Hiring a Cleaning Person

I have always gotten my ladies through referrals from friends and neighbors.
And yes, I think you SHOULD be specific about you want and expect, but I also think it's good to ease up on little things. After all, these people are employees, and as long as they are doing a good job overall I don't think it's a good idea to micromanage them too much. I always hated that kind of treatment from an employer (I found it demeaning) and as a matter of fact that's one of the main reasons I quit my last job!

I say Craigslist.

I have found a Mother/Daughter team off of Craigslist and they are the BOMB!

My first lady I found did a good job but was very slow, so I tried again and found the Mother/Daughter team.

~I only use mine every other Month or so to come in a do a nice sweep through and really scrub the tiles and floors and inside and outside of the appliances and scrub down the walls and vacuum under the beds...you know all the stuff that I *normally* don't do! *Honestly, I didn't know people scrubbed their walls until I hired these ladies!

My ladies charge $17/each per hour (w/their own supplies which I love that they get all the pet hair w/their vacuum)...so it's pretty darn inexpensive! They come in for 3 hours and with the 2 of them at it it's really like 6 hours worth of work they sweep through my entire 2800sq.ft house and I give them $250...TOTALLY worth it, IMO, to come home to a completely scrubbed house every so often! I don't have them do laundry but they have offered every time, they say in the 3 hours they could at least do one whole round of bedding and have the 2nd in and waiting for me to switch! They are so sweet!

You're going to need someone personally recommended to you or to lower your expectations as suggested by another poster. I am NOT picky, at least not when I do it myself, and I've had three cleaning people in my past and only one came close to meeting my expectations. I think I do have higher standards for someone else since I am paying them and I'm not paying myself. (:-

I am the black sheep in my family. My brother and my dad are both very picky with respect to housekeeping and my grandma is a former cleaning lady.

Congrats on #3.

You will pay a lot more with a service if that is an issue. I have had a 50-50 time with individuals. One was an amazing married couple and I still miss them-did it all and had us on a schedule where everything was always clean. Our current is pretty good but is sick a lot. And three were just terrible. I suggest you put it all in writing before the person gets there so she knows exactly what you need and then walk her through. I also suggest not forming a relationship of any kind because then you start to feel bad saying too much or criticizing.

I've used both a service and a cleaning person. Be prepared to interview/try out a few people/services until you find someone you like. If you're VERY picky, set that expectation up front and be prepared to pay for that level of service.

All people/services I've used like having a checklist of what you expect so there are no misunderstandings. The service I used had a checklist of things that they did at that cleaning (I used a bi-weekly service so they would rotate a "deep clean" on one or two rooms and do basic cleanings on the other rooms) and a space for any additional instructions I would like to leave.

Good luck!

Service or individual, I think you will need to lower your expectations. I am pretty picky too, and I have had one out of four cleaning people who have met my expectations. That isn't the greatest odds.

So, if you go into this with the knowledge that it simply isn't you cleaning and that you will need to overlook a few things, I think you will have a very successful go at it. It is SO worth the money, even if it isn't exactly how you want it. I would rather come home from work and spend just 15 minutes finishing up what the cleanings ladies didn't do to my expecations rather than 3 hours doing it all!

Go for it, and I think the references are the way to go! Call the married couple and get some help! So worth it.

ETA: In my experience, services are more reliable, individuals are far more flaky yet cheaper. As usual, you get what you pay for. If you can find an individual who is both reliable and detail oriented, I HATE YOU! Just kidding. =)

Like you, I'm very picky when it comes to housekeeping. I've had the best luck checking out friends' and neighbors' houses, and if it's obsessively clean, ask them who they use. Every good cleaning lady I've ever had has come through a recommendation like that. Then, once you have made contact with the really great cleaning lady, you have to be REALLY specific about the things you want her to prioritize. Maybe you like the windows to be cleaned every time. Or maybe you don't care at all about that, but really do want her to sanitize all the doorknobs in the house. Whatever it is, be sure to tell her so she has some chance of meeting your expectations.

I haven't had luck at all with cleaning services. To be honest, I think that's where the bad ones end up who couldn't make it on word-of-mouth.

I am not sure about where you live, but in the Los Angeles area, cleaning people do not come cheap :( Here, we would have to pay someone hourly to do the type of specific deep cleaning that you would like and most likely, she won't do as good a job as you will.

Cleaning services normally do the basics and you will be lucky if they move the furniture to vaccuum underneath and I doubt they will clean the baseboards. But I totally wish you good luck and hope you find someone great that work hard and be meticulous.

I have only had horrible luck finding a cleaning person on craigslist. They stole from me, didn't show up, or just did a half-assed job. Get a recommendation from a mom in your area is my recommendation. This has worked out great for me. Definately have them provide l 2-3 references and then CALL them - even if it is a referral from someone you know. I did not do this and ended up having $1200 stolen. Never again.

I'd look for a small family owned service. Large chain services can't provide you with the personalized service you are looking for. My personal experience with hiring housekeepers off craigslist has been terrible. I've had problems with people who don't show up some of the time, do a really lousy job and one lady that was great at the beginning but then started showing up obviously high!