What's your opinion ?

[LyndsayLoLoSWLondon]

Hi
I currently employ a cleaner for 25 hours a week 5 hours on a Monday- Friday. (especially before and after the weekend!). The trouble is I don't know if I am being unrealistic about what I'm expecting her to do and not giving her enough hours or if she just isn't as good as my last amazing cleaner who sadly retired 4 months ago after working for me for 12 years prior to me having kids (just cleaning my apartment) and the last 10 years with an ever expanding family! So here's the jobs I ask. I pay £12 p/hr so £300 a week.

1. Change my bed and all 4 kids beds once a week on a Friday and nanny's bed. All sheets are sent to the dry cleaners to be washed and pressed every week so all she needs to do is strip he beds and bag up and leave in the utility. All clean sheets are left in airing cupboards. Sometimes there's the guest bedroom to change also. I don't think this is difficult I just don't have the time to do It myself.

1. Clean kitchen 'generally' Hoover and mop tiles, clean skirting boards, wipe over splash backs clean gas hob. Wipe over ovens and dust over the AGA, clean microwave. Empty the dishwasher if finished. Empty bin, Clean the dining table. Clean bi fold doors. I ask all this to be done on a Friday and then again on the Monday because everything marks easily. Clean out fridge empty out of date things and clean with anti bac spray.

1. Clean and dust the best lounge - not much mess in there.

1. Clean and dust the main lounge and Hoover.

1. Dust and Hoover the kids rooms.

1. Dust and Hoover my bedroom and dust and Hoover my office.

1. Clean 4 bathrooms and 3 separate loos.

1. Clean guest bedroom if it's been used and their bathroom.

1. Hoover all stairs and dust banisters.

10. Hoover sofas.

Note: there is never Outside doors or windows to clean. Never and deep thorough clean of ovens as I have someone in every 3 months to clean the ovens professionally.
There is no ironing or washing to put on or hang out, I have someone collect and drop of ironing and nanny puts it away.

What do you think ?

Thanks in advance.

I will be honest the kids rooms are quite a tip well the older 2 anyway...so yes there is a lot of picking up and putting away before she can start the clean...I struggle to ask friends advice as there situations are very different and to be honest when we get together for a wine I want to de stress

No you don't sound unfair, but that isn't the point. The point is you're paying for a job that can be done well within the time allotted and it's not being done.

My ex-boyfriend used to house share with mates who all worked together in IT. They had a cleaner three times a week who basically did all that as well as laundry and ironing. And still she had time to sit on the sofa drinking one of their beers on an afternoon (they had a webcamwhich she knew aboutit was actually quite funny).

They didn't mind. Because everything got done.

You're really not being unfair. Change cleaners, feel no guilt.

Get someone else.

Cleaning and tidying are two different things. She shouldn't have to pick up and put away in the DCs rooms prior to cleaning. How old are they?

To make things easier, and therefore potentially quicker/cheaper, they should tidy their rooms just prior to the day that their rooms are cleaned.

Are there lots of 'things' around in the other rooms that might take extra time - ornaments etc?

Why have you got so much fridge waste? There's a saving to be made there imo... Your out of date may not be her out of date. Some things are fine for longer than printed on the packet.

I'm struggling to picture the size of your house but that's plenty time for the jobs you've listed, unless you're all horrendously messy.

Cleaning and tidying are two different things. She shouldn't have to pick up and put away in the DCs rooms prior to cleaning. How old are they?

It mightn't be good a child-rearing practice but if the cleaner's job description includes tidying/picking up, then she should be able to do it in the 25 hours a week no problem.

Well someone recommended her to me and when I asked her over for a chat and discuss the job role she point blank told me 15 hours was not possible for the amount of work I needed. The first month I paid her for 15 hours and even less of the jobs got done so I upped it to 20 hours...then it was Christmas time and I had a house full of guests so I upped again to 25 hours and it's now March and it's stopped at 25 hours ....although the Christmas guests have long gone....I must be a walk over ...well I am at home I think!

Absolutely she should be able to get that done in those hours!
Have you spoken to her/has she said when things haven't been completed as to why?

My opinion is that your cleaner is taking the pee- although neither employing staff nor, indeed, cleaning are my specialist subjects.

We have a 6 bed town house, separate converted basement/self contained flat for live in nanny...

Oh and I didn't make that clear she told me 15 hours wouldn't be enough...I said see how she got on if she felt happy to do that (I was desperate for someone), and I said we could review it in a few weeks, then I upped to the 20 hours when we had a discussion

Op, I have a cleaner for 3 hours a day. She does all of that and all of the washing including bed sheets etc. it is a manageable amount of work in the time available.

You have a cleaner for 5 hours a day and a live in nanny that presumably has some tidying duties to do with the children. Your cleaner is taking the piss.

Get rid of her and change the hours. You'll be able to cut a fair bit of time off teaching the kids to pick up their rooms for the cleaner coming. It'll take less time for her to do and you'll be doing them a favour for when they leave home, surely the nanny can supervise with that.

Beds not getting done means she's not up to the task or has the opinion like some on here that they don't need to be changed so often. She'll just get worse.

When I was younger and we had a cleaner my mum would tell her if our rooms were messy then she wasn't to clean in there.
She was there to clean and NOT to pick up after us.
That meant if we didn't put our stuff away the room wouldn't get cleaned and we would then have to do both jobs.
We soon learnt to put things away the day before the cleaner came!

5 hours a day is a lot.
She should easily get all this done.

I also think you need a different cleaner.

I've got 2 days off this week as I desperately need it and I'm just reviewing my situation to be honest. And how I can cut back.
Having some of your opinions is definitely helped and I am very grateful.

At present I'm paying out

1. Live in nanny £550 p/w
2. Cleaner at £300 I now know I have to do something seriously quick about this to cut costs. I need to realistically get this to 100-120 a week -

Have her sent to the Tower

She's got 5 hours a day, 5 days a week when all she has to do is clean. That doesn't sound an unmanageable list to me!

I think she couldn't be bothered with looking for extra work, has you down as a soft-touch, and is taking the proverbial.

Look again for someone better.

Well I have issues with the nanny but that's a different problem really...she isn't that good at tidying up after them or getting the children to help her with tidyin. At the end of the day. I frequently get home to a tip of a house which only adds to my stress. To make it worse I don't have a partner/husband to lean on for support

Tidying*

How old are your children? They could take on some chores to earn picket money, if they're of an age to be capable of this. They could perhaps Hoover their own rooms, strip their own beds etc.

6 bed with basement and nanny flat should not take 25 hours a week to clean to the level that you've noted - she's not doing laundry, ironing, or other extras such as unpacking grocery deliveries, running errands.

She is taking the piss. Get someone else.

Sorry, pocket money. Not picket money - hopefully they won't undertake strike action any time soon!

Come on OP, you work 80 hours a week in a high paid, high powered (I assume) job where you have to make tough decisions, apply your work self to this sitiation - you know what you need to do!