I've booked a cleaner..what do I need to do to make it easy for them?

[StillMedusa]

5 adults in this house, all key workers (and one with autism who is semi independent) and I am fed up of being the one who does everything.. unless I nag them to death. DH is great but works very very long hours and the basics fall to me and the place needs a better clean than I have the time and energy for.
SO I have told them all they are contributing, and booked a lady to come and do a couple of hours a week. Really I just want the bathrooms and the kitchen nice to come home to...happy to do the rest myself.
My place is not horrible by any means but because DD2 moved back home to save up for a house and her partner lives with us, it is full of stuff ..extra storage boxes in the wet room, what looks like 100 coats in the hallway..
I'm going to try and reorganise storage this week when I'm not in work so make as many clear areas as possible.. is there anything else I could do?
What do cleaners hate and like in houses?

It's the stuff on surfaces that makes it hard to clean. If you keep your floors and surfaces clear, you'll have a happy cleaner.

I'd go through the coats - do you really need them all? Can you pack the winter ones away into storage, together with the extra storage boxes while your DD is living at home? If there are storage boxes in the wet room, that isn't going to be able to be cleaned at all.

Look at the sides in the kitchen, the worktops - does all that stuff really "live" there? Go through and put things back in their places, if they don't have a place then either chuck or find a place. Knickknacks and decorative objects are a huge PITA to clean and dust as you have to move them all to get at the shelf underneath.

I’ve had a few cleaners because I have a disability and there are some cleaning jobs I can’t do.

I would say they prefer it when sides etc are uncluttered. And it works best when you’re both v.clear on what’s to be done. For example my knick nacks looked to a former cleaner as a lot of stuff to dust and stressed her out but I hadn’t expected her to do it and really wanted her to empty the bins and was annoyed she didn’t. Now everyone knows what we want it’s easy.

I keep the floor clear and the kitchen worktops clear.
My only request of my cleaner is to hoover downstairs and wipe all downstairs surfaces.
That's it. No upstairs at all. I pay £10 and I love coming home once a week to a dust free living area.

I think the general rule is they are there to clean not tidy up so I just make sure toys are put away, work tops/floors are clear etc. It’s great coming home from work on a ‘cleaner day’ to a spotless lovely smelling house you won’t regret it!

Ideally, declutter - Marie Kondo!

Most coats people still want can go into bedrooms in wardrobes or storage bags.

If the household clears surfaces and floors for the day the cleaner comes you’ll get much better value for your money!

In 2 hours bathrooms/kitchen is prob all she’ll have time for. You could allocate a clean up day for communal tidying / cleaning.

I used to have a cleaning business when my children were younger. I cleaned houses six days a week. The key to getting the best out of your cleaner is not to expect them to tidy rooms or do the bloody washing up. It is time consuming and unnecessary.
It's also a good idea to make your own beds, and then the cleaner can get straight to doing what she is employed for - cleaning.
As you get to know the cleaner you can leave notes if you want something specifically doing but always remember the cleaner is only there for a certain amount of time.

Well I tackled the wet room today... and did a sneaky tip run... now much much clearer, and I jiggled the kitchen around a bit so that is much better too. Luckily I'm not into ornaments and nick nacks as I have a cat who likes to destroy them, so they aren't an issue. I don't expect her to go in the bedrooms at all.. that's my kids' problem!