Maybe I just have to be a little jerky, but I might add something. Before you hire a cleaning service or maid service, it might be great to look into how much they pay their employees and what their general set up is. Many companies treat employees terribly with low pay and poor health coverage. This often results in cutting corners in cleaning tasks. I would probably steer clear of any large organization/company and go to a self managed maid to ensure that all parties are happy. It may cost a little more upfront but chances are the pay out will be so much higher in the end.

Great point, Laura. I think it's also great if you can get a recommendation from a neighbor. As a former owner of an independent green cleaning service, word of mouth was key. It's a big deal letting someone into your house, trust is important. I have "triage" cleaning done very occasionally, and the woman I hired has worked for my neighbor for over 10 years. I like to think I appreciate it a bit more than most after all the houses I cleaned back in the old days.
For our service, we MADE 90% of the products we used to clean with. The selection in stores has come such a long way...

Angie's List is so worth it- for this and many other kinds of businesses.

I've always hired independent housekeepers through word of mouth. They set their own wages, determine their own hours, and come highly recommended from friends and neighbors. My one run-in with a cleaning company - highly recommended to me - was disastrous. The independent housekeepers developed more of a personal relationship and seemed to take more pride in their work, and were more flexible about what they were willing to do (less cleaning to do? Yeah, okay, I'll iron).

totally laura!
better to have fewer rooms actually clean and pay a bit more directly and with a clean conscience than have the whole place "clean".

read "nickled and dimed" and you'll never hire one of those chain cleaning services again. ick.

UGH! I've had a total of 3 different cleaning services all 3 were fired after a few weeks. I'm already a clean freak so cleaning my house is never a big job.
the first service - failed to show up when they said they would and didn't call.
the second service - left streaks EVERYWHERE after every single visit and when I called to complain they said there was nothing they could do about it so that I would just have to live with it.
the third service left my apartment dirtier than when they got in!

I finally resigned myself to the fact that I'm just not going to be satisfied with the results. but we've moved and I'm tired of cleaning in what limited free time I have so we are going to try it again.

this time i'm going to have a written check list of my expectations for things to be done weekly, monthly and seasonally (something along the lines of vacuum every visit, clean the vents every month and clean the filter thingy on the fridge every season) just so there's no questions. I had one service tell me they didn't know i wanted the apartment vacuumed every visit - i have TWO dogs!

i'm also not going to pay them until after the job is complete, no more leaving the $$ on the counter. 1/2 the time i think they come in, run the vac for 30 seconds and take the $$ and run.

and thirdly I'm going to provide my own green cleaning products so hopefully there won't be any more streaks or bad things for the hounds!

Thank you all commenters who recommend an independent housecleaner! I am an independent housecleaner, and I have worked for agencies and they are really exploitive: the cleaners get paid a little over minimum, have to pay their own car expenses, aren't paid for travel time between houses(which can use up a couple of hours of any given workday) and some of them are not above hiring illegal emigrants under the table.

I worked for an agency when the economy was good (late '90's) and they would hire anything that breathed. I was in the car with a trainee and she asked me if I knew where to get heroin. I can't think of any greater recipe for disaster than the keys for somebody's house given to a junkie. So, go independent, ask for references and then actually call those references!

Also, I personally feel, if you want to leave the breakfast dishes in the sink, that's fine, I have busy mornings too, just be willing to pay for the extra time it takes me to wash those dishes (or even better, leave the dishwasher empty so I can load it, takes almost no time compared to hand washing) because I am assuming you want the sink scrubbed, right? And the sink is UNDER the dirty dishes.
.

I'm with @AlyCatNat- I was an independent housecleaner for many years. It's the way to go. Much better service at the same or sometimes lower price. FAR more trustworthy, and you know you're getting the same person every time. (Plus you have the satisfaction of helping someone through college ) You also have the opportunity to use the products you feel comfortable with- Eco friendly,etc. instead of bleach or ammonia or crappy commercial brands that are mostly fragrance!

Please don't hesitate to tell your cleaning person what your main concerns are- we'll know to spend more time on that area. A quick note saying, 'can you really concentrate on the guest bathroom today?' or what have you, is great. @architexas is right- I did take pride in the work I was doing for 'my families'-it feels good to know you're making a big difference in someone's life-letting them have that extra time with their kids, spouses, dogs, or self!

It shouldn't take more than 2 runs to get into a rhythm with your housecleaner. If you still feel like something's off after that, look elsewhere. The first time will always take the longest since we're not used to your house- where the plug ins for the vacuum are, etc.

Good luck all~

I think of cleaning as a great checkout mechanism for stress, etc. I've even discovered le buquette and raag.

However, the inspiration picture's colors are great.

We used to use an independent cleaning company where the owners are the ones who clean your property and they were awesome. They would do whatever you wanted, were flexible and sensible and did things off their own back when they noticed they needed doing.

Now we have a similar arrangement with another company who are nearly as good but not quite as proactive (we moved which is the only reason we aren't still using the first ones!) We would only hire people where the same person/team came each week and where they were happy with our dog being home alone as we wouldn't want anyone feeling unhappy (now she rushes to greet them and look for her treat each time :-) )

Thanks for the info! I was just about to hire a cleaning service in Vancouver, but it looks like there's still a few things I need to do. Thanks again!

This blog is about prior and after taking care while using Housekeeping Services. This is very useful content to get ideas about. Really I would keep in mind all the instruction given by the writer.

I agree with Regina. You need to be able to clear out your clutter first. It is so difficult for the cleaning lady to do her job correctly. One thing is clutter which you can clear up using methods like that one I follow at The Cleaning Lady Blog. I always cleared up the clutter for my cleaning lady. Communication is important. I always left her a written note for the next visit.