Cleaner?

How many of you have a cleaner?

I am currently looking to employ a cleaner once a fortnight! With working full time and study PT about to start with all the trials of TTC with IVF, i am a complete wreck with doing all this and keeping ontop of the house work. My Dh works 6 days and cleans to his standard (which im not going to go into on here! but every little helps!)

However this is something that causes most rows in our house. So while we are going through the next IVF cycle we hope to employ a cleaner!

I can keep the house tidy, but don't have time to clean as i would like, unless i give up on life/study/ work completely!

I hope i have posted in the right place?

so if you are able to recommend a company or person in the Melbourne SE suburbs that would be great

Thanks

i do and love it!!!

DS is a very clingy baby and doesnt last long on his own so when nhe does play alone i prefer to eat, have shower and relax on own! Also i am sooooooooooo tired as we r not a good sleeper!!

$74 for 3 hrs once a fortnight is blissful!!!!

Ok feeb!

are you in the SE suburbs as i am stilllooking for someone - can youPM me who you use?

yep done!!!

good luck

Lou, we did this a few years ago and loved it! 2 hours once a fortnight and it made a huge difference. We used an agency called Absolute Domestics, but it would probably work out cheaper if you got someone who was self employed.
Good idea when you have so much on your plate. And I understand about DH cleaning to his own standards - we have the same issue here!!

same company megan!!

i have a DH who also cleans his way which is half assed

LOL ladies! megan sorry ive not been in touch - but i guess you understand?

Feeb - got your PM thanks

I will give them a call on Monday!

Thanks so much for you help! YAY finially getting somewhere with the cleaning issues! although i feel really guilty!

Don't feel guilty...just enjoy it! ;) Oh, and good luck trying not to clean too much for the cleaner!! lol it's hard the first few times. DH kept telling me there would nothing left for her to do!

hay i feel guilty as i have one baby and not working!!


and yes i clean up before cleane comes lol!!!!!!!!!!!!! not 2 much but a bit as i figure if not tidy she cant clean!!!

so nice when bathrooms, carpets, stove, floors mopped, bed changed, floors vacumed and i get to disapear while its done!!!!

Ooohhhh, I want a cleaner, too!!!!
I've been dreaming about having a cleaner. I don't mind the daily upkeep, but it's the bigger jobs and getting a good proper clean every now and then, that is so hard to do when you have a toddler, pregnant with #2 and also try and run a business (well, DH does most of the work, but I still have to do the books, BAS, etc.)
But I will one day... And I will try and not feel guilty about it...
Saša

i would love this - is that charge the average price?

not that we can afford it :( but can you put a price on sanity?

Kitten, it does some to be the average price. Most ads I've seen lately are about $22-$25ph (I've been dreaming about it for when bub is born!). It's been a few years since we did it and it was $17 back then, but it was definitely money well spent. And, no I don't think you can put a price on sanity!! ;)

i'm getting a cleaner/gardner as of next week - but it's going to work out cheapish - she is a friend, a SAHM to school kids - and wants something to do - she had difficult pgs and where i could i helped her out, so it's a throw back to that - will probably end up about $50 a fortnight but i'm not going to say this or that needs to be done - she'll just pitch in where it's needed. once every few weeks she'll mow the lawns - that is a huge job in itself! she volunteered to do it for less than the fuel it would cost her to get here, so we bumped up the dollars - she's a gem! between her and my SIL, i will have heaps of help when this bub arrives - being a helpful girl when i was younger is coming back as good Karma now!

Hi there! I've actually been looking for a new cleaner (we had a few prob's with our last). We're in Elsternwick in Melb, if anyone could recommend someone that would be wonderful :pray:

What exactly do they do? I want to get one (not sure if finanaces would allow though)

I need someone to help me get this house in order.. I might to embarassed o let her see in my cupboards or kids rooms lol

generally a cleaner only cleans - toilet, bathroom, mops, vacuums, dusting - they are highly reluctant to help with sorting stuff out - our theory is if we have someone doing the annoying bits and pieces (like the above) the other stuff will be easier to manage cos we'll have more time... hope that makes sense...

