Please save me from my slovenly ways! Hurt the cats though and I will return the favor.

September 10, 2012 8:29 AM

I'm a slob. I need a cleaning service. I'm totally willing to pay for a cleaning service. But I can't get over the idea that I'll have to clean before they come (which seems very contradictory and silly) and most importantly, I can't figure out how to trust random people alone on my house with my pets. How do other people do this?

Single woman, working 50+ hours a week, and my natural state is basically 'slob'. It's not frat-house bad, but there's always a pile of dishes in the sink, laundry on the bedroom floor, stuff on tables, etc not put away, floors need washing, carpets need a good vacuum, the sink and tub need attention, etc etc. I don't think I've ever really dusted. It's embarrassing and I hate it, but it not so much that I'm actually willing to clean just for me; I just do what I have to do to get away with the bare minimum. People coming over sends me into a crazed panic. I want a cleaning service. I can afford it, that's not the issue.

The issues is two fold. I have three cats who I love more than is probably healthy (and what I do clean is for them - the litter boxes are always clean!). There is no way on earth I'm leaving them home alone with a stranger without setting up a half dozen nanny cams. I know the chances of ending up with a cat-hating cleaning lady who would actually do them harm is minuscule, but if something did happen I would never be able to forgive myself. Ideally, I'd want to hang around just for my own piece of mind, but my apartment isn't large (1 bdrm, 770sq ft) and that would just be... weird, right? Do other people just trust the help not to kick their cats?

My house is also kinda cluttered. Like I said... I'm a slob. Do I need to pick it all up before the cleaning lady comes? Ugh. What happens if I don't?

Basically, I want to do a little work as humanly possible, keep my cats as safe and unfreaked out as possible, and have a decently clean apartment. How can I accomplish this?

posted by cgg to home & garden (32 answers total)

Call Merry Maids or some other national corporation with lots of liability insurance. Personally I hated hanging out while people cleaned my house. But, to each his own.

You need to pick up, not clean before the cleaning crew comes.

So, put your dirty clothes in a hamper, put your clean clothes in another hamper (or hang them up and put them away). Dirty dishes should go in the dishwasher, but you're paying by the hour so if you want to spend the money, leave them in the sink and let them get cleaned.

Strip your bed and leave clean linens on it, and they'll make the bed for you.

As for clutter, do you like it cluttered? If not, hire an organizer to help with that.

Otherwise, get some plastic tubs and throw all the random crap into them on cleaning day, to get it out of the way of the cleaners.

Leave the actual dirt to the cleaning people. Merry Maids has special stuff they like to use, just stay out of the way.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:35 AM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's really no problem to hang out in your bedroom while they clean the place. Don't drive yourself crazy leaving the cleaners alone with your cats if you're so worried (though I'm sure they'd be fine!) No, you don't have to clean before they come, but you will want to have a clear plan about where you want stuff stacked - maybe buy a large plastic bin or two?

Particularly if you keep the litter box clean, they have seen worse! I always thought my place must be the worst (when I can afford the occasional cleaner), but they assure me that no, I really have NO IDEA.
posted by Glinn at 8:36 AM on September 10, 2012

You do need to get stuff out of the way so the cleaners can clean. So pick your clothes up off the floor and toss them on the bed. Pick up the papers and books etc in the living area and stack them on the coffee table/kitchen table/dining table. Or toss them into a box. You only have get stuff out of the way so they can clean and wipe and vacuum.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:46 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

They will put things where you can't find them or don't want them if you don't pick up stuff beforehand.

Why not take your cats out with you while they are there if you are worried?

You can get personal referrals to cleaning people through friends and you should be able to trust them that way. I prefer that to cleaning companies.

If you don't want them to use chemical cleaners, for example if you are worried about it affecting your cats, buy natural cleaning products like Seventh Generation or whatever. Ask the cleaners which items they need you to get and tell them not to use their own stuff.
posted by Dansaman at 8:46 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I "cleaned" for the cleaning lady only in that I got my crap off the floor/counter, threw the dishes in the dishwasher, and made sure anything embarrassing was out of sight.

