Advice needed on hiring a cleaning company/someone to do a big one-off sort out before baby gets here.

[bananabump]

Hi, just wondered if anyone had done this.

I need help with sorting through the spare room full of binbags and christmas crap (I need to throw half of it out and sort the rest into boxes, move some light furniture about and stack the boxes against the wall/under the bed) and various other smaller tidying/sorting jobs such as kitchen cupboards which just never get done.

We don't have much money, and there's no-one friends or family wise I'd be comfortable asking to sort out my avalanche of crap for me. Stairs etc are getting an issue as I'm incredibly tired, racked with spd and can't carry anything up or down the stairs.

So who do I ask? Would a cleaning company do this or do they just do mop-and-bucket style cleaning? Or should I put an advert in a local shop asking for someone to give me a hand for one day, cash in hand? But what if they stole from me? (I don't know what I would charge for their help either, £30-£35?)

Any advice welcome, I don't want to ring cleaning companies and get laughed at.

bump!

I know you've said that you wouldn't feel comfortable about asking friends or family to help sort through your stuff but I'm sure they would be happy to help get things ready for you. To make you feel more comfortable about the whole thing, lay on some cakes, wine etc. (possibly even have a BBQ at the end of the day) and make a party of it, it could really be quite fun. Asking for this pre-baby help would be a much more practical alternative to the many well-intended, but often unnecessary, presents that tend to accumulate once the baby has arrived. I do sympathise as I'm 33+6 at the moment and am attempting similar myself... Good luck!

Where are you? I've done this for people in the past - usually friends of friends. If you're anywhere near Glasgow, I'll come and help you with it.

I don't really have anyone who COULD help though, my family are either mega busy at the moment (moving house) or a bit useless!

I know I should ask dp to do it but it just never gets done, he has to read every bit of paper he finds and flick through every magazine. Anything I put in a rubbish bag he has to take out and inspect and usually salvage.

Other times we go up there and he immediately finds some farty little piece of wire/computer part and then that's it, he's gone for the afternoon fiddling with his PC, it's so frustrating!

And then at some point halfway through the job he mysteriously decides it's "finished" and walks off without saying a word, leaving me up there lugging things about. I come down 20 minutes later to see where he's gone and he's tucked up on the sofa with his laptop, nice cup of tea and a pile of biscuits.

So I just want it done, with no distractions, no excuses! And I need someone to be more ruthless than me because I feel terribly guilty about throwing things away too.

Mrs Muddle, thanks very much for your offer of help, if you were closer I'd take you up on it, but I'm in Wrexham, N Wales, far too far for you to travel! Thanks though.

Entered "house cleaning" into the Yell.com website and checked out the websites of a couple of companies whose details came up. They both offered a variety of services, including a one-off Spring clean which I reckon is probably the sort of thing you want? Am sure that most of these places are always happy to take on new business and that they would be happy to quote for your specific needs. As for the cost, however...no idea I'm afraid! Do let us know how you get on - may do the same myself ahead of the big day so that I can put any last minute energy burst to another, more exciting use