S/O cleaning services..about how much do you pay?

SoulChild

Hi Ladies;

 We are considering hiring a cleaning service but my DH is resistant to the idea. We spend maybe 4 hours on the week end cleaning. This is really tiring. Between running after our 15 month old DS, working full time and then cleaning during the week and weekends, I am exhausted.

We live in Orlando. About How much do you pay for a cleaning service biweekly and what do they clean?

How can I convince DH that they are trust worthy professionals and will not invade our privacy?

Thanks for your responses.

Mango2

Ask friends and neighbors for referrals. That's how I found mine. Also, the first time they come, you might want to be home so you can meet them. If you ask a neighbor, you might be able to save a bit of $$ if their cleaner can do both houses on the same day.

We use an individual with her own business who was referred. She charges us $60 every other week to clean about 1,000 sq. ft.

 

14years

You should totally do it.  4 hours cleaning when you work FT and have a toddler is way too much!  I feel for you.

Our guy (yes, our *guy*) comes every Wednesday, and we pay him $100 in Atlanta for a 4BR/2BA house with a dog.  He does everything -- scrubs down the whole kitchen and the bathrooms, sweeps and mops or vacuums every room, dusts the furniture in every room, vaccuums the furniture, washes the bathmats and dogbed cover... he also keeps up with the baseboards, ceiling fans, blinds, and cleans the fridge as needed. He's a peach!  I am a neat freak, and I do not have time or energy to maintain the house the way I like it.  So, I would pay him whatever he wanted.

As far as trust, we got his name from some of our friends that also use him.  In fact, I think 5 or 6 other people I know use him.  If you ask your friends for recommendations, they will steer you in the right direction.  I feel completely comfortable since he is so well regarded among our friends.

FinnishPrincess

ask friends and family for a referral. a private person will be a LOT cheaper and flexible in what they will do.

we live in a modereate sized city (average COL) and have a great rate - $45 for 3 hours. she will do what ever we ask her to during this time.

katydid2007

$85 for a 1600 sq. ft apartment.  She doesn't do laundry but it's still worth every penny.

luvmagoldn

I got a referral from someone I know which helps alleviate a lot of anxiety.  We pay $100 every two weeks for her to clean our four bedroom, 3.5 bath house. 

My neighbor just went back to work and is trying to convince her DH to hire a cleaning person.  Her DH said he would help her, they could divide up the work over the weekend, etc.  My DH actually said to her DH, "man...it's worth the $100 to stop having this conversation about cleaning!"  

JLS0320

We pay $100, for 2000 sq ft house every other week. She also uses all green products. Highly recommend it if you can afford it. It is so nice to spend the entire weekend relaxing w/ the family and not cleaning my house. 

Angela814

Our cleaning service is starting next week!    Initial cleaning is $145 and then it's $98 bi-weekly afterward.  It's a small locally owned company.  There is one supervisor and 4 cleaning people in the house.  Our house is 2100 sq ft (3 bed/2.5 bath).  They will be cleaning everything but one spare bedroom and the room all our birds are in.  They do the basic vacuuming, dusting, wash floors, clean bathrooms, and clean kitchen.

Mango2

I was just reviewing people's responses and remember my friend's DH saying that the cleaning lady was the best thing they'd ever done for their marriage, and was a whole lot cheaper than counselling and worth staying in one weekend a month. His advice to all newlyweds is to get a cleaning lady.

flyer23

We pay $100 biweekly for our 3400 sq ft house. They are awesome... they vacuum, clean the bathrooms, put DD's toys away, dust, make the beds (change sheets if we leave clean ones out), dust, mop, clean the kitchen counters, etc. etc. The ladies who come are super-sweet -- they sometimes show up when I'm getting DD ready to go in the morning, and she LOVES them, and they ask about her when she's not there.

We used Angie's List to find ours. It's a website where you can search for services in your area and read reviews of them. The reviews are done over the phone, by Angie's List reps calling people up and asking them about their experiences, so they're more trustworthy than anonymous online reviews, ya know? We love love love Angie's List -- in addition to our cleaning service, we've used it to find plumbers, drywall repairmen, electricians, pet sitting services, etc. etc. Well worth the subscription fee.

DH was really reluctant to get a cleaning service at first, but now he wonders why he took so long to come around. Good luck convincing yours!

carrieongrove

Similar to what Mango said, the cleaning lady saved our marriage! We pay $70 for weekly cleaning. Our house is 1800 sf and we live in a fairly $$ area, though not as $$ as Manhattan, San Fran, etc.

beenbizzy

We spend $30 every other week.  We have an avg size ranch in a small town.  Ask friends, co-workers, church members for referrals.  That will be your best bet for trust worthy and doing a good job.  I have sahm friends that have a cleaning service b/c it is so helpful.  It definietly eases the burden of onbe mor thing on the to-do list. 

marryingacoach

We pay $65 every two weeks and it is worth every single penny. It is the best thing we have ever done for our marriage.  She cleans bathrooms, vaccums, mops, sweeps, makes bed, straightens all the toys, dust. She does not do the baseboards which kind of stinks but she will if we pay her extra.

DG1

When we had one last fall, it was $80 every other week for 2500sf, 3br/2.5ba.  Vacuum, dust, mop, wipe down cabinets, appliances (incl. inside of the microwave), change the sheets if fresh ones are out (except the crib, probably for liability reasons), kitchen & bath.

I found mine through a web site. It's a small, locally-owned company. They had good references, and one of the owners was always on-site with the cleaning crew.  Only owners had access to the key (although I guess I had no way to verify that).  We didn't do stupid stuff like leave my e-ring out on the counter (I know someone who did this. Duh.), but I liked the people who came to clean, and boy did I love coming home to a clean house!  

Now that I'm working again, I'm considering re-hiring them.  But I'm only part time, not making as much as I used to, so I'm not sure.  It's definitely worth it if you have the $, but I still consider it a luxury.

monkey_love

We use a private couple that was referred to us through our community. They charge $8-10 an hour. We pay cash. They clean whatever we ask them to and however we want them to. They also do yardwork for us and will prepare meals and run errands, if needed. We live in the Bay Area (N. California). They come once a week for 2-3 hours.