small towns around here, where industry is rare, fast-food jobs aren't, and high school degrees are the pinnacle of education.
The best housekeepers I ever had were two middle-aged sisters who had done that work for 20 years. They lived 25 miles away but had a set schedule of suburban homes they cleaned from 7 am till 4 pm. A neighbor recommended them, and they never caused one problem ... Unlike the poorly trained employees of the two franchise cleaning services I hired later, who broke stove knobs, dripped bleach/cleaner on carpet, and once opened the door to my infant son's room and picked him up out of his crib when he cried out during his nap.
If the OP can mine her neighbors, husband's colleagues, kids' school friends' parents, etc, surely she can get a personal recommendation.
It's exactly the kind of work done by people (mostly women) who live in small towns around here, where industry is rare, fast-food jobs aren't, and high school degrees are the pinnacle of education.
The best housekeepers I ever had were two middle-aged sisters who had done that work for 20 years. They lived 25 miles away but had a set schedule of suburban homes they cleaned from 7 am till 4 pm. A neighbor recommended them, and they never caused one problem ... Unlike the poorly trained employees of the two franchise cleaning services I hired later, who broke stove knobs, dripped bleach/cleaner on carpet, and once opened the door to my infant son's room and picked him up out of his crib when he cried out during his nap.
If the OP can mine her neighbors, husband's colleagues, kids' school friends' parents, etc, surely she can get a personal recommendation.
I'm not saying there aren't plenty of excellent housekeepers out there, but most are NOT going to put in eight solid hours working full throttle two days a week like the OP is expecting and demanding.
Around here EVERYONE uses Craig's List for EVERYTHING because we have few alternatives. My housekeeper, my lawn guy and my tenant all came from Craig's List. CL only works if YOU have smarts and common sense so some people are better off using an agency.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
6,489 posts, read 8,813,341 times
Reputation: 17514
I'm looking for a house cleaner, but I think I will try nextdoor.com before craigslist. We found our yard guy
on nextdoor.
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Coming into my house one in a hundred would be too many.
