So...cleaners...how does that work then?

[Butterpie]

After a throwaway remark by DP last night, I have decided to look into getting a cleaner.

I'm pretty skint, but I am quite happy to work more to be able to have someone come in and help me keep on top of cleaning. I work from home and the kids are at home as well, so the mess builds up quickly!

I'm thinking somebody could come in once a week, give it a hoover and mop, good clean to the kitchen and bathroom and maybe do a deeper clean of a different room each week. Then it should be easier for me to keep on top of it all the rest of the week. Is that normal?

How much does this kind of thing cost in the North East? Where would I find somebody?

Hi, a cleaner can do what ever you like but you pay by the hour so you have to work out with them what they can achieve in the time. You can use a cleaning company (yellow pages)and they will come and give you a quote. They are reliable and safe but you pay through the nose. Can be £10-£15 an hour.
Or you put a notice in your local shop window. State your rough location, general idea of jobs and hours and what you will pay per hour. I paid my cleaner £8 per hour and found her through advert I left in my local shop. She was very good but obviously if she was ill or whatever and couldn't come we'd have to rearrange or wait till next time.

I have a cleaner once a fortnight (but don't have children yet - also DH is very clean and tidy and much more organised than me ), she does the kitchen and bathroom and all the floors (vaccuum and mop as we have wood floors throughout) and any ironing that we need done (not usually more than 3 or 4 items).

I make sure the house is tidy and all the washing up done before she arrives so she can concentrate on the things I want her to do. Now and then I ask her for an extra hour for other stuff (e.g. windows, oven, skirting boards etc etc).

I pay £12 an hour but do live in an expensive city (abroad), so in the NE you could probably offer £8 per hour or so, but maybe have a look at other adverts to see what the going rate is.

As a student I had several cleaning jobs with different families (about 12 hours a week in total) which I got through the university job centre, so if you're close to a uni that might be worth considering as a plpace to advertise as well. You could offer a probation period first to test the waters as it were before offering it to someone full time.

I also always leave out tea/coffee and at least biscuits or sandwiches if it's a longer session as I don't think it's fair to expect someone to work for four hours or more without a break, we also pay a Christmas bonus (one weeks extra money) but this is of course optional, as I used to be a cleaner myself to several very nice families, I've seen it from both sides...