In the 2.5 years I had her I never picked up a mop or dustcloth and only vacuumed if I had people coming over at an "off" point in her biweekly schedule. (My dog was a heavy shedder so vacuuming was required for guests)

What precisely do you think someone will do to your cats? Don't you ever have petsitters or something? I think my cleaning lady shut my dog in my bedroom while she mopped, which my dog was never happy about even when I tried to do it, but whenever I was home when the cleaning lady arrived my dog was always happy greeting her at the door so there was apparently no problem there.

If you really are concerned about the cats you can ask to "interview" your cleaning lady and see how she interacts with your cats. That might give you some piece of mind.
posted by olinerd at 8:47 AM on September 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

I always stayed when the cleaning woman came because: dogs. Two delightful, nosy basset hounds. I asked her clean the basement first then put them downstairs while she cleaned the two top floors. Yes, it would be nicer if I didn't have to hang around while she cleaned, but...dogs.
posted by kate blank at 8:47 AM on September 10, 2012

You don't have to clean before they come. They'll be able to do a better job if you pick up a little first, and if you don't your stuff might end up somewhere random, but you don't have to do it.
posted by grouse at 8:56 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

We had a cleaning lady (well, there were two of them working together) clean our home where they had to take into account my disabled power wheelchair using mother in law, two dogs (one 100 lbs, the other 15 lbs) and seven cats of varying sizes.

We posted a craigslist ad explaining our situation at home and what we needed done, and pointed out that we required people who actively enjoyed animals and wouldn't be bothered that my MIL would always be there hanging out while they were cleaning.

Then we read through the responses, called the ones that seemed to be the best, and picked the one we liked the most. The first time they cleaned my husband was home, he watched how they interacted with the dogs and the cats. Everything worked out just fine, and one of my cats was so ridiculously in love with them they called him their boyfriend.

If your cats are freaked out by strangers, they're going to be freaked out when the cleaning lady comes over. If they hide from the vacuum they're going to do that too. Just make sure she doesn't accidentally lock them in a closet or whatever if they have a go-to spot to hide in.
posted by crankylex at 9:00 AM on September 10, 2012

You can hire a service or you can hire a person. I've always hired a person who was willing to work with me to sort of meet me where I was. I've made specific lists of what I wanted done each week: put clothes in hamper, load dishwasher, start laundry, hoover, clean bathroom. Once you sort of get on top of that, you can move on from there to things like dusting.

I will be honest with you and tell you that our current housekeeper of three years... lacks. The real value she brings to me is something to organise around. There is only a set degree to which I am willing to let the house slide because there's only a set degree to which I am willing to be embarrassed when she comes. It is also a help to just have help - if someone will load and run the dishwasher, it's somehow vastly less cumbersome to unload it.

My personal list for making sure the house is not so physically gross it's beyond the pale to ask another human to clean it is: dishes soaking, socks and knickers in hamper, litter box clean, sex toys secured, toilet brushed. That's it. The nice lady should help you get it better from there.

The cats are a false issue. The cats can well look after themselves and will be under the bed. That's pretty much all there is to it.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:02 AM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Whenever I have had a new service I always hung around the first few times to make sure things were being done the way I wanted them done. I'm a little controlling that way. I'm also a bit of a freak because I pick up everything - I even take the toiletries out of the shower before they come - I want the crew to clean, not rearrange.

I have personally been more satisfied with a 'cleaning lady' - someone I've found by referral. I had one woman for a few years and I would have left her alone with my kids! It may take going through a few people before you find someone who you're both happy with the job they do AND comfortable leaving the cats with them.

Basically, no, it's not weird to stay while they clean. Yes, pick up a little but seriously, they have seen worse. The cats will be fine if you are. They'll probably hide under the bed the first few times and after that it will be no big deal.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 9:02 AM on September 10, 2012

I know you asked for advice re: cleaning services. But I feel compelled to share a resource that might get you into a spot where you feel comfortable having a cleaning service come to the house without having to frantically "CLEAN" before they do.