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It does make sense.. My problem is I get that stuff done but don't have the motivation to do the other stuff.. Maybe I should get mum down for a week :lol: She is a great sorter

Then look into getting a cleaner once a fortnight

we used to go up to my nan's once very six months and do all the bits the cleaner wouldn't do - it was a full day every six months - depending on what their contract says, they don't move things (so vac around furniture - even dining chairs - will vacuum mats but not under them etc.

i always have this thought that i don't mind people doing the obvious stuff, but the other stuff is more OUR issue and i don't want help with it. i'm very organised when i can be (spent yesterday sorting stuff while i could) and when that stuff is all organised and packed away as it should be, i have NO issue having someone come in and run a vac over the floor. i guess it's just so overwhelming to get to that point where i don't mind help. thankfully the friend who will be helping out has known me since i was six, so she won't say boo (she's also seen my house a lot worse than it is now, helped me move, has sorted mum's place - mum too sick! so this is no biggie). if it were a stranger that i felt may judge - i'd have a huge issue with letting them in when things aren't perfect! and i don't mean vacuuming first - it's more that i'd hate to have someone come in and look at surfaces that are cluttered at the moment with crap and then judge me on that.... the notion of having a regular cleaner is definitely motivating us to get all the other stuff sorted firs!

You know what, I would be majorly annoyed if I had a cleaner who wouldn't even move the dining chairs to clean under the table properly. I mean, come on, what's the point then. I can do a half-arsed job myself for a lot less money. I don't expect a cleaner to move my couch to clean behind it, but under the table is just normal weekly cleaning in my eyes. Same with cleaning under the door mat (while I wouldn't expect her to move the big rug in the loungeroom).
Having said that, I wouldn't mind "helping" when it comes to cleaning. As in, I wizz through just before him/her and drag things out of the way, like move the dining chairs, put the larger toys onto the couch, so s/he can clean under them.
Do they also do things like say, once in a while wash the windows?

Saša

Sasa, we lived in a small house and had a cleaner for 2 hours every fortnight. She always did the usual - bathrooms, toilets, floors, kitchen and dusting. Because we had a small house she would generally always have time left over (about an hour) so she would always alternate other jobs that she felt needing doing. She would do the windows (inside and out), if there was washing to be hung out or brought in she would do that and fold it. Sometimes she would do ironing. She was really good at using her initiative and not just doing the bare minimum that we wanted done. We were never home when she was there, and she never gave us a run down of things she wouldn't do as she seemed happy to do anything.

Megan, that sounds like the kind of cleaner I need!!!! Unfortunately you're in Melbourne :-(

lol, she stopped cleaning eventually to spend more time with her kids and we never replaced her. :( It's a bit of trial and error. You need to interview or trial a few people first to see what they are willing to do and whether they do a good enough job. We were lucky that we got her first go. I would just contact and agency or two and chat to them about your needs and see what they say.

Ok ladies - i have spoken to them and will be getting a call back for a potential cleaner in a couple of days. YAY!

Thanks you all for your reply - although i'm feeling some of them were out of interest for yourselves lol

Ok jobs that they will do include, all the above you mentioned + washing, hand or machine, hanging out bring in (although i dont know how often they will need to do this as i like washing) lol

MAKING BEDS!! hate doing this job and they will do that so that is great! they will also clean out fridge, pantry ect....I know my linen cupboard needs looking at to start!

One thing i was a bit piffed about was i think i only need him/her for 2 hours a fortnight, however the company said that they do a min of 2 hours per week or min 3 hrs per fortnight!

All cleaners come with a current police check ect so that is nice to know although, even i know that doesn't stop all people.

growing up we always had a cleaner, unfortunately all the ones we had stole from us, odd things here and there then jewellery, so have installed a lock on the cupboard i dont want them going into! sad to have this memory really, esp as one was a 'friends' grandmother!

I will keep you all posted in how i get on.

Ok need more help!!! lol

i am meeting with the cleaners (yes two ) on saturday and would like to know what questions to ask

thanks

Hi everyone,

We have a baby on the way in a few weeks and am keen to get a house cleaner on a fortnightly basis.

Main things I'm keen for them to do is sweeping, mopping floors, vacuum, clean 1.5 bathrooms & bit of wiping.

Would appreciate any recommendations for a reliable, trustworthy & thorough cleaner in the Port Melbourne area. My email address is anneshirley123@gmail.com (I can't access PM as I don't have enough posts)

Thanks!
Cindy