How to get the most out of a cleaning visit (it takes ten minutes)
Ten minutes of preparation before a housekeeper arrives turns a good visit into a great one. What to pick up, what to leave out, what to tell us, and what to leave alone.
A cleaning visit is a fixed block of skilled time. Everything that block is spent on other than cleaning, from moving laundry off a bed to hunting for the vacuum outlet, is time not spent on your grout. A few minutes of preparation makes every minute count.
Pick up, do not clean
The most useful thing you can do is clear surfaces and floors of personal items: clothes, mail, toys, dishes, chargers. You do not need to wipe anything. A housekeeper can clean a clear counter in a fraction of the time it takes to clean around a cluttered one, and clutter is the number one reason a visit runs short of the checklist.
If tidying is itself the problem, tell us. Light organizing can be added to a visit, and dishes and laundry are available as add-ons.
Leave out what you want changed
If you would like beds changed, leave the fresh set folded on the end of each bed. One bed change is included in every visit; additional beds are a small add-on. If you would like a specific product used on a surface, marble for instance, leave it on the counter with a note.
Tell us about the home
The quote form has a notes field, and it is read by the person who assigns your housekeeper. The most useful notes are:
- Access: lockbox code, gate code, alarm instructions, where to leave the key.
- Pets: names, whether they are friendly, where they will be during the visit.
- Surfaces: anything unsealed, antique, or fragile that needs care or should be skipped.
- Priorities: the two or three things that matter most to you that day.
- Off-limits: rooms or items we should not touch.
Secure what is precious
Please put away cash, jewelry, and small irreplaceable items before a visit. Not because anything will happen to them, but because it lets your housekeeper move quickly without worrying about anything they are moving. Delicate collectibles and art are best cleaned by you; we will dust around them.
Pets
We love them. Nervous or protective animals should be in a separate room or outside for everyone’s comfort. Friendly ones are welcome to supervise.
Be home, or do not be
Most clients are not home for visits, and that is fine. If you would like to be home for the first one to walk through preferences in person, we welcome it. After that, a text when we arrive and a text when we leave keeps you informed.
Afterward
Walk the home. If anything is not to your standard, tell us within 24 hours and we return to re-clean the area at no charge. If it was to your standard, a short review on Google helps a small company more than you would think. Either way, we want to hear.
