Most of us are not blessed or fortunate enough to have full time housekeepers or cleaning services. However, many people find it a necessity if they work full time, have small children or value what little free time they have and just work it into their budgets somehow. Back when my kids were in grammar school and into middle school, I was lucky enough to have a “maid”. She only came 1/2 day a week and I had to pick her up before I went to work and then run home at lunch and take her back to her house. At the time, I considered it necessity as I worked full time and was very involved with my kids’ extra curricular activities, and I got tired of spending nights and weekends cleaning and yelling at my kids to help. My (now ex-)husband worked about 70 hours a week and while he helped when he could, it just wasn’t enough. Thus, I lucked out and got some help. At first, she was fantastic! I’d come home to a fresh smelling home, all sparkling and shiny. Sometimes she’d even start my supper for me! As time went on, things didn’t go as well….she got lazy and I’d have to actually go behind her to clean. Toward the end I had her doing only the ironing…and that just didn’t cut it with me. When she moved across town that was my excuse to not continue our working relationship any further. I “shared” her with another girl at work and found out that one day my friend caught our housecleaner asleep on her bed!
Just recently when my mom’s house became vacant, I needed to have her house thoroughly cleaned. Granted, it was empty, but it needed a lot of TLC. A friend referred someone to me that did professional housecleaning. I contacted the woman and we came to an agreement on her cleaning my mom’s house. It’s not a very big house but she was over there about 8 hours and only charged me $150! She did a great job too! So when my knee situation came up, I called her to come over to my house to give me a quote on helping me clean my laundry room. My laundry room is very tiny and I told the cleaning lady I was going to help out and do a lot of the work along side her plus I’d do all the cleanup….i.e. vacuuming, steam cleaning the floor and cleaning behind the washer and dryer. I mainly wanted her to help me remove all the canned goods out of there which are on a huge baker’s rack and empty the room. Was I shocked when she said it would be $200! Maybe I’m a little naive but I thought with me helping and actually doing more of the work, and based on how little she charged for my mom’s house, I was expecting around $100 or less. I guess she could see the shock on my face because she started to say maybe we could work something out. I told her I’d get back with her and that’s been over a month….I’m not going to call her back. Do you think that sounds reasonable ($200) or would you be upset at that price too?
So, if you have a cleaning lady or cleaning service, what do you think the going rate would be for a small, small room that you wanted cleaned out but the “owner” was going to do as much work, maybe more, as the cleaning help?
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6 comments:
Judy, I think $200 for what you described is ridiculous, especially since you were going to be working with her.
I am very fortunate to have an amazing cleaning lady who comes on Mondays. She charges $12.00 an hour, and is usually here from 8:00 a.m. to around 2:00 p.m., but she does more in the 6 hours she is here than most cleaning ladies do in two days. She is one of a kind, and I pay her $100. She is a treasure and I am truly blessed to have her.
I hope you can find someone who can help you for a reasonable price.
Wow- I don't know, Judy- The going rate here is about $22 per hour. My daughter does hers on a trade but it is still costly. My one friend ends up paying almost $25/hr...so, I really don't know. Did she think it was going to take longer than eight hours, do you suppose? That seems like a lot if it was only going to be part of a day. My friend that used to work for a service said she did not like to work WITH someone- she would rather them tell her what to do and let her do her job. Maybe she didn't want to work with anyone? Hard call. Good luck! Maybe try someone else? xo Diana
I have only had my house "professionally" cleaned twice. The first time was right before our eldest's graduation party. We were just finishing up putting a koi pond in our backyard and landscaping, and I needed the extra hands. The did an okay job. Hubby said, "why don't we keep them on for the summer to give you a break?" Okay. Thougthful. WRONG! I had to go behind them afterward and clean. Things were not thoroughly dusted nor did they vaccum the rugs thoroughly. I was furious. $80+ down the drain. Of course when the company called to schedule our next visit and I told them I would not be having them back and why, the owner stated "you should have called, we would have sent them back out to redo things." WHAT????? I don't want a redo, waste more of my time because they didn't do an efficient job the first time. Okay, all this to say, I would NOT pay that for what you are asking her to do! If I lived closer I'd be happy to come help. While not always glamorous or fun, I choose to clean my own house. The only way I know it will get done the way I would like it done.
My step brother has a wife with her own cleaning business. A few years ago, I actually contemplated doing this as well and had a lengthy conversation with her to learn more about the business. She explained that she charges $25/hr and that is for general cleaning not detailed such as cleaning baseboards, cobwebs out of corners and ceiling fans etc. She also said she bases her cleaning fee on how large the house is, steps, pets, and furnishings in the house. I can tell you that I couldn't agree more with her on that one! I've cleaned some houses before myself for money and the more "stuff" you have to be dusted, stairs to climb, bathrooms to clean etc. causes the fee to go up. Those that smoke and have multiple pets have messier houses too. It is not a pleasant job and I no longer do that for anyone except myself! I don't work outside the home so I clean my own house. I do have inflammation problems flare up from time to time that makes me wish someone else could come clean for me though! Regarding your situation, I probably would've charged less than $100 for simply cleaning out the items from a room. $200 sounds excessive.
I used to have someone half a day twice a month - for light cleaning of the entire house. I still had to do the heavy cleaning on the other 2 weeks (weekends) of the month. I only paid $60 for her half days, and I believe she is $75 now for a half day. With 2 in private colleges at the time,I felt like that was an area that I could cut. I would not pay $200 for what you described. That seems awful high to me.
I wish I lived closer - I would have helped you too!
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