Is this a reasonable list for a cleaner?

[halia]

In january we're both f/t so we've decided a cleaner is a MUST to save our sanity and relationship!

I was thinking of 2-21/2 hrs twice a week - so 4-5 hrs total,

I've timed myself doing each job - and this is when the house is still a bit chaotic and in process of redecorating.

Both days

Hoover living room (including behind the sofa/chairs!) (10 mins)
Sweep Hall and kitchen laminate floors (15 mins)
Wash up Breakfast things and put to drain (this would include babies bottlesx2 plus 3 mugs + 3 plates) (10 mins)
Clean kitchen worktops (10 mins)
Clean bath/sink/shower screen (20 mins)
Mop Bathroom Floor (small bathroom!)(10 mins)
Empty bins and reline (living room, bathroom, nursery)(5 mins)
Brush off and wipe down sofa (leather suite - hoover or brush off then give a wipe over with leather wipes)(10 mins)
Dust/wipe over TV cabinet/coffee table (5 mins)
Take washing out of washign machine and put in tumble dryer and Put new load of washing in. (10 mins)

I make that 1 hr 40 (ish) for those jobs

Once a week
(I'd suggest she split this list into 2 and did half on one day and half the other day)
Mop kitchen floor (10 mins)
Mop hallway (10 mins)
Clean toilet (5 mins)
Sweep and mop utility room floor (20 mins)
clean out microwave (5 mins)

then 25 minutes for the weekly jobs.

So thats 2 hrs, then some extra jobs - to do in rotation one a week.

Extra jobs if time left over
Ironing
Tidy/clean fridge
Tidy clean freezer
Mop nursery floor and tidy toys
Clean TV cabinet (glass doors get sticky handprints!) and tidy DVD's
Deep clean sofa's

So maybe she could do 2 hrs one day - daily list plus a couple of weekly jobs, then 3 hrs the other day to give her time to do one of the 'deep clean' jobs as well?

what do you all think?

Hi - it seemed a lot to me to start with but then remembered the cleaner wouldn't be fighting with toddlers or answering the phone etc so if it all adds up, then it should work.

yes, i think that sounds fine. my cleaner manages all your 'both days' and 'weekly' jobs in her 3 hour stint - plus quite a lot of general tidying (mainly kids toys) and putting clothers away. usually an ' extra' job too. might take a few sessions for your person to establish their routine and get good at it.

Looks ok to me. Mine comes once a week for three hours and in that time she gives the house (3 bedrooms) a once over including hoovering, mopping, bathrooms, kitchen, etc and does the ironing. If she has time then she does bigger jobs like the fridge, and I have her for an extra session about once every 4-6 weeks to do the fridge, oven, windows, etc that she doesn't get time for in the normal hours. She also does bigger 'spring clean' type of jobs if we're away on holiday.

Why don't you tell the cleaner what you want, see how she gets on for a coupe of weeks and then adjust the time or jobs if necessary.

get her to change the sheets once a week, i think that makes a big difference.

Agree with hoxton chick about the change of bed linen - to me that was one of the major plus points about having a cleaner, a fresh bed that I hadn't had to make!

The rest of your list seems fine, though I think any cleaner should have spare time if that is all they are doing. Maybe take a look after a week or two, as cleaners tend to have their own way of doing things which may take longer than you think

thanks for back up! I thought it was a reasonable amount!

I'm not too bothered about changing bed linen, tbh I havn't added anything to the list which involves going into our bedroom! (I'm fussy about privacy). Mind you I will add in changing the cot sheets and maybe tidying DS clothes as an extra job.

I'd prefer that she used any extra time to do ironing (if she will) or things from the extra list. We're a bit untidy as a family but I think if i dont' have to spend preciuos minutes in the morning/evening trying to clean/dust/hoover I'll have ten minutes to throw toys into a box etc so the floor is clear for hoovering.

Halia - if I am reading you correctly you are asking your cleaner to do washing up?

I would encourage you to buy a dishwasher . It will be a huge saving if both of you are working full time.

Also - I would normally ask my cleaner to hoover the entire house (including under furniture) and wash all washable floors in one go. Much more efficient than asking her to clean room by room.

HI anna,
nope no dishwasher, not enough room and I REFUSE to have the kitchen in uproar AGAIN to refit units!

I only want her to do the cups and plates from breakfast for three of us - ie no pans etc. I do all the daily stuff in the evening. It would just be nice at least twice a week to come home and not to have to wash up mugs that had been sat there since 8am.

We only have carpet in the living room - laminate or floorboards elsewhere. She is welcome to hoover or sweep the laminate floors down as long as they get crumb free.

Re mopping of floors, I like to have the bathroom done daily as its a small space and DS is a bit 'hit and miss' when weeing in his potty.
The other washable floors can get done weekly, its up to her if she prefers to do all the downstairs mopping on one day - hall, kitchen, utility room.

I'm not asking her to touch the master bedroom, guest room or study. Just double living room, kitchen, utility room, hall and stairs, bathroom and DS room.

Would it be rude to give an exact list to her - ie
brush/hoover off sofa's using attachement on hoover then wipe over using leather wipes.

rather than just saying - clean living room

Whether it is rude or not depends on how much cleaning she has done before, and what products she prefers to use. I would have a discussions about products/methods and see how that goes as you may feel that telling her exactly what to do is redundant OR completely necessary. Always better to start exacting high standards in the beginning!

wow

I've never been that detailed, but then I've never really tried doing housework so I wouldn't know this is because I am severely LAZY

and end up getting ripped off by cleaners who pretend not to speak much English but in actual fact just charge me for 8 hours without really making a significant difference

now we haven't got one at all and am scared Environmental Health are coming to tow my house away

halia - I tend to give objectives, and then if the cleaner fails to reach them using her existing skills (and all the products and equipment I put at her disposal, which are always top of the range) I have a discussion with her.

So - my list would be something like:

• do all ironing (which I have put in a pile on the sofa)
• hoover all floors
• dust all furniture and walls (we have lots of mouldings that get very dusty)
• wash all floors (all our floors are tiles/sealed parquet)
• clean bathrooms
• clean loos

etc