My late Nana Pauline had a cleaning woman come in on a regular basis (I don’t recall how often that was.) But Nana would always insist on doing some sort of cleaning before the lady came. That was odd to me, but then again my Nana always insisted on washing her hair right before she went to the beauty parlor…where the first thing they did was to wash her hair. Neither of those things are ones I could see myself doing. 
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We have had an every other week cleaning service for 20+ years. While we were still living in Boston and we were both working a single mother with impeccable references came in. After a few years she won USD $5 M on a lottery ticket so her sometime helper took over.
When we moved to a 55+ golf community in FL we hired a “commercial” type cleaning business but they were never reliable. After noticing 2-3 women working in our neighborhood we asked about them and it turns out they have many customers in our 1000 home community.
We make it a practice to NOT be here so we aren’t in the way, that’s our excuse to go out to breakfast. Never had a problem with anyone we know coming in our house when we aren’t here.
No kids, no pets so the house is usually pretty clean. But in addition to general cleaning they do the stuff I don’t want to like ceiling fan blades, scrubbing bathroom tiles, etc.
For the record it’s three cleaners for two hours and we pay $110.
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LOL. She was one of the nicest, hardest workers I’ve ever met. I later learned that before she started working for us she was living out of her car at one point as a single mother with a 9 yr old daughter.
I don’t often buy lottery tickets but I always said if I couldn’t win it I’m glad she did.
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My husband has been after me the last few years to hire house cleaners to make our lives easier. So most of you unknowingly sided with him. I really appreciate all the input and will give it some thought. Thanks everyone.
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Srsly if it’s financially feasible you won’t regret it. Especially if you find a person who does a great job.
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Reading some of these responses knocked loose a memory. About the time I started college, my mom took a job that required an hour commute every day, and since my dad was somewhat limited in how much he could manage to help around the house, she hired a woman - let’s call her ‘Christine’ - to come in once a week to clean. She was a charming woman with a heavy Southern accent and a wicked sense of humor - both these latter points are important to the story.
I came home from college for Christmas break, and one of the friends I’d met in the dorm decided to call me. For some reason, Steph was laboring under the extreme misconception that I came from wealth, and would not be convinced otherwise. When she called, I wasn’t home, but Christine answered the phone. Steph asked where I was, and when I was expected to return, and Christine, in her thickest Southern drawl, told her, “Ah surely don’t know…Ah’m just the maid, honey!”
It took me months to live that down.
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This is the key, but like dating, you usually have to go through some duds before you find the right person!
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#worth it
I took over the house cleaning from my mother in my teens because she did such a lousy job. I have continued to clean my house myself, whether single or married, once a week for many, many years. I don’t know what I’ll do if I am ever unable. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
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I do my own 
I clean my own home
I considered myself to have been be a pretty competent housecleaner. After all, I read one of Don Aslett’s books on cleaning ages ago, that the parents handed down. I got through maintaining our homes for 38 years of working outside the home, kids, pets, gravel driveways, huge pollen blooms every spring, etc.
My great grandmother was a domestic for some pretty fancy homes in Hollywood back in the 1920’s and 30’s. I heard lots of great stories growing up about her job, her relationships with her employers and the early golden age of the film industry there.
I had a big surgery early this year and I am still on a load-lifting restriction after getting a type of abdominal hernia post surgery. 
I just haven’t been able to catch up nor keep up with the major housekeeping chores. The roomate has a limited tolerance for domestic chores and the adult children with their families are unable to help out. Soooo, I visited my neighbor for a rec and lo and behold, her housecleaner was able to fit me in her very busy schedule and started here on Halloween. Two to three hours every other week. We planned on deep cleaning for the first few visits, on just one floor: entry way, hallway, kitchen, one half- bath, living room, dining room, guest bedroom. No laundry, no dishes. The other floor is do-able and the man-cave basement is off limits. A ton of dusting and vacuuming is needed.
The first time she visited, I came downstairs and found her on her knees, wearing a headlamp scrubbing the kitchen floor with a good sized toothbrush type tool. We have a horrible vinyl floor in the kitchen which is long past its prime.
I am enjoying a much cleaner home now, I am less stressed and what I pay her, which I take from my measly SSI income, is worth every penny. She gets $35 an hour plus tip. She drives 20+ miles to get here. I now have a few hours a month now that I can work on other things uninterrupted (like catching up on the list of different to-dos). If one can manage it, do it. This is just a temporary arrangement for me; she has another client who is a snowbird and will return in April. Hopefully I’ll be able to return to full activity by then.
People have told me that once they have cataract surgery, things appear to be needing refreshing around their homes. Hummmmm.
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I’d never used a house cleaner before, but I renovated my kitchen 6 months ago and my contractor has his wife do a deep clean after a big job as dust permeates the whole house. She did such a great job that I now have her come once a month for a deep cleaning, she is here all day, maybe 6-7 hours. In addition to general cleaning, she does the floors and washes the bedding and makes the beds - that alone is worth it for me. Also I feel like I have to pick up stuff around the house before she comes, so it is a motivation to keep things neater - lol.
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Doesn’t everyone do this?
It’s like rinsing your dishes before loading them in the dishwasher.
Totally not necessary but some people do it cuz it just makes them feel better.
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Cleaning ≠ tidying up. While I would expect a professional cleaner to know how to clean my house, I wouldn’t expect them to know where all the knick knacks, clothing items, etc. belong. Putting away a mess so the person can clean is not only absolutely necessary, it’s just a simple courtesy. And yeah, it makes me feel better, too.
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The service I work with flat out says it will “clean around” anything it is not sure what to do with (like if you leave stuff on surfaces that should otherwise have been put in the dishwasher or tidied up in some other fashion). It’s not their responsibility to put my stuff away and I am fine with that.
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Exactly.
Well I mostly do it because I don’t want her to think I’m a slob.
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And if one pays hourly, do you really want to pay your cleaner to declutter (inefficiently, at that, unless they know where things go)?
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