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What do you do while the housecleaner is working?

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Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
5,537
I really need professional help..... with my house. For a number of reasons my house is heinously dirty. I've finally admitted defeat and will be hiring a monthly cleaner.

What do you do while they're working? I don't really feel comfortable leaving, but I feel odd thinking I'm going to be hanging around watching. What do you do?
 
We had a cleaner for many years, and we probably should get one again. :errrr:

Anyhow, when I was home I did a lot of picking up, sorting magazines, etc. to make her cleaning job easier. There are lots of tasks around the home that you can be doing during the cleaning but still be available. Paying bills at the computer is another task. Laundry might be another one.
 
I just got one!!! I don't have time to dust, scrub bathroom floors, mop, etc. I organize stuff I need to organize and pay bills. I don't like to leave either! I can always clean out the fridge or work on paperwork, make baby food, sew. I found a house keeper for once every three weeks.
 
We used to have a lady come in every other week - she'd arrive as I went off to work and was in the house for about 3.5 hours. She was bonded and highly recommended and she just did her thing. Then... kids needed tutoring, she got a bit 'slack' at things... we don't have anyone any more but I'd love to have another housecleaner again!

I think it's what you are comfortable with - stay home or go out - but if you are at home, just be out of their way so they can do their jobs. That would be my thought...

(I'm jealous of you now!! Tee hee!!)
 
I was a nanny for a family that had bi-monthly house cleaning (both parents worked full time and it really helped them maximize the time after work and on the weekends for time with their kids) and I would take the kids outside, or pick a spot and work on homework or put in a movie. But if they came early in the day before the kids were home and I came over, they let themselves in.

It was awkward sometimes, but if there are other things you can work on- emails, your garden, working out, etc it helps.

My FI and I finally gave in and got a company to come out and take care of the mowing and weedwacking twice a month (we have three acres of major hillside) cause it was taking us a full day and was such a huge time draw away from the business we own. It just made sense; sometimes you just need help!
 
Quite a predicament. I dont have a cleaner as I would be irate if one bit of my mess were to be messed with. I have a lot of "stuff" in play and I know where everything is even if no one else can see the order.
Some typical things you could do while the cleaning is going on:

Polish your gemstones while eating a box of chocolates.
Look busy working in your laptop. Have yourself positioned so that no one can see what you are doing on your screen. Call your home phone from your gmail account and answer it pretending you are talking to your broker and occasionally yelling SELL!! SELL!!!
Follow them around with a video camera. Explain that you are doing a conceptual art project that you need to video every bit of dirt being cleaned.
Make a pie

Whatever you would normally do that isn't on my list is probably good.
 
If we had a housekeeper I'd either sit and laugh hysterically or giggle quietly to myself in the corner b/c I didn't have to do the cleaning.

Truthfully tho, I'd have to have the person come when I wasn't there b/c I'd feel weird if I wasn't doing anything when they were there. Rough my hair all up and run around pretending to be extraordinarily busy or something, looking at my watch all the time ohhh all these appointments I have, things to do, people to see..
 
Though Vapid's suggestions are pretty awesome, I'd err towards Fly Girl's, I think - my husband requested cleaning help for his holiday gift. See, while I hate clutter, it rarely occurs to me to wash a floor ... so we got somebody to handle that side of the equation, and I bounce around doing the things I should have gotten around to earlier while she's here. Works out fairly well, actually - I think if I didn't do something, whether it was cleaning myself or catching up on written work, I'd feel off about it.
 
We have two ladies come once a month and we just get out of their way. But we don't have many portable high ticket items. When I was a kid we had people come too, when we weren't home, and nothing ever went missing. I guess I just don't worry about that too much.
 
Mainly, I feel awkward. With my mother's maid, it's different, because she's been the maid my entire life and I grew up with her daughter. She feels no qualms about telling me to move if she's trying to clean the room I'm in and I'm in her way. If I ask her to do something, she'll just do it. My fiance's maid, on the other hand, won't clean any room I'm in, and leaves without saying goodbye (like sneaks out of the house, practically!), and won't even tell me something like, "hey, we've got to go soon, so if you don't clear out of the office, it won't get cleaned." So if I'm at home, I try to hide in the office until they've cleaned the bedroom, then scuttle over to the bedroom with my laptop and do stuff in there until they leave. I've told her it's okay to tell me to clear out of a room, but she doesn't seem to feel comfortable with that. She is VERY thorough with the cleaning though, and takes it upon herself to reorganize the kitchen whenever my fiance buys new kitchen stuff that we then don't know where to put, so I try to accommodate her. MOSTLY I just try to plan my errands to be done on the day they're here. But my fiance's maid has worked for him for years so I don't feel any qualms about leaving while she's here.

