Is my cleaner overstepping?

No it doesn't. It's not the cleaners house. There is no grey area.

If you're the only one using the cleaning products and the hoover, maybe you could rearrange those so that they are easily accessible. But beyond that, the home owner decides where her furniture and belongings go.

A lot of home owners are looking for someone to do that kind of thing because their hones are chaos. You feel out the relationship as you go. Sometimes you take your initiative.

Whatever about the other things, why did you not tell her immediately to not do that again!!!!!

I think she could moving things to clean under and forgetting where they originally were.

This. I wouldn’t want her in my house either

My cleaner does this. I assume it’s to make sure I know she’s cleaned under the objects, rather than around them. Or she’s just absent minded. She’s an excellent cleaner otherwise so I just let it go and move stuff back. Good cleaners are hard to find.

You are employed to clean. If I want someone to arrange my house, I will employ someone to do so. You do not own a house just because you clean it. I am genuinely disturbed by the number of cleaners on this thread who consider this acceptable. Especially the one who took it upon herself to tell someone she would be coming in to rearrange wardrobes while the home owner was on holiday.

My cleaner is here as I type. If she ever tried any of this, it would probably be the last time she cleared for me. Thankfully, she understands boundaries.

Another cleaner here, absolutely not ok. I try to make sure I put everything back inch perfect. I'm the cleaner not interior designer.

That’s not normal. Just tell her to stop unplugging devices/tidying away cables/moving items to different places. It’s weird and annoying.

Oh my God that's mad!!!! As is the whole thing - furniture, lamps, kitchen bits moving, cupboard rearranging! It's like she's seeing it as her own house. 😬

How to tackle it - head on with a written list of Do Nots "just to be clear Maureen" - I'm very direct so that would be me but you could make it a bit lighter by expressing bemusement "there's no need to add work by moving things, rearranging cupboards, unplugging stuff, we like things just as they are."

I’ve had 2 cleaners who used to do this all the time: even moving the dining table and chairs! Sometimes I liked it other times I didn’t

Yes. That was me. There were piles and piles of clothes of clean laundry around the room and a wardrobe full of clothes literally stuffed in. She wanted me to keep cleaning for her and the chances of a new cleaner coming amd not charging a specialist price to sort it all are slim.

Generally speaking, if I can tell early on thay someone is both living in chaos and resistant to change, I won't clean for them. I have a waiting list. I don't need some of my regular clients, let alone any new ones. A good way to feel that out is by how many cleaners they've had in recent time. Good cleaners don't commit to every client they speak to or even clean for.

I can understand the cleaner giving photo frames a wipe down, but why would she move them to a completely different place - of her choice - and leave them there? It's not as if they're obstructing her path in any way, like a pile of Wellington boots left in a doorway. Isn't a cleaner hired to save the home's occupier time and effort? OP has to waste time continually moving items back to where they belong.

I'm sorry OP, but I've got to tell you that your posts about what your cleaner does have literally had me rolling around laughing! 😂

I've never heard of such a thing! (Probably because I've never had a cleaner)

I get exactly how annoying that must be for you, but the mental image of you having to hunt down the kettle and reset your alarm clock just have me floored 😂.

Hopefully other posters can contribute something to help you solve this, and that it resolves for you, but I'm holding my sides with tears running down my face every time I picture your descriptions of searching the house for everyday items😂.

You've really brightened my day OP, so thank you for posting 💐

Yeuchh! Soap toothpaste sounds revolting

"cables hanging out of walls" is literally the only way for appliances to work. Having issues with that in someone else's home is really not reasonable.

Every week my cleaner stands up my loose sofa cushions on their corners, and every week I rotate them back to be straight. I let that go as it’s such a minor thing and they’ve all been plumped up nicely.

but if she was moving my possessions round like yours, that’s too much.

Could you not have just asked her to stop?

Not it doesn’t. She moves things where she thinks they look best “how she likes them”. This is not cleaning or tidying.

Wow the sense of self importance here 😂😂

It’s fair if you don’t want to clean for a particular client or don’t want to deal with clothes etc. but to say that you must be allowed to have a say whether their photos are displayed on a mantelpiece or a window sill (which is an example given by OP) or where their furniture is is bizarre. It’s not the same thing as clothes that are in the way of cleaning

Absolutely not normal!

This is really not normal. You have to say something

I already responded directly to the OP

Where did I say that you must be allowed to have a say on photo placement. Can you quote it?

This is what i said