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These items need to be done routinely, self directed ask if you have questions if possible do during first part of shift
clean bathrooms, wash bath & kitchen floor daily
Neaten up all rooms, general pick up, put things away daily
vacuum, living room, dining room daily
Sort and fold clean laundry
Dust surfaces edges (around rugs etc)
Water house plants if needed
Check to see if linens need changing. Or if there is Ironing
Assist Dave Organize and clean closets
- Spend time and Play games etc with ...
- provide respite time for
----
They don't do heavy cleaning
I think that my daughter found this lovely person through someone in her apartment building who was employing her, so had a good reference there.
a local handyman charges $30/hour
our agency caregivers do light housekeeping
I did decide last week after talking with some experts that we won't hire someone directly because of the potential liability issues. It will only be through an agency that handles deductions, has worker's comp and other required employee coverages. It's just too much financial exposure to take a chance hiring someone and be responsible for any injuries that might be sustained.
I'll post again when we've found an agency we like, and generally what the financial terms are, just to help anyone else who might be in a similar situation.
Thanks again to all of you for your suggestions.
Just sayin, keep the relationship professional by not giving them anything except money, a bonus, or gift selected for them. No throw-aways/donations.
Best not to have staff taking anything out of your homes.
Overall, though, this was so minor, and she was the best housekeeper I ever had.
Check your church bulletin for cleaning services or people. Also other local churches. You might just have to call a local church's office to enquire. It depends on the church and how they handle this type of service. Ask if they know the person and how comfortable they would feel having them in THEIR home. Always interview and get a job estimate before hiring. Check any references. This is a way to try to get a lower cost individual or two rather than a more expensive company, and possibly a more trustworthy person.
That was too expensive to me and we waited on a list for a local lady I already knew and for several years now she cleans for $15.00/hr. for about 2 hrs. and sometimes longer. For twice a month cleanings we are paying $60.00/month which I can live with. She does a good job, is reliable and we have no concerns about her stealing anything. She is flexible and will help us with almost anything we ask. We prepare by putting things away that might be in her way as she goes to clean each room. She doesn't rearrange or stuff items in drawers. This is the ideal relationship for our family. Best of luck to you in your search!
I'm finding that it's not easy to tell which ones are really good; as FF wrote, reviews aren't that meaningful, and I don't know anyone in my area who used a cleaning service before.
While I do keep Our home presentable and tidy, I fail miserably to reach the very high standard of a pro.
I have read all of Your comments with great interest as I had been thinking of this for quiet a while Myself.
I would hate to be a workmen/vendor who has always given great service only to be trashed by whomever writing on the national and social media websites who probably never used said workmen/vendor. So very unfair. No wonder we are seeing more lawsuits popping up over defamation.
I would like to pay only $10/ hr., and if it works out, once a month, give them $55.00 for 4 hours work. I like to pay what I am offering, not what they are charging. There is more for the housekeeper once they are found reliable, efficient, honest, and a good cleaner. I don't count benefits, gifts or meals as their income, I just love to share.
I once hired a friend to do housekeeping, that did not work out because 1) she told other friends in our group of friends that there was nothing really to clean;
2) when we went out with friends after she cleaned, it was too tiring for her, and I understood. She fired me! Ok with me!
Nowadays, if help came in, I wouldn't be able to straighten/clean before the help arrived.
Another neighbor offers to do housecleaning. Did I want the whole neighborhood to know if my mattress was really lumpy, or anything at all about my home, or life?
I don't hire gossips, just don't.
$50 an hour is really out of line, even if they would give massages, water the plants, walk the dog and cook a 5 course meal! I think you're right that there's collusion involved and were wise to alert Angie's List.
I think that List, which started as a good idea, has grown to be something respected but does have limitations. Last year one of the contractors who posed on a DIY forum wrote that he was unable to undertake a project b/c of physical limitations, hired someone recommended on Angie's List, and found the services to be unacceptable. I don't remember all the issues as they were technical, ones a contractor would know. I vaguely remember there were some code violations involved.
And last year I saw a plumber's truck with a big Angie's List endorsement on the van. I had hired them some years ago and found them to be very unprofessional. One guy using a reciprocal saw hit something and blew a fuse which ruined my phone/answering machine. He never offered to pay for a replacement phone. Another one working in the kitchen complained repeatedly about the difficulty of replacing a particular brand of faucet. I never used them again.
I think it must be really difficult to undertake such a massive endeavor of validating people only by customer experience, but I've never relied on Angie's list since then.
FF,
I was shocked as well. That might just be a state by state requirement too. The issue raised by your father's insurance company is exactly what I've encountered.
I think it might be because, if someone comes to visit you, they're there just for nonwork related purposes. But if you ask someone to come to perform services, they're there specifically for that purpose, for a commercial purpose, and not for a social purpose. They're performing on property maintained by you and have a reasonable expectation (love those legal phrases!) of a reasonably safe work environment, to which I think they're entitled.
I recall that years ago there was a distinction between guests and invitees in terms of property liability but don't know what the issues are now.
Still, $750 a year is $62.50 a month and $1,000 a year is $83.33 a month, and for that I could get a few extra hours of work through an agency.
The liability issue scares me as well. I know that some people will sue for anything. And the issue of vetting an individual is time consuming.
After reading the posts here as well as considering some very wise private advice, I've decided to stick with an agency.
In fact yesterday when my sig other took over my Dad's over-due car insurance bill to pay to the Insurance company, he had mentioned that my Dad has caregivers in the house, and sure enough the Insurance person asked if my Dad had a workman's comp policy. Turns out he didn't need it because the Caregivers are from an Agency that has their own workman's comp for their employees. Whew.