For at least the first few times your new maid is there, I'd stick around, if for no other reason than to show her where stuff goes and how you like things done. Also, be sure to have a phone number in case she puts something where you can't find it. (Once I thought the maid had thrown a way a spinel I'd just ordered. It was a heart-stopping moment. Turns out she'd put the package in a closet that we never look in.)

(Both of these maids come weekly.)
 
The first few times when I show them where everything is and how I want things done (everyone has their own way of doing somethings). But when the cleaners are here after they are trained, I'm staying out of their way. And they really seem to prefer it. When I get up to help they get a little panicky. They've gotten used to me helping with the bed but outside of that, they really prefer it if I stay on my bed out of their way.... and so do I.

Ideally I nap. I love the sound of the vaccum whirling as it goes around the house WITHOUT ME :tongue: . And the sound of the bathroom being washed. Seriously, I have a smile on my face as I drift in and out of consciousness. If I'm not napping I'm reading.

I do get up and help when it comes to stripping and re-doing the bed. Because I am particular about it I help. And I do a walk through before they leave of the things I care most about. Then when they leave I empty the dishwasher, throw out any weird leftovers in the fridge, do some laundry.

I need a new cleaner though. Mine got a job cleaning offices (which gives her a solid income) as she didn't have enough people to house clean for so she's not cleaning here anymore. Which has been sad.
 
I have 2 ladies that come together every 2 weeks, and I just leave them the keys so they come and go as they please. I do live in a pretty safe area though, and anything of real value is worn on me. My husband sometimes works from home, and he would be home when the cleaning ladies come. he usually just packs up and leaves to the gym, or go to a bookstore, or runs errands. He tells them that he'll be back in a bit, but if they're finished, just lock up and leave.
 
Wow, such a great question to ask. Typically, I would be at work when they came, but I would run around like a maniac in the morning before I left for work, doing all the precleaning and decluttering because I didn't want them to see what my house was really like - kind of funny I know, but not uncommon I hear. On the times when they came and I was home, I would always feel awkward. Sometimes I would try and make small talk, but that would slow them down and I could see that they were a bit uncomfortable. Sometimes I would retreat to my bedroom, other times I would leave the house. Either way, I would always feel guilty that I wasn't cleaning and they were...silly me.

Vapid has some excellent ideas for occupying oneself during the duration of the cleaning; I'm sure if pressed we ould come up with a few more :Up_to_something:
 
My cleaners were once a week when I was preggo. It was three people and they stayed about 3-4 hours. Usually I'd stay in my room and nap and when it was time to clean my room I'd take the dog for a walk. It was kind of awkward for me to loll about while they cleaned my house so I just tried to stay out of their way. If they had any questions they would just ask me.
 
I'm usually at work.

Currently our helper comes in once a week, but as soon as we're preggers we'll increase that to three times a week. By the time baby gets here she'll be full time, Mondays to Fridays, 07h30 until 16h30.

Those of you who work and have kids but only have help every second week, how do you cope?

Not being facetious, genuine question (threadjack?) here.
 
When I was at work, it was easy, but now I work from home, I have a couple of hours a week when I have to skulk around in my study. That's the one room the cleaners don't go into - we keep on top of the worst of it in there ourselves (barely).

Mostly, I'm just pathetically grateful, so I tend to make them cups of tea and bring them cake. Always seems to go down well.
 
Our cleaning person comes when we are (usually) at work. I would hate to be home while she was working. When my dh was working from home some days he would occasionally be there when she was cleaning and it didn't bother him at all. He would just stay in his home office mainly while she was there and stay out of the way. If I had to be home I would probably tackle some jobs I have been dreading like cleaning out some of my closets/bureaus etc. so I would be busy and not feel sloth like while she was working.
 
You ladies are really getting to the heart of things. If I'm home, it either looks like I'm a lazy a$$ for not doing this myself, or I'm hiding from my shame. If I leave, I'm worried (not frantically) I'll come home to something broken, or heaven help, be missing! Oh, and I'm petrified they'll look in my or my daughter's closets. That would scare them away from ever coming back!!

Overall, Vapid has given me the best advice. Once again, she rules!!! :naughty:
 
Ok, two things there - one, there's nothing wrong with lazy. It's a much underrated attribute. Revel in it. Embrace it. Get a chaise longe to lie on and eat bonbons if you want to go all-out. I'm very dubious about people who don't rate lazy. Don't dis lazy. It's a fundamental part of my core belief system... :bigsmile:

Second, why would you be ashamed of not cleaning? I mean, it's a skill, right? There are professional cleaners, people skilled in the task, who know how to do it right. The rest of us shouldn't dabble. I mean, you don't have a go at filling your own teeth when you get a cavity, or setting your own limbs if you have a fracture, do you? No. You go to the person with the skills and experience. No shame.

