For those of you with cleaning crews

[kasar]

A friend is going away for the summer and since she still has to pay her cleaning lady she asked if I wanted to try it for the summer (silly, silly question!). She's coming over tomorrow and she will "check out" our house and give us an estimate. I'm resisting the urge to do a full clean before she gets here.

If it's spotless will that lower the price or is it based on rooms/square footage only? Any other hints appreciated.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I pay based on what work I expect completed and the size of my house. My cleaning lady scrubs down all the bathrooms (2 1/2), washes the sheets and remakes the beds (3), scrubs down the kitchen, vacuums (washes the tile/hardwood floors) and dusts the whole house. My house is 2800sf.

If I leave dishes in the dishwasher, she will empty and reload with any dirty dishes (I try not to do this). She will also pick up the toys my DDs leave around. DD1 (5 1/2) is currently losing bedtime stories because I am making her pickup the playroom and she doesn't want to.

I normally pay her $50 when she comes every 2 weeks, but I add in extra if the house is a real mess. My "cleaning crew" is a single person who sets her own rates, not a company.

 

[lulu71]

jwsqrdplus2,

You are getting a deal!!! I'm in N.O. too and my house is 1100 sf and my maid does less and I pay $55 every 2 weeks!

And to answer the OP, she charges based on the size of the house.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

OT, but...

lulu, where are you??? We live on the Westbank in Gretna.

 

[faithinkarma]

I am in central NY. I have a 4 person crew come in every two weeks. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1250 sq ft apartment. Sets me back 85 bucks each time. I find it pricey, but cannot do it myself just now, so I am stuck.

I'm intereted is seeing what other people pay.

kasar,

It can get touchy with just one person. You have to be able to speak up and make your needs ( and any disatisfactions ) known. But if it works out, a cleaning lady can be worth her weight in gold.