Would you have someone you knew clean your house?

[SeaSpray]

A friend of mine who is also a member of my congregation, cleans my house. We had been talking with a group of our friends and I mentioned that I might like to hire a particular young lady in our congregation to do some housecleaning for me, and my friend mentioned that she'd do it (she's quite industrious, she does a few different things for work including being a phlebotomist, while also being able to do volunteer work full time with our congregation). I joked and told her that due to my various physical problems that my house was "a mess", she said "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" And she did!

She cleans while I'm at work and there's NO WAY I'd allow a stranger into my home while none of us were here. As far as money, I told her that I could afford $xxx every other week, so she does what she can knowing how much she's being paid.

I do have to say, I make sure to keep things picked up MORE now, especially when I know she's coming to clean the next day! LOL It's motivation for ME to do the little things that I can do around the house, and in the end, I have a nice, VERY clean home.

Oh, and as a bonus, she's saving money for a trip to Italy and Greece this summer, and she's using this extra money towards that trip. So it's a win-win situation for both of us.

And I don't worry about her "blabbing" about the house; primarily because there's really nothing here for her to blab about, but also because I know that morally she wouldn't do it.

I think you should hire the person, maybe start out with a time-frame of a month or two, and see how it goes. I know what it's like to not be able to do all of the things you used to do around the house.

 

[HeatherFeather]

I would and I do. I have a very close friend here in town that comes every Friday while I am at work and cleans the bathrooms and does all the floors and dusting. It started when I jokingly was complaining about having to clean and she said, "Hey, pay me to do it."

This is someone I trust with my child, so of course I trust her to be in my home when I am not there. She already had a key to my house before we even started this. I am not embarassed at all to let her do it. It really is a win-win situation for both of us.

I had wanted to do it before but couldn't bring myself to let someone into my house that I did not know while I was not at home.

 

[Miz Diz]

I used to have someone from my congregation clean my house. She did not do a very good job and I ended up letting her go. It ended up being okay in letting her go because I went part time at work and was able to let her go by saying that was the reason.

My sister also had a friend from her neighborhood cleaning her house. She did not do a good job and she let her go. I don't know how she went about it, but they are still friends.

Keep in mind that this person may or may not do a good job.

 

[Keli]

Someone I know--possibly, depending on my relationship with them and how close I am to them (the more distant the better, lol)
A family member (even someone in a relationship with a family member)--no way!

 

[antmaril]

My sister cleaned my house for years. I had no problem with it. My late husband did not want strangers in our house. My sister was doing this for a living, so I hired her.

I'm retired now, so no more cleaning lady (sadly).

 

[Micca]

You know that "blabbing" thing works both ways: If your house isn't neat & clean, why isn't she doing a better job getting it straightened up? After all, that's what she's getting paid for.

 

[Pumbaa_]

No I wouldn't. Did that and was not happy with the job my friend did. Plus she ended up breaking things that really made it a costly mistake.

 

[ms.yt]

The problem with that situation is that if you're not happy with how they are cleaning, it's hard to get rid of them without problems. I have 2 examples of this:
1. A few years ago before I remarried, I hired one of my good friend's sisters to clean my house. My friend warned me that I would eventually have to fire her and to not feel bad about it when I did. Well, sure enough, problems arose. She did a fantastic job cleaning, but she would take forever and would often bring her wild kids along with her. The final straw was when her kids found a can of red spray paint under my carport and spray painted my sidewalks, rocks in my flower beds and any toys my son had in the yard. I waited a couple of weeks and then told her I couldn't afford her services anymore. I think she knew the real reason, though. I felt bad, but my friend was totally understanding about it. She knew how her sister was.

2. My MIL and FIL have their daughter's MIL cleaning their house and office. They both say she doesn't do a very good job, but they don't feel like they can fire her because of the possibility of hard feelings.

These are just my two experiences with this, so I thought I'd share.