They will have seen worse closets (and if they haven't, they are new on the job, so think of it as training).

If they break stuff, take advantage - what small, fragile items do your family members have that you never liked and wish to be rid of?

Good luck!
 
I used to clean homes when I was in college to help pay my tuition. After a couple of weeks, most families would just go out and leave the house. To be honest, it was much easier that way and I felt much more comfortable. When someone was in, I got worried about things - like the time I was re-making the bed and knocked off some lubricant that was on the nightstand. Of course the owner walked into the bedroom right as I had it in my hand to put it back on the nightstand. I was concerned that she thought I was snooping as it's probably normally kept inside their nightstand, and I just didn't know what to say as I sat it back. If a pile of paper had been there for weeks I'd move the papers over, vacuum, and move them back. I'm not sure I'd want anyone to see me moving their papers but I also would notice a dust buildup if they'd been in the same place for longer than a couple of weeks and considered it my job to get rid of the dust. I would also get a glass of water and take a 5 minute break if it was a large house which I never felt comfortable doing if the owner was home and sitting there. Cleaning house is hard work - a break is in order when it's one of those 3-4 hour jobs!
 
Jennifer W|1331808694|3149101 said:
Ok, two things there - one, there's nothing wrong with lazy. It's a much underrated attribute. Revel in it. Embrace it. Get a chaise longe to lie on and eat bonbons if you want to go all-out. I'm very dubious about people who don't rate lazy. Don't dis lazy. It's a fundamental part of my core belief system... :bigsmile:

Second, why would you be ashamed of not cleaning? I mean, it's a skill, right? There are professional cleaners, people skilled in the task, who know how to do it right. The rest of us shouldn't dabble. I mean, you don't have a go at filling your own teeth when you get a cavity, or setting your own limbs if you have a fracture, do you? No. You go to the person with the skills and experience. No shame.

They will have seen worse closets (and if they haven't, they are new on the job, so think of it as training).

If they break stuff, take advantage - what small, fragile items do your family members have that you never liked and wish to be rid of?

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Excellent post!! :appl:
 
I had a cleaner come in for spring cleaning on a Saturday .she told me it is going to take 3-4 hours so I took my teenage son for clothes shopping at the mall .I dont like cleaning myself and I hate to be around when some one else is doing it .when I came back ,the house was all clean & shiny!
 
We have had a couple services throughout our married life. Last year was the first time I was home while they came, and I'd often do as Gypsy and take a nap, since one of the reasons we hired them is due to my health issues making them a necessity. Other times, I'd run in and out doing quick and easy errands. Occasionally I would handle paperwork/bills/stuff that needed doing I hadn't gotten to that was easy and in one place.

The first few times I also did as Gypsy and stayed around to discuss how I want things done and to check them out either as they went or as they finished. I personally prefer to always get someone who is bonded/licensed, but have known people who hire on CL and get fantastic people.
 
Jen, I love you!!! (and your jewels)
 
I wish I had a cleaner. You are right, it is a talent of which I do not possess.
 
Good for you!

I go out, I surf the web, I have a shower (baby = shower when you can), I read a book. I used t ofeel strange not working when she was here, but I got over it. I hav ehad a cleaner in my life for the last 10 years.
 
Trekkie|1331796242|3149068 said:
Those of you who work and have kids but only have help every second week, how do you cope?
Click to expand...

We had her come very week instead :lol:

She comes 2 hours one week and one hour the other week. Some things get done every week (play room vaccum, our bathroom counter washed up) but other stuff if bi-weekly. In between we pick up but don't clean. Maybe we are just used to a bit of mess!
 
Trekkie|1331796242|3149068 said:
I'm usually at work.

Currently our helper comes in once a week, but as soon as we're preggers we'll increase that to three times a week. By the time baby gets here she'll be full time, Mondays to Fridays, 07h30 until 16h30.

Those of you who work and have kids but only have help every second week, how do you cope?

Not being facetious, genuine question (threadjack?) here.
Click to expand...


I can't answer your question, but I'm curious as to why you would need a cleaner full time(or even 3x per week) after baby arrives? I can't imagine a house getting THAT messy to require 9 hours each day. Are you referring to someone more like a nanny to watch the baby too? What will they do full time(and 3x per week)?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm currently expecting and now worry about what I will/won't be able to do on my own. I'm a bit naive to these things as we've only had someone to come do the heavy cleaning.
 
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