Get Your House Clean, But Not Alone
Are you someone who would never hire a cleaning service for your home? You think having someone coming in to see your hot mess and dirty laundry sounds like a gross invasion of privacy, right? Well, never say never my friend. If you find yourself sitting for six weeks with a broken leg and watching your house seemingly cave in on you with dust, dirt and clutter, you may change your tune.
As a former “never getting a cleaning person” person with a broken leg, it never occurred to me to hire help, despite the mess. Lucky for me, my amazing mother-in-law and sister-in-law heard my complaining, err..frustration, and set us up with three sessions from a cleaning service. My tune has now officially changed and I’m here to help you non-believers see the sparkling clean light and get over those silly inhibitions.
Let’s start with this: your cleaner does not care about your mess.
They have their own lives and are there to do a job; they aren’t wandering around judging your life choices. One of the women who cleaned our house was dealing with broken pipes and a flooded basement at her mom’s place; she could have cared less about my disgusting ceiling fan blades; she was there to clean and move on with her life.
If you’re a newbie at this deal like we were, feel free to ask stupid questions. Will you clean my whole house or just the bedrooms and bathrooms? How long will you be here? I have dogs and cats, is that a problem? What if I’m home during the cleaning, will that make things weird? All examples of questions I asked; and felt better after knowing the answers.
You can help your cleaning person help you by sharing the things you really want done. That way they’ll start with whatever is making you the craziest. We didn’t know what to expect with our first cleaning, so we said nothing, and the cleaner spent most of the time cleaning our living area hardwood floors that were honestly destroyed three minutes after she left. The second time we knew to ask her to start upstairs where the messy kids live, and to make sure the bathrooms got done.
We also learned that if you have a preference on cleaning products, or scents that bother you, let them know. We learned this tip after the second cleaning when she used some highly scented garbage bags and carpet cleaner that I now know I don’t love. With our service, each cleaner brought their own products, but a note could be made on our account to show what we preferred. These people generally want to make you happy; this is their business and good businesses want to be accommodating to keep you coming back.
Bottom line: watch your step on the ice and don’t break your leg but do get over your hesitation and try out cleaning service. Spring cleaning will be so much more enjoyable if you do.
About the Author
Deciding what you want to be when you grow up is a tough question, just ask Stephanie Lovelace, because she still hasn’t decided. First, she got a degree in journalism and was a newspaper reporter and public relations specialist, then went to college again and became an elementary teacher, now she stays home, homeschools three kids, and is a freelance writer. What’s stayed steady: her supportive husband, love of pets (current counts at three dogs and four cats), and being an Iowa girl.
Follow along with her current gig, on Instagram at @stephs_at_home.