 

[Pop Daddy]

who ever wants to clean my house, go at it

 

[stellablue]

If we already settled the price and details in advance and they needed the $$, I wouldn't have an issue with it. I think housecleaning is an honorable job, just like any other job. I don't think I would feel uncomfortable, though I would probably leave the house while they do the job (which I've done with most house cleaners in the past to allow them to do their job easier).

 

[Mouse House Mama]

No way!!!!!!
I wouldn't even like someone I didn't know cleaning my house.
In my head I would love to hire someone to do all the heavy work but I would never be able to let them clean until I scrubbed it all because I didn't want them to think I was dirty! Yeah, I know......

 

[lovetoscrap]

I would and I have. Momma, I know how difficult things like housecleaning are for you now. And you know that I have had the same difficulties the last few years.

One of my good friends cleans houses. The money goes towards her children's private school tuition. We are helping each other out. I called her in when my house was a PIT! Floors hadn't been mopped in weeks, bathrooms hadn't been cleaned in God only knows how long, laundry was piled up and I was at the end of my rope. Physically I just couldn't do it.

She came in and assured me that she had seen much worse! Got to work and in several hours had the basics done. My bathroom was so clean you needed sunglasses. It was such a morale booster. And she gave me a few dollars discount as a friend.

I honestly had no problems with her coming in. And even if she has blabbed to others about the state of my house (and I don't think she has) everyone knows that my physcial condition was limiting me in every way and I needed help. It will be the same with your friends and family. And I really was much more comfortable with someone that I know and trust in my house and in my bedrooms and out of my sight than a stranger.

Accept the help. You need it. And you will feel much better emotionally and psychologically when your house is clean and you don't have to worry about it. It was such a relief to me.

You deserve this help.

 

[hotcarib]

BTDT!!!!
It was the absolute worst.
I felt like I had to make conversation (usually I just escape to my office),make her coffee and help tidy...ugh!
Really, it couldn't have been worse.

NEVER,EVER!!!!

 

[antmaril]

Deleted.

 

[Bob NC]

How would you feel if you ran a house cleaning business and nobody you know would hire you?

 

[Gabes_mommy]

My dad is our nanny. He cares for my DS full-time at his house. My dad is a total neatnik who actually likes to clean.

I asked him if he would be interested in cleaning our house once a week for a certain fee. (We also pay him to nanny) He was happy to do it.

Now he and DS stay at our house every Tuesday and my dad cleans. I love it!!! It's a win - win. My dad likes the extra money and I like having a clean house.

 

[wdwfan16]

Yes I would and I do. The person I know who cleans my house is DH.

 

[punkin]

I used to have a cleaning lady (when I used to have money LOL) and I knew her personally. I knew her family. She was a gem AND a good friend. I say, why not?

 

[cheermom1]

I didn't read all the replies but wanted to chime in here, I cleaned my good friends house for a while for her..I wasn't working, she knew I needed the money and she knew I would clean the way she wanted...she is very picky and I knew her way of cleaning so I did it for her and I made quite a bit

I think it can work b/c I did it and I would have no problem letting her do it for me..but we have also known each other for close to 13 years or so...

 

[Kathi OD]

In the past, I've had 2 different people clean for me, on a weekly basis. I knew both of them prior to hiring them. One was my sister's SIL and the other was the mother of one of my son's friends, who I had become friendly with.

In both cases, I felt much better knowing the person than hiring a stranger. I trusted both of these people much more than I would trust a stranger. Both of them lived in small houses and had children, so they knew how messy kids could be. Most of the time, our house wasn't all that messy, but it did need dusting, vacuuming, and bathroom cleaning on a weekly basis.

They both did a great job, better than the jobs that some of my friends got from cleaning services. They knew how I wanted things done and did them that way. If I had something special I wanted done, they were flexible. I could say, don't do my room this week, but would you do "x", and they would do it. One time I woke up late and didn't have time to make the bed before leaving for work. When I came home, the bed had been stripped, sheets washed, and remade. I didn't ask for that and wasn't charged any extra (although the next week I did make sure to leave extra).

Because I knew them, I didn't worry about theft. Maybe I should have, but I didn't.