To want to find a cleaner that tidies too?

[Whatdowehaveherethen]

I'm exhausted. My house is a mess. I've been working from home since May with 2 young boys. They're finally back at school now after having a cough.

I just want somebody to come and sort out my kitchen and the boys room. I keep them clean but they're just disorganised.

I want a fresh start so I can keep on top of it all.

I know a lot of people are out of work at the moment and I thought by advertising on Gumtree I'd easily find somebody that would accept £12-£15ph for 3 hours work during school hours every now and again. I've had no luck.

I know I should and can do it myself but I'd rather pay somebody.

I work from home so I don't know if that will put people off?

I don't know how to go about it. Word of mouth is great and all that but I don't have any friends to pass the message on.

I know Coronavirus might be an issue but surely I can find SOMEBODY!

I feel like I'm missing something. Hence the AIBU.

You just need a good cleaner and then tell them what you want them to do once they start.
Do not waste money on decluttering services etc..
I am a cleaner and a naturally organised person so I tidy also( I enjoy that part more)
After I have been going for a while I know where things go and it is always nice when I put something in a particular place and it is still left like it weeks later!(shows they approved)

I wish I lived near you - I love organising a kitchen!

My 'cleaner' is actually a home helper. She's also my friend which makes things easier. She does whatever I need help with most that week. Sometimes she cleans, sometimes she tidies, sometimes she batch cooks, whatever. Last week she dealt with all my paperwork which had piled up as I've not been well,

I think you might want to do this with someone so you can tell them where things go etc, it will probably take longer than you think. If it were me I'd still advertise for a cleaner and when you meet them explain what you want. I think maybe a whole day for the boys room. Organise it, then give it a full clean, windows, skirting boards the job lot. The same for the kitchen. If you can afford it perhaps have a weekly cleaner to do bathroom, kitchen and kids room.

How old are your children, OP? Because, honestly, most of the things you want someone else to do in their room should be done by them, stop encouraging their laziness, expectation and entitlement that other people will pick up and tidy up after them.

Oooohhh sounds like my idea of heaven. I'd do that sort of shot for free.

Where do you live OP?

Surely your children can put toys away the night before your cleaner comes?

If you're in London I'll come and do a big one-off tidy up for you for £15 p/h .

Try a company called fantastic services
They have a home organisation service as well as normal cleaning

@BronwenFrideswide

How old are your children, OP? Because, honestly, most of the things you want someone else to do in their room should be done by them, stop encouraging their laziness, expectation and entitlement that other people will pick up and tidy up after them.

Amen.

Advertise for a cleaner/housekeeper to ensure they are able to think. I had someone like this when my girls were small, also did pick up on request (I had her 6 hours a week)

This might be random but I have a friend who regularly does a call out on Facebook for “any of my doula friends come help out with x”
She’s an overworked exhausted mum - kids are young primary school age and she reaches out and pays a doula to come help her “do mum stuff” like sorting the kids bedrooms.

No idea what prices are in your area but I’m paying £25/h for a postnatal doula to come when my baby is born (I’m in Wales)

I think it's the "now and again" that's the issue, people have regular clients. Molly maids does one off but charge a lot more

My cleaner tidies and organised my cupboards, house etc. no reason they shouldn’t as long as it’s within their paid time and they are willing. My cleaner quite likes to organize my house.

Also why should you do it yourself? If you’re going to pay no reason you shouldn’t outsource housework any more than anything else.

I hired a housekeeper for a while when I was feeling overwhelmed with work, kids etc. I think I paid £20ph (London). I wanted laundry done, put away, bedlinen changed, and light cleaning. It was ok but you never got the deep clean all in one go like a good cleaner would do, and it needed someone very confident to come in and take charge. The lady I found was very tentative and would ask me how to do things, whereas I needed someone to take those decisions off my plate. It was a good experiment though, and I'd be willing to have a housekeeper again.

Apart from outsourcing, I'd also recommend a thorough declutter - it might be helpful getting someone in to help as a one-off. A fresh pair of eyes is always helpful as we become blind to things we're used to seeing around our home.

I’d give regular work to someone who could help me like this. I’ve never found the right cleaner. Had some not so good ones. (One smashed my brand new basin costing me ££££. I’ve been so scared since then. ) I don’t need just dusting or ironing. I imagine how wonderful it would be to say to someone can you please sort this cupboard for me or help me organise my storage unit. I’m just dreaming here of how great it would be. I absolutely know people are out there because i used to clean for people myself and I did everything. I just want someone who is like me and can be an extra pair of hands. I’d pay well too!

The problem with paying someone to tidy up is that they will not know were everything goes properly and things will be in the wrong places.

You would be better teaching your children to tidy up after themselves, put things back were they belong after they have used them, put dirty clothes in the washing basket as soon as they have taken them off etc.

Allowing people in your household to not do the above and then paying someone to clean up after them just means that they have no idea how to run and keep a tidy home when their older and you will be forever resented by anyone who lives with them as an adult.

There are agencies that will be able to accommodate you but you'll be paying the day rate.

Thank you for all of your replies. I know I need to work on the boys being more involved but after months of working from home with everything has just got on top of me.

For now I just want somebody to help me start again so I can keep on top of it all.

It doesn't help that I'm depressed anyway and my mental health has been on the decline since lockdown.

I actually feel sorry for my boys. We haven't been able to go anywhere (like everyone else!), I wasn't able to give them the attention they needed during lockdown so they've pretty much run free for months (other than homeschooling in the mornings).

I put my same ad on Nextdoor (thank you to whoever suggested it, you are a Godsend). I've got loads of offers.

I will buy some storage bits over the weekend. I also have new beds coming for the boys with built in storage. Once I've got that sorted, I'll call a few people that have advertised their services.

I'm so happy I posted here. Thank you for all of your advice x

Some posters also mentioned about a cleaner not knowing where things go. In regards to my kitchen, I want them to empty everything and put it all away again as they see fit. I will happily search for hours for whatever knowing I'm doing it in my newly organised kitchen!

Ah they will soon find out where things go, even if you don’t get them to reorganise, that’s the sort of thing someone picks up quickly.

@listsandbudgets You have expressed exactly how it is in my house. My cleaner is such a lovely person and doesn't mind doing whatever she can do to help me out. As far as she is concerned, I'm paying for her time - she doesn't mind what the job is. It keeps her in work. Obviously I don't take the mick and ask her to do anything unreasonable. She also tells me her teenager's room is as bad as my teen's room though I doubt if that can be true