Un-F*%# Your Habitat is a bit like the Fly Lady, but with 100% more swearing. It might be a good way to just get things to a barely presentable state so that the cleaning crew can do the heavy lifting such as scrubbing bathtubs and dusting chandeliers or whatever.

(If good-natured swearing isn't your thing, then by all means check out the Fly Lady, which has 100% more "precious beginner" than UFYH.)
posted by absquatulate at 9:08 AM on September 10, 2012 [12 favorites]

A cleaning service isn't a "pick up all your stuff and organize your clutter" service. So yes, you have to pick up your stuff before they come over so they can actually clean. That panic that you have over cleaning before anyone comes over that keeps your apartment from looking like a frat house? You will now have that before the cleaning service comes over, and your place will look better for it.
posted by inertia at 9:19 AM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hi! I am also a crazy cat lady who is a slob and works long hours, and recently went through the same debate. Here are some things I learned as I researched and ultimately hired a cleaning service:

1. You can find house cleaners who are pet-friendly. They will understand how to clean around pets, how to make sure your cats don't run out the door when they arrive or leave, etc. The cleaning company I hired is actually run by a lady who is also a crazy cat person! And she said most of her clients have pets because pets are messy and many working people can't keep up with cleaning a house AND cleaning up after pets. Our cats were happy, healthy and did not appear kicked when I arrived home after the cleaning. The cleaner even scooped the litter box!

2. You can pay a little more to have your house cleaner pick up after you. For example, you can have them do the dirty dishes that you pile in the sink. You can tell them to put any clothes lying on the floor in the laundry bin. You can even tell them to wash your dirty clothes if you want! These types of things will cost you probably only like $10-20 more. We pay to have our cleaner organize and clean the inside of our fridge and it was, like, $5 extra? Bargain!

3. Even if you have tons of clutter, they will just clean around it. My second bedroom is in a perpetual state of half-unpacked boxes and broken computer parts that I haven't managed to trash, and the cleaning lady just vacuumed around them and even dusted them!
posted by joan_holloway at 9:25 AM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

If you want the floor to be vacuumed, they have to be able to see it, so (a) plan on picking htins up before they show up, and (b) have a plan in place for where they should put clutter that's in the way of a job you want them to do. A particular spot on the counter that anything unknown in the kitchen goes so the table gets wiped; a rubbermaid bin that collects all the clutter from the living room. Don't plan on them sorting anything for you - it will take just as long to empty the bin as it would for you to have just decluttered ahead of time, and you *must* empty the bin in between visits.
Different people want different things so say what you want: one bin per room, or everything together? throw out something that looks like trash or don't risk it? There's not one "right way" that you have to do or that they have to do, it's just hte two of you have to agree on something. This might involve posting a pretty specific craigslist ad like crankylex did, or having "first dates" with a few different people.
posted by aimedwander at 9:28 AM on September 10, 2012

We found our cleaning people through recommendations from a friend (who found out about them from another friend, and has recommended them to several friends, and we have recommended them to other friends) - they do not advertise at all, it's all word of mouth.

We pick up the clutter, magazines go in a pile in a single location, clothes go in the hamper, clean laundry gets put away, dishes go in the dishwasher, makeup in the makeup organizer, cat toys off the floor into a basket. We pick the clean sheets we want and put them on the bed, but if we forget, they know where we store them and just grab a set out of the closet. They do the scrubbing, dusting, vacumming, actual cleaning (not decluttering).

We asked them not to go in the home offices, so the cats hide out there. The offices are where all the overflow clutter goes.

