Big dust bunnies in Toronto

July 26, 2006 9:15 PM

Can anyone recommend a a good non-agency house cleaner in Toronto? (Also bonus points: out of curiousity, does anyone know the maid service that Globe and Mail reporter Jan Wong worked for in her series, "Maid for a Month"?

Okay, I'm mostly over my lefty guilt over needing/wanting someone to clean my house. But it's time. And guess what? I don't have time. Deadlines left and right, dusty house and Japanese students on their way to stay with me. Don't want to cause an international incident with my dirty house. I've read the other threads about maids etc. but would like a good recommendation preferably with references in Toronto. I'm not rich, but know I probably need to pay for a decent job. Thanks.

posted by typewriter to home & garden (6 comments total)

I don't have a number but can recommend Jaclyn, the, um, Cleaning Cowgirl. She's more a, ahhh, organizer or wrangler but when I used her she cleaned as well. Send me an email if you want her email address.
posted by dobbs at 9:33 PM on July 26, 2006

Crap. Ignore my previous post. It appears I've lost her contact info.

You may want to give this a shot: call Laura-Jean the, ahem, Knitting Queen at Fresh Baked Goods or Fresh Collective. Jaclyn worked there for years and I'm sure they'd have her number on file. However, specifically ask for Laura-Jean (she's the owner) and tell her you want to hire Jaclyn to clean/organize, otherwise she might think you're just trying to contact a chick you had a crush on when she worked there.
posted by dobbs at 9:39 PM on July 26, 2006

It doesn't quite fit your non-agency criteria, but Earth Concerns Cleaning is great. I haven't used them myself, but friends and people I work for have. They do a great job (as far as I've seen). If you're interested, you can get an online estimate. They're pretty prompt about getting back.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 11:17 PM on July 26, 2006

Thanks, that's a great place to start. (I keep hearing about this legendary Cowgirl person...) Earth Concerns looks good too...
posted by typewriter at 5:35 AM on July 27, 2006

Jan Wong used a pseudonym for the maid service in her article.
posted by Big Fat Tycoon at 8:48 AM on July 27, 2006

typewriter, if you do call the Cowgirl, please do not mention me. Thanks.
posted by dobbs at 5:54 PM on July 27, 2006