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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Does your cleaner...?

42 replies

notanaturalmum · 27/02/2019 17:17

I've just got a cleaner and I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much so I thought I'd ask here first.
So, she hoovers around stuff eg there were books on the floor by my sons bed this morning. Scattered and not in a pile.
I think I would expect her to maybe stack them and then hoover. But it looks like she has hoovered around them.
And this morning before we left, my son left his crayon box on the stairs. It's still there now, but I'm guessing she hoovered round it?
And she hasn't made the beds - is this normal? I always roughly make it before I leave but I would have expected it to be all nice and straight.
The bathroom is lovely but the house still feels a bit messy.
Clean but not necessarily tidy.
Is this to be expected?

OP posts:
Doje · 27/02/2019 17:20

I put things away before my lovely cleaner comes, that way she doesn't need to do it. However, if anything is left out like that, she would definitely tidy it - put it in a tidy pile somewhere.

anniehm · 27/02/2019 17:21

I put things away - she cleans rather than tidies. We don't have ours do bedrooms

ShakeYourTailFeathers · 27/02/2019 17:22

I don't expect him to make beds or tidy - that's your job.

we leave the house really, really tidy on cleaning day

SwimmingJustKeepSwimming · 27/02/2019 17:22

Where would she put the crayon box? His room? Kitchen? Playroom? Im that case it isn't obvious is it?

onlyconnect · 27/02/2019 17:24

I'm with you OP. I have had several cleaners over the years and always find they don't really do any tidying. I tidy before they come but if there's the odd thing around they just leave it/ go round it even if there's something obvious they could do to just make it a bit tidier

Woodward12 · 27/02/2019 17:24

Yes mine stacks / tidies things so they can vacuum/wipe

endev · 27/02/2019 17:33

I would tidy a bit, wouldn't expect them to put Lego or crayons away, but mine have always made the bed. Mine changes the bed if I leave out the linen

shecamefromgreece · 27/02/2019 17:44

No you need to tidy up for her so she can clean.

dartitus · 27/02/2019 17:50

I used to be a cleaner. I was either told not to bother with kids bedrooms or I would naturally tidy so it made me feel like I did a much better job, I don’t make the beds (sometimes I did if I had time or if they had requested that I change the sheets) as for mess like things left on the stairs or a pile of books scattered around - if I didn’t know where they went I would leave them but not hoover around them.

flumpybear · 27/02/2019 17:50

We 'clear the decks' ... albeit they're a team and they remake our beds and stack and tidy toys if we've not had time to clear - perhaps have a list of what she does but talk to her or him first as it may cost more as will take longer

OVAgroundWOMBlingfree · 27/02/2019 17:52

You need a tidier and a cleaner.

Hiddenaspie1973 · 27/02/2019 17:56

I used to clean houses.
Only did beds in one home and never tidied.
Stuff needed to be removed from floor areas of the main rooms so we could hoover.
Picking up and moving things takes more time, so costs more money.
We didn't empty kitchen bins either (due to different recycling policies, all too political).

Hollowvictory · 27/02/2019 18:04

Mine doesn't tidy or make beds! She's a cleaner, i don't expect her to do that.

pinkcardi · 27/02/2019 18:09

Mine would have picked up the crayon box, I'd be shocked if she hadn't.

But I do allow time for tidying and cleaning, so she will pile up kids toys or a pile of books for example. I wouldn't expect things back in drawers, but put neatly at the side for example. She will also empty the dishwasher and clear the draining board, all these things are put away.

Ours also plumps pillows on beds, removes rumples in covers and shakes out kids duvets, but I wouldn't ever expect a bed fully made.

Our house always looks immaculate when she's been. She's amazing.

Lindorballs · 27/02/2019 18:11

I make sure the house is tidy when my cleaner comes. She’s there to clean not tidy. I don’t want to pay her to put stuff away in the wrong place. I also make the beds. It takes two seconds and I would hate leaving them unmade. I do it every other day so why not the day she comes. I’m paying her to do a job I don’t want to have to do not something we’re doing every day anyway. If I didn’t do any tidying at all in between her visits waiting for her to do it the house would be really cluttered.

BellatrixLeStrangest · 27/02/2019 18:12

I used to be a cleaner. The general consensus is never tidy but "pick up put down".
I had a cleaner who I lived but I always had to check the bin after she'd been as she had a tendency to throw things away e.g of things (so you all know I'm not being precious- my partners rucksack and a tool he used for cricket which cost him a quite a bit of money. She was a really good cleaner though.

Girlinstripedpyjamas · 27/02/2019 18:13

We tidy first but she does tidy if there are bits about and she makes beds super neat. I cannot ever get stuff like she does. She’s amazing

EntirelyAnonymised · 27/02/2019 18:13

It depends on what your arrangement is. My cleaner cleans. A friend has a cleaner who cleans and does some ironing whilst she’s there.

My house is pretty tidy and I have a quick tidy up before she comes, so it’s easy for her to get to surfaces that need cleaning. It would be a PITA for her to have to clean around mess and clutter (we’re not minimalists but there aren’t piles of newspapers, toys and ornaments about the place).

BellatrixLeStrangest · 27/02/2019 18:13

Sorry typo loved not lived

Mominatrix · 27/02/2019 18:16

Your cleaner will do what you tell her to do. Mine tidies, makes beds, irons and cleans (why wouldn't cleaners tidy?!?!) as well as sweeps the front pathway.

WitchDancer · 27/02/2019 18:18

If my children leave anything on the floor my cleaner will pick it up and leave it either on their bed, the settee or the kitchen worktop. I wouldn't expect anything else. I make the beds before I leave the house

SquigglePigs · 27/02/2019 18:19

My cleanse tidies a bit. It's never too bad but she will straighten for example cushions on the sofa, piles of books etc and makes the beds. She wouldn't move the items on the stairs though (where would she put them). She also does a bit of washing up (e.g. items left from breakfast). Having said that she's awesome and perhaps a bit unusual - she brought us home made food when we came home from hospital having had our baby and for me the first week DH went back to work.

Essentially either tidying or not is variable and just needs to be agreed between you and your cleaner and ensure that whatever that agreement is, there's enough time for it to be done.

CoperCabana · 27/02/2019 18:19

We do a mad run around tidying on ‘cleaner day’ so when we come home the house is lovely. I paid my cleaner £10 extra to change the bed sheets and do a bit more cleaning recently and it is money well spent! She would tidy if we left a mess but I wouldn’t expect or want her to. I want her to clean.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 27/02/2019 18:22

I’d tidy first. Ours changes our beds.

expatmigrant · 27/02/2019 18:22

Same here. Tidy up before cleaner comes so that she can get on with cleaning. Not paying her to tidy up and she wouldn't necessarily know where to put stuff. Good way of getting your DC to tidy up too

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