You really have nothing to worry about if you find good people.
posted by matildaben at 9:31 AM on September 10, 2012

My Mom had a cleaning lady for years (still does, actually), and the one thing the cleaning ladies have all said makes things way, way easier for them is de-cluttering. You don't need to clean before they get there, but you do need to pick up and put away. Believe me, dusting umpteen little bottles of perfume on the counter in the bathroom is a pain in the ass. Otherwise, they just clean around those items, and honestly, depending on how cluttered your house is, that's not much of a clean.
posted by LN at 9:33 AM on September 10, 2012

Merry Maids will work on Saturdays. There's no reason you have to leave the house if you are uncomfortable doing so. Just keep out of the particular room they are cleaning at that moment.
posted by instead of three wishes at 9:54 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I found a cleaning lady on the recommendations of friends. Two of my friends had been using the same lady for over a year, coming while they were at work, and doing a great job, so I felt comfortable she was a) good and b) safe. She's fantastic. I stuck around the house the first couple of times she cleaned, but now I feel totally comfortable leaving her here. My cats were a little wary of her at first, but now they come to greet her and then are pretty indifferent to her until she gets out the vacuum, at which point they hide until she's done, and then come back out to hang out.

We have definitely had visits where I just piled all the clothes on top of the bed and threw all the toys into the crib because I didn't have time to actually declutter/fold/put away before she came, but that's okay. Part of what I like about it is that I'm forced to put all my crap away at least every two weeks. The longer we've been using her, the easier it's been for me to keep the house clean, because it's not so DIRTY, and the clutter doesn't get so far ahead of me, so now I'm making progress even on permanent clutter piles!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:09 AM on September 10, 2012

Just throw out trash and get some bins/totes/boxes to sort stuff into a few categories.

Don't use garbage bags to do this because they don't stay open, and you cannot see what is inside or put stuff in easily -- hindering progress!

Categories could be books/media, bills and papers, clean clothes/accessories, pet stuff, or whatever fits. Pop on the lid, and Bob's your uncle, the cleaners can clean more easily, and you are ready to work with a professional organizer.
posted by jgirl at 10:15 AM on September 10, 2012

You can hang out in your room with your cats while the cleaning person comes. But the person probably won't clean that room. (If you have two bedroom/den spaces, you can alternate every other cleaning.) Or you can put them in a carrier and take them with you.

A 770 sq ft bedroom should only take two hours or so for a regular cleaning (possibly much more the first time you get a professional cleaning). The space I get cleaned is 950 sq ft, and it takes 3 hours, with doing laundry, changing the sheets, and taking out the garbage. She also does my dishes sometimes.

I always try to pick up before cleaning, but I definitely don't clean up. My cleaning lady will put stuff in a neat pile if I leave a mess, and then I'll have to put the stuff away anyway.

I'm an optimist, and I screen people extensively. I actually refuse to use a "cleaning service" because they don't always send the same person. I'd rather have the same person every week and have her occasionally miss a week here and there. I call all their references and Google the **** out of them. My cleaning lady uses home made all-natural cleaners (which she sells online as a side business).
posted by ethidda at 10:18 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have a cleaning service that comes while I'm at work (they'll be there later today in fact). I tidy before they come (put things away but not actually clean) because it means they don't put things away where I can't find them. I find that knowing they're coming motivates me to do a little Sunday evening check and put away but it takes maybe 15 minutes so no big deal.

I also have two cats (the second one is new). I've been there when they've come on occasion - been sick or on vacation or something - and I find it awkward as hell, though I know other people don't mind so I think it's okay if you do that. What I did see was them being very nice to the cat but basically ignoring him and going about their work.
posted by marylynn at 10:19 AM on September 10, 2012

Speaking as a former Merry Maid, I found it more satisfying to clean a house that hadn't been 'pre-cleaned'. That way I could see the results of my efforts, if that makes any sense.

And loving on other people's pets while I worked was one of the job perks. Granted, I was kind of slumming at the time while I waited for my sister to finish grad school, so I knew it wasn't a 'forever' job and I enjoyed it. That probably makes me an anomaly in the cleaning world. Still, I worked with a lot of cleaning professionals during that year, and I never heard any of them complain about anyone's pets.

(Well, there was that one black lab in the house with all the hardwood floors, but that wasn't her fault.)
posted by carolinecrane at 10:19 AM on September 10, 2012

If your cats are anything like mine then they will either hide under the bed or follow the cleaner around saying "whoareyouwhatareyoudoingcaniwatchwhatdoesthatthingdolookatmeplaywiththisscratchmytummy".

