To not clean up for the (potential) cleaner?

[Minikievs]

I have a lady coming tomorrow to look at the house with a view to doing a weekly clean for me. We aren't the tidiest household (not horrendous, what I like to think of as normal family mess) but it's mainly that there's too much "stuff" everywhere.
House isn't dirty, but if you ran your finger along some surfaces they would be dusty. Hence the search for a cleaner!
Anyway....I have had a quick, basic tidy round (ie thrown stuff in various cupboards) but I haven't cleaned. I don't want her to come in to a spotless house, tell me it only needs a quick hour once a week, and then to turn up and have a house that isn't as clean as when she first visited.
So AIBU to not clean up for the cleaner?

So do you chuck and declutter while you tidy?

I had this the other week. House was a bit of a state and I was rather embarrassed showing her round, eg pointing out places I wanted dusting which were covered in dust for example, but hey ho. I do tidy for the cleaner and did for the initial consultation, but no, I don't clean for the cleaner!

Tidy but don't clean. It's going to take more time to get round if they are working around piles of toys, papers strewn all over kitchen surfaces etc. Making beds, emptying dishwasher etc are things most cleaners would be happy to do, but of course all takes more time. I think it crosses a line to expect them to tidy up clutter because it puts them in an awkward position. They won't want to be tidying up piles of personal correspondence for example, heaps of dirty washing...

Nospring she is £12 ph. I thought £10 was reasonable but this lady has been recommended by a friend who had sacked 5 previous cleaners-this one has lasted the longest so I'm hoping she's worth it. Three hours a week she reckons, so about £150 a month.

Thanks. It does add up doesn't it but hopefully worth it .

I said to my cleaner from the start that she'd have to tidy as she went. It would be too much of a burden otherwise, so we probably pay for more time than we would need if we tidied first. The good thing is that the kids have learned that if they want to know where to find their stuff, they need to tidy it away before she comes. Wish I had also learned this lesson BTW, I love my cleaner, she's ace.

It sounds like, once the routine is established, the tidying shouldnt be horrible, because you do it weekly and / or develop the habit of not letting clutter accumulate and/or the dc's (dh?) learn to advance tidy in self defense. And then, the cleaner cleans. Bliss!

I do tidy up for mine because otherwise she tidies things in odd places and I come in from work and can't find the TV remote or a piece for my nebuliser machine! When she came first time though it was quite messy!