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View Full Version : What day and how often for a housecleaner?



KrisM
08-22-2010, 08:16 AM
I'm starting to talk to house cleaners and the first comes for an estimate tomorrow morning. I can't decide if I should try for once a week or every 2 weeks. Every week sounds like it would be easier for me to keep up on the clutter :), but of course more money.

And what day would you pick, if you had a choice? DS1 will be in all day school starting in a couple weeks. DD will go to preschool afternoons on Mon, Wed and Thurs. DS2 still naps afternoons.

Monday tends to be the messiest after the weekend, it seems. So, I'm thinking later in the week is better. But, do I have them come in the afternoon while DS2 is napping or in the morning when 2 kids are likely to be home?

ourbabygirl
08-22-2010, 08:26 AM
Huh- I had this same (or a similar) problem! :) Our situation is that DH works from home, I'm a SAHM with a toddler who naps in the afternoon, and I'm due with another who'll be napping throughout the day. :dizzy: So it's pretty hard to find a time for our cleaners to come. They only come once every 3 weeks, but what we decided on is Monday mornings, as I've generally been able to take DD to library story time or be part of a water park program this summer. However, the cleaners haven't been too reliable about coming right when I want them to come so that they're done when we're back... we end up having to just kind of do our thing and stay out of their way once we get home. I didn't like having them come when DD (and I) napped in the afternoons, because that eliminated her & our room from getting vacuumed, and my bathroom from getting cleaned.
Are you able to do a weekend morning when you'll reliably be gone for a couple hours?

Good luck! I'm sure you'll enjoy having them come! :thumbsup:

jgenie
08-22-2010, 08:35 AM
We have our house cleaned on Friday morning since DS1 only naps in the afternoon. I :heartbeat: having a clean house to enjoy all weekend. If you can swing having them come every week I would - you can always decrease if you feel it's too often.

egoldber
08-22-2010, 08:45 AM
My preferred day is also Friday, but I have generally had to take whatever is available.

I would expectly monthly to be the most, less for biweekly and least for weekly.

I might also expect a higher charge for the initial cleaning. Mine charged 1/3 more for the initial cleaning.

Sometimes I consider moving her to weekly, but I think that would be somewhat harder on us (DH works from home) and it would also create more conflicts. Overall, I think every other week works well for us. Most people I know with cleaners have them come every other week.

When I had napping kids it was tricky around their nap schedule. But I would tell them to clean the baby's room last if the baby was sleeping when they arrived and generally the baby woke before they were ready for it. I also just had them skip the nursery once or twice.

Twoboos
08-22-2010, 09:08 AM
I used to LOVE when our cleaners would come on Fridays, nice clean house all weekend! Then they had to switch us to Tuesdays, which is actually fine, because the house really didn't stay so clean on the weekends with DDs and DH making a royal mess. ;) If we are having guests or a special occasion, I will have them come closer to that day, they are nice about being flexible.

When the kids were younger, we would stay home and be on a different floor from the cleaners. So they are doing downstairs, we were upstairs. Usually they start upstairs. If DD2 was napping I would have them skip her room.

I will say, now that DDs are older it's MUCH easier to be out of the house. So we'll stay downstairs while the cleaners are upstairs and then take off when they come down.

FWIW, we have them come every other week.

KrisM
08-22-2010, 09:10 AM
I would expectly monthly to be the most, less for biweekly and least for weekly.



Around here, it is less per clean for more often, but more overall. Maybe $80 for biweekly and only $65 for weekly, but that's $160 vs $260 for a month.

egoldber
08-22-2010, 09:12 AM
Yes, I meant less per cleaning, not less overall. That was confusing. :)

KrisM
08-22-2010, 09:12 AM
Friday sounds nice, but I think it would be an instantaneous mess after! I'm thinking Tues or Wed would be nice as then there are fewer people here all day for a couple days and it might look a bit cleaner for longer.

I'm sure there won't be too many choices, but I know a lot of people have dropped cleaners in this economy.

wellyes
08-22-2010, 10:24 AM
Weekly would mean a clean house all the time, bi weekly means it will actually need a cleaning when the cleaning lady comes. I do biweekly for cost reasons but would LOVE weekly.

I have them come Thursday mornings and always plan a fun outing for when they're here. It's just easier that way for me to go off and have fun rather than be underfoot while they wash my floors, change the beds, clean etc. Plus I'll admit it makes me feel lazy to be here when they're cleaning my house!

zukeypur
08-22-2010, 10:32 AM
I have mine come every 2 weeks on Wednesday. It's perfect for us. The house is still clean on Friday for the weekend.

squimp
08-22-2010, 01:31 PM
I WOHM so I like Thursday or Friday since it means I enjoy a clean and fresh-smelling house all weekend.

spanannie
08-22-2010, 02:02 PM
I would choose Thursday mornings, since both kids are in school; it's a lot easier for them to clean without kids around. I would definitely choose weekly, if you can swing it. I have my house cleaned weekly and it definitely gets dirty by the time the next week rolls around.

niccig
08-22-2010, 06:47 PM
We're biweekly. Every week would be niced but then I'd have to do the mad dash to pick up every week. I'm normally out of the house when the cleaner comes, she's been doing our hosue for years so I have no issue with leaving her here with her crew. It's nice to not have to be out of the house a mornng a week. I can stay and I have, but it's more difficult for me to do what I want to do with them moving around me.

I vote for a time without as few kids as possible. When we DS is home with us, it's a little difficult to stay out of their way. Next week they're comign and the ILs will be here, so I need to have all of us out of the house.

cono0507
08-22-2010, 06:52 PM
Mine used to come on Thursdays every week which worked well and was still clean for the weekend. When DD was still napping, they came in the morning. I'd take the kids out somewhere when they were cleaning, then we'd come home for lunch and nap after they had left.

KrisM
08-22-2010, 07:52 PM
Thanks for the thoughts. I'll shoot for Thursday, I think. I had to postpone tomorrow's interview because I forgot we had roofers coming and I didn't want them all at once :).

hillview
08-22-2010, 08:20 PM
we have weekly and on Friday but I am not sure that is the best day just has always been our day. There are pros and cons :)
/hillary

WatchingThemGrow
08-22-2010, 08:37 PM
I have mine come every 2 weeks on Wednesday. It's perfect for us. The house is still clean on Friday for the weekend.
Same here! We used to go to a bible study on Wed. mornings, so it was a bit of a challenge making sure everything was picked up, my homework was done, and I got all three DC fed, dressed, and out of the house when she came. This year, we will be taking DD to preschool, then heading out to do other activities while she's here. My study will be at night.

I would say to pick a day when you could find some things to do outside your house the whole time, even on cold wet days.