If you are doing this as a regular thing then I recommend picking up ahead of time. It means they don't spend time doing stuff that you can (and should) do yourself. If this is the big clean to get the place into shape then it's up to you. Personally, I'd just let them loose rather than stressing about it. This is, after all, what they do.

And you can certainly stay in the house while they are there. I've done that before with new cleaners. I usually sit quietly in a corner reading (moving from spot to spot as they move around the house). I don't "help", but I've always offered tea or coffee if they are interested (usually they aren't, but it never hurts).
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:31 AM on September 10, 2012

Another thing you can do is work on the house yourself while the cleaner is there. There are always lots of jobs that only you can do--sorting and organizing types of things--and it's so much easier to get some momentum if you can feed off the energy of someone else working on the house at the same time. And then when they leave, your house is super clean! Plus I just find that way less awkward than hiding in the bedroom the whole time.
posted by HotToddy at 10:40 AM on September 10, 2012

My house cleaner is the very last thing is give up if I ran out of money, edging out food and gasoline. I'll second asking friends for recommendations. My house cleaners do so many houses for coworkers, if they did anything unseemly, word would spread like wildfire and they'd lose a ton of business. They've had the key to my house for over 15 years so I'm never there when they are and I totally trust them with my dogs. There is nothing better than leaving a dirty house and coming home to a clean one knowing you didn't ave to life a dust rag to get it that way.
posted by cecic at 10:50 AM on September 10, 2012

When you get anxious about your mess and feel like the cleaning person/staff will judge you, and then they say, "Oh, we've seen MUCH worse" --

They're talking about people like me, a year ago. A proto-hoarder, in increasingly deep trouble.

Assistance with cleaning was the best thing I ever -- EVER -- did. It wasn't easy. It has not been perfectly easy to maintain. However, I HAVE maintained it for over a year now, with help.

Initially I hired a crew to come in. They worked for four hours, and did the major heavy lifting. I didn't supervise. I let them come in, and they called me at work when they were done. The transformation was nothing short of remarkable. It wasn't ALL done. But again, heavy lifting.

Then I hired a cleaning person, who initially came in weekly. She did the regular cleaning, and then we set up special days to tackle big projects -- the garage, the second bedroom, the kitchen cabinet organization, and so on.

At this point she comes every other week, and that seems to be a good point for me. It's taken more than a year. But it is a wonderful, wonderful thing to come home to a neat and tidy house.

My strategy:
1. Pick up and take out trash when it needs it. (I'm not so good about this.)
2. Do at least a kitchen clean on her off week.
3. Work on organizing a desk or drawers while she is working on the rest of the house, and stay out of the way. Since she's already cleaning, it's inspirational.
4. Don't ever let it slip longer than a week without doing some maintenance, at least the front room and kitchen.
5. Be glad that I got help when I needed it.
6. Tip her very well at holidays. She has been and continues to be a lifesaver.
posted by Janissa11 at 10:53 AM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've found that having a cleaner has left me more time to work on decluttering - knowing she was coming prompted me to at least gather all the crap into contained spaces so she could actually clean. And then, because I wasn't worrying about cleaning bathrooms or changing sheets, I could in fact DEAL with the crap that I'd gathered up. As time has gone by, and she's come weekly for the last four years, our home has gotten more and more organized, even as we added another child. I trust her completely; she even has a key to our house, for convenience.

I'm often home, or in and out, when she is here. Sometimes one or more of the kids is home, and that's all just fine. She had no problem with our escape-artist dog when he was still alive, and was very kind to him. So hang out, stay out of their way, and get comfortable with the person you find - if they are professional, they shouldn't have any problem with that.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 11:49 AM on September 10, 2012

You don't HAVE to clean up your clutter, but after the first time they come without that prep, you're going to feel like you've wasted your money. Would you rather pay them to hang up your clothes, or to scrub your bathroom? Would you rather put your crap away before they come, or spend the next week trying to figure out where they put your crap when they put it away for you?

