be gentle with me - getting rid of my cleaner ...

[basildonbond]

I've had a cleaner since I was 7 months pg with ds1 (who's now 13)

The first two were brilliant - efficient, cheerful, relatively cheap, ironed, cleaned windows, everything!

However, since brilliant cleaner no.2 went back to Brazil (sob) I've had a succession of duff cleaners, who've got progressively more expensive and who've done progessively less in the time they're here

I'm now paying £40 a week and the house is still a mess. My work has been shrinking (more sobs) so until I manage to pick up some more I can't really afford it either.

So .... bearing in mind it's been a long time since I didn't have a cleaner, how do I organise myself - and what can you get away with?

Make a list and divvy up jobs into:

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Now and then

For example my daily list is:

Empty bins upstairs and down
Quick hoover downstairs (don't move furniture)
Quick wipe of bathroom surfaces and toilet
Make beds
one load of washing
water baskets and garden stuff
wash/sort recycling

My weekly includes:

Change beds
Thorough vacuum and mop everywhere
Dust everywhere
Drop off recycling
20 minute scrub in bathroom
file all paperwork

Monthly list is:

Shine insides of windows
wipe down skirting boards
clean front door/sweep front
clean interior door handles

Now and then:

I try and concentrate on one room a week time permitting so one week I'll spend an hour tidying/wiping down kitchen cupboards, next week will be dc bedroom etc so rooms all get a onceover every couple of months.

Just marking this list. Is fab.

a good company (rather than an individual) might be better?

I need counselling after scrolling down that scary list

LOL at that list. My weekly list looks like happily's daily list. And her weekly list is my monthly. More or less.

Happily, do you do all this cleaning and go to work?

Happily - what daily things do you do in the kitchen?

My list sounds worse than it is, honest!

I work 30 hours over five days.

It's more habits that help me, I wipe down the bathroom after I've been in the shower, 20 seconds tops but makes massive difference.

Before I go downstairs in the morning I make the beds, take any rubbish from bins and a load of washing, put washer on while kettle boils.

Hoovering is a 2 minute dash round and I do recycling when I wash pots and chuck it in the car to drop off on the way back from work.

I had a cleaner for three years, house stayed nice for about an hour after she had gone. I started doing it myself two years asgo, I started just doing a big blast once a week but that was too time consuming and house didn't look good 5 out of seven. Doing tiny jobs every day has worked wonders.

god, I HATE cleaning. The first person I rang when I got my new job was my old cleaner.

She will be here tomorrow, doing what she can, amidst the mess of 2 boys, but tis the best £30 I spend every week.

SingleMum,

Kitchen daily I just vacuum.

Otherwise it is free of clutter/crap and wash/put away pots straight away and wipe worktop/table after every use. I do wipe oven/hob each time I use it too (not shelves just door and top)

Biggest thing is getting it tidy. Once the worktops are bare and the cupboards are tidy it is no work to maintain.

eek happily - you put me to shame

right - I'm going to endeavour to be more organised ...

there's no way my list's going to be that long, but little bits at a time is the way to go

Basildon don't be shamed, mine swung between shocking and spotless depending on what day you came, now it's always 'alright' which I'm happy with!

To be fair the more you do, the easier it gets as you get rid of more and more crap so less to move/clean around.

happily that's what I'm aiming for, after being cuahgt with a shocker today (and I was so hot I had no trousers on)
So will take some inspiration from you