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Agreed Fluid!!^5!! I've recently done some cleaning locally due to a job layoff (for cash & with customer supplies just because I have kids to feed), and it is VERY hard work if you do it right!!!!
I cleaned four bathrooms from top to bottom for a woman who had a 3,000 sq. ft. near Flowers Plantation recently, and it took me 5.5 HOURS to scrub JUST the bathrooms!! However, the lady inspected my completed job and gave me $150, which was fair considering I busted my butt and bathrooms can get nasty...
I'll do dishes, laundry and the whole works for $20/hr....can do laundry while I'm cleaning, no biggie there. It's the scrubbing on the hands and knees for extended periods that's a killer....I have to use my son's wrestling kneepads lol
Oh lawdie get someone who's house is a mess and have to deep clean, that's EXTRA...learned my lesson there! I've done a few deep cleans, windows, curtains, blinds, etc. and cleaned houses that could be on that show Hoarders lol. Sometimes it can be shocking to see how people really live. And no ironing sorry.
You get what you pay for in the cleaning department, BigLuke... :-)
I think $60-80 is pretty much standard for a one or two bedroom condo from what I've seen. A 2,400 sq ft home tends to be around $100+ depending on frequency, numbers of bathrooms etc. I don't think most cleaning services include doing dishes and laundry in a standard fee. At least none of the ones I've heard of. Cleaning homes is very hard work so fees tend to reflect that.
Last edited by Barkgrooming; 04-17-2010 at 12:17 PM..
Reason: extra words
Sounds more like slave labor - $60 to clean a 2400 sf home, along with dishes and laundry!!! Give me a break - would YOU do it for that amount? To complete that amount of work and do a good job is a full day's work. I'm guessing you paid that much in Houston because of it's proximity to the Mexican border. People deserve the dignity of a fair wage.
THIS
Buddy of mine who owns rental houses in the area loves Mexican people, they are extremely hard workers, dependable, and make good tenants.
You might be able to find someone on the cheap around here but don't be surprised when $5,000 in jewelry goes missing or you are robbed a week later.
The craigslist idea is a good one. Although you can't be sure of what you are getting and letting into your home.
Sounds more like slave labor - $60 to clean a 2400 sf home, along with dishes and laundry!!! Give me a break - would YOU do it for that amount? To complete that amount of work and do a good job is a full day's work. I'm guessing you paid that much in Houston because of it's proximity to the Mexican border. People deserve the dignity of a fair wage.
I agree with this post 100%. This is back-breaking work when done properly, and I would think for a 2,400 sq ft home that $100 would be the absolute minimum.
I would estimate that it would take at least 5 intense hours, and $20/hour would be the lowest amount that could be considered fair.
I live in Montana (only for the next 2 weeks....yea!! ) and I clean houses your size for $200. I have no problem getting it either. That only includes washing the bed linens (no other laundry or dishes). Windows are extra too. So I guess you should consider $100 pretty fair, or be glad you don't live up here!
The only time we ever had a housekeeper was in the mid-seventies. We were fortunate to have "Addie," a 72-year-old former migrant worker. She cleaned houses for $25 a week, and we, and several of our friends, kept her busy. If it wasn't that inexpensive, we wouldn't have been able to do it.
She cleaned our first home, a 1400-square-foot, circa 1910 city house, and it took her about five hours. She did dishes and laundered bed linens. (No windows.) She made everything shine! She took great pride in cleaning our home, and she made us realize how fortunate we were to have it. She lived in a subsidized apartment.
I think people should take it easy on the original poster . . I do think a living wage is important, but what are people making in the fast food places . . or poultry plants or hog farms . . those companies are probably not paying $25/hour (please correct me if I am wrong).
A lot of people who have a cleaning service have multiple jobs themselves and have ZERO time for cleaning. It's not that they are even that well-off, it's a cost associated with having to be out of their home for so many hours in a day.
And, what do you think the people who work for the cleaning services make? I doubt they get a very high proportion of the hourly cost that is paid to the company.
There are Ph.D.s in this economy who are working in Ph.D.-required jobs making $15/hour, I can think of two I know right off the top of my head. I am not saying that this persons time is "worth more" than someone's who does cleaning. I'm just stating it as a reality check of what kind of wages people are truly making out there these days.
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) and I clean houses your size for $200. I have no problem getting it either. That only includes washing the bed linens (no other laundry or dishes). Windows are extra too. So I guess you should consider $100 pretty fair, or be glad you don't live up here! 