People pre-tidy not because there's a 'rule' or to be considerate, but because it's frustrating and a waste of money when they don't.

As for how to trust someone in your house alone: I got over this by hiring cleaning ladies that were also working for a friend or a co-worker. I figure they aren't going to rob/trash my place, because then they'll lose my business and the business of my friend, and that is not worth the risk for them. (Most house cleaners are poor, and they don't want to lose a client. Unless you have a house full of expensive electronics and jewellery, and they are connected to a serious criminal who can help them steal a lot at once and then sell it, stealing from you isn't actually worth it to them.)
posted by Kololo at 12:09 PM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh, also, for me, hiring an individual instead of hiring a service makes me more comfortable, since i know that some random person won't be coming to my place - it's the same person week in and week out.

Also, when it's the same person over and over, you can actually do less 'prep' work after a while, because they'll "learn" your place. (Ie. My cleaning lady always strips my bed, washes and changes the sheets. And i don't need to do any prep for this - she knows where the sheets are in the linen closet, she knows how to use my washer/dryer.)
posted by Kololo at 12:13 PM on September 10, 2012

Some cleaning services charge by the hour, so if your house is very cluttered, it'll take longer to clean and you'll be hit with a larger bill at the end of the day. You don't need to dust, vacuum or wash anything before the cleaners arrive, but putting some clutter away would speed things up for them, minimizing their time in your apartment, and they won't have to spend much time putting away your personal belongings, if that's a concern.
posted by peripathetic at 2:42 PM on September 10, 2012

I've worked as a maid and believe me, a LOT of people don't clean anything at all before the cleaners get there. If I had found a bloodstained pair of panties (as an example of something gross and embarassing) on the floor, I would have put on a glove, picked up the item, and placed it somewhere that seemed appropriate (i.e. hamper, or in a bag). It's all about your level of embarassment and how long you want the people working. Many companies will have a checklist of stuff they won't do or a checklist of what you want them to do.

SO if you want them to clean everything down to picking up the dirty underwear off the floor for you, that's fine. Just be aware that we ask that people throw away/ put away their own sex toys, used condoms, drugs, and weapons, for safety and liability reasons. (Yes, this is something that was actually gone over during training).

Some people stay in the house, some leave, it again depends how awkward you are going to feel. Some people follow you from room to room to make sure you do everything to their exacting specifications and don't steal their precious whatevers. Some people couldn't give a fuck what you do as long as the place gets clean. The second type of person is a lot nicer to work for, but either way, work's work. You do it, deal with it, and get out. And if someone's obnoxious, you just bitch about it with the girls later and forget it, just like any other job. However, I really don't think you need to worry about anyone hurting your pets.
posted by windykites at 3:13 PM on September 10, 2012

Similar to what's already been said, but my two cents:

-Ask your friends if they have cleaning ladies/gentlemen. One or more of them will be ridiculously enthusiastic about referring their person. Use her/him. I absolutely hate being in my tiny apartment when it's being cleaned, but nobody is going to care if you do. You're paying for the service, after all.

-Growing up, my mom was militant about completely decluttering the house the night before the cleaning lady came. It has mostly stuck with me, but due to a crazy work schedule sometimes my house is a sty. When this happens, my cleaning lady gets an extra $10-20, depending on the level of mess. If you don't declutter expect to find your stuff moved around.

-My dog absolutely adores my cleaning lady and she loves him back. She also loves the cats, who are pretty indifferent toward her. She does not scoop litter, but she has cleaned up cat barf in the past.

-The benefit of having one person versus a service: she uses the cleaning products I stock (organic, earthy stuff) AND rotates cleaning projects--so, for example, if I'm out of town or something and the house isn't particularly dirty, she'll tackle blinds or the top of the fans or do a deep fridge cleaning or something

-Personal policies regarding payment: double her salary during the first December visit (holiday bonus) and a $5 increase in salary whenever I get a raise

-Coming home to a clean house after a long day is the best ever
posted by justjess at 4:38 PM on September 10, 2012 [2 favorites]