How to Hire a Cleaning Person or Housekeeping Service

Have you ever tried to hire a cleaning person or a housekeeping service, only to be charged outrageous prices for very little cleaning once a week? Here's how to stop the madness.

Things You'll Need

• an interview process
• references

Instructions

1. 

   By the hour, or by square footage?

   Cleaning people and housekeeping services love to charge by the size of the house. No way. Even if your house is Buckingham Palace with it's million bedrooms, the cleaning people or service won't be able to get into all that square footage in the time they have for you. So why should you pay extra for un-rendered services? Offer to pay them by the hour and ask how much they charge. Take the information down, but don't hire them yet.

2. 

   Individuals who clean for a living?

   You should also interview at least 2 individuals who don't work for a service but who clean houses for a living. You will most likely get a much better deal from an individual. In this case, you need to discuss what it is you really, truly want. Talk about specific jobs you want done, such as linen changing or laundry. Discuss availability and how often you want them.

3. 

   What's your budget?

   Take a good hard look at how much you have to spend, because this is vital. A service typically charges a one-time cleaning fee of upwards of $300. Price goes down somewhat if you schedule weekly visits.

   If you have $60-100 to spend, chances are you'll get a private individual to clean your house one time for that. A once weekly cleaning is great as long as everything gets done. Some cleaners have a 3 hour minimum for a specific fee, usually around $60-$75.

4. 

   What's included?

   Take into consideration who provides the supplies. If it's an individual, most likely it will be you. This is an expense. Find out if they will charge for travel to and from the job.

5. 

   Another option?

   Rather than a once weekly whole-house cleanup, consider asking an individual to come in every morning during the week for an hour. If the individual lives close by and there is little or no travel time, that person can schedule a job right after you and still get a full day's pay from another household. For the price of a whole-house cleaning ($100), you can have a daily clean-up, in which the cleaner does what is possible within an hour.

   What works best for your household?

Tips & Warnings

• Services typically charge a large first time fee, and will reduce a bit if you schedule regular visits. They offer a fee schedule up front which you can ask about.

• Services also often send 2 people and a vacuum cleaner. They take less time than a single cleaner and they have a process, usually starting from the ceiling and working their way down.

• A cleaner who comes in for 2-3 hours can get just about as much as a cleaner who spends the day. This is odd, I know, but it's true.

• Treat your cleaning person with respect.

• Get references.