Your wish list for a housekeeper

[OnASwankyMarleyPond]

Looking for inspo! Family of 5, including 2 under 5; DH works out of the house on pretty rigid hours and I have a corporate role including some travelling / flexible late night working. We currently have a fab cleaner who does all the basics, but also changes bedding and does ironing of kids’ uniforms / DH shirts, on a weekly basis.

We’ve decided to put some more money towards ‘mental load’ type things and our cleaner has asked us to put a list together of the types of things we’re looking for so she can see what she’d be up for doing. I now have a total mind blank of what I spend my time doing and wondered if anyone had created this kind of list? Or alternatively, what would you outsource in my shoes?

Grocery shopping and other errands? Organising? Deep cleans? Dog walks?

Ooh I can think of lots

Laundry!! Wash, dry, fold, put away… any or all of the above
Water plants, weeding
Parcel returns
Dry cleaner runs
Grocery unpack (assuming you get food delivered)
Pack/lay out DC kit for the next day
Any maintenance jobs that need doing fairly regularly eg changing water filter, clearing out w/m filter, unclog shower drain (unless she does this already), jetwash outdoor surfaces etc.

Can she cook?

I'm a private Housekeeper!

Some things I do:

Book (and cancel) appointments
All laundry (wash, dry, iron, put away)
Basic grocery (staples) ordering, plus putting groceries away when they're delivered
Dog walking
Organise paperwork/mail, including posting letters and dealing with any returns
Drop off and collect dry cleaning
Collect prescriptions, keep basic meds stocked
Some meal prep (like peeling veg so it can just be put on to cook)
Keep the car full of fuel
Look after the inside plants

I would not do jetwashing or anything outside (but the house where I work also has a gardener to do that stuff)

I think you also need to bear in mind that being a housekeeper is a more intensive role than just cleaning and you should be paying her more per hour! It's a lot more organisation and time management than straight cleaning.

Ooh some great ideas here, thanks.

Definite yes to laundry as I feel we spend most of our Saturdays running a launderette currently.
I like grocery unpack - we do online shopping and I don’t really want anyone else to do the meal plan and shop, I don’t think
maintenance jobs are a really good shout - we’re away at the moment and I’ve asked her to eg clean out fridge, clean out seals and drawer on washing machine instead of usual jobs - any thoughts on the other kind of things that could be on that list?

@QuestionableMouse a lot of that sounds great, but how much ‘management’ does it require from your employer? I’m not sure how to explain my question, but eg do they have to keep an eye on the meds and put the order in so that you then pick it up, or do they literally not have to think about them at all because you’re already all over it? I think I want more of the latter but can’t think how you can set that kind of thing up so you never have to think about it iyswim!

Bumping for the Saturday crowd

Changing the bedding every week. Washing and ironing it them putting it away.

Laundry - imagine the bliss of not having to ever think about it. That would be a game changer for me

I sat down with the family when I started and we spent a couple of hours deciding what they wanted me to do (and what I felt comfortable doing - I don't wash certain things like period pants because the owners prefer to do them!)

The meds are all ordered by an app that we both have access to (Well Pharmacy, iirc) and now I've been doing it long enough to know roughly when what should be due. So they check it whenever they want but in general I'm the one on top of it. I have access to a car so just go and collect it when needed. Then I put it away so the family just has to go to the cupboard and take it out.

Ditto ordering groceries - I spend a bit of time on a Monday checking what needs reordering then add it to the basket on the app - anything extra is either written on a whiteboard, added by the family or just asked for. It gets delivered on the same day each week and I put it all away.

Other tasks could be cleaning lampshades, pulling furniture out and cleaning under/behind, "detail cleaning" like scrubbing grout (the house has a massive tiles floor with place grout so this is a regular job for me!) basically anything that isn't in the regular cleaning rotation. Also taking linens out and checking for issues (missing buttons, holes, missing items from a set). Cleaning crockery that isn't used often is another one! A lot of this will depend on how your cleaner has been doing things so far (lampshades are on my "extra tasks" list because the ceilings are so high I need a ladder, for example but in another house they might be easy to reach and can be done more often!)

I also schedule vet and grooming appointments for the dogs and take them.

It is a lot more to think about compared to just straight cleaning but I feel like my goal is to make the family's life as uncomplicated as possible! If you want to full service, you need to pay her a decent wage and either pay for fuel and milage for her car, or let her use a family car. I get £22/h in the North East - it'll probably be more than that down south!

I do the same job as Questionable and get £12 an hour. I work in a wealthy area of Cheshire. I do all the domestic thinking for my clients, keeping on top of supplies, liaising with workmen, all laundry, ironing and putting away. I pack and unpack for holidays. I cull outgrown clothes from children's wardrobes and take to charity shop. I wouldn't do any maintenance jobs on appliances. I'd be too worried about breaking them. Every family is different and values different things. If your cleaner is already doing all the cleaning, including bed changing and all laundry, then you've got a lot covered. Go on Greycoat Lumleys and look on the job descriptions for inspiration.

You're not being paid enough!