How Much Do You Pay Your Cleaning Service and Is It Really Worth It?

I am SAHM and I have them come once a month, for $80, a husband and wife team, a Merry Maids or something would be much more! Very worth it but I do feel my house is trashed again after 2 days!

I think it is well worth it. I do all of the pick up and organizing and my cleaning lady does the 'cleaning'. That cuts my time in half or maybe less and I "HAVE" to do my part, so the house gets better all the time. She dusts, vac's, scrubs bathrooms, kitchen and floors. It works out great. I never had time to get it all done. Now it is all done at least every other week. I pay $20 an hour, but pay by the job, not by the hour - if that makes sense (we agreed to the hourly rate and the time it should take and that is the price - if she's having a bad day (takes longer) or a good day (shorter), she still gets the same price). I would reccommend that you ask around to get some names of people that others like and trust. I do not think you will regret it.

I would, however, reccommend that you go through your house, room by room and make a detailed list of what you consider cleaning to mean in each house and what you want done each time they are there and what can just be once a month (such as light fixtures or something) and what can be as needed (maybe ceiling fan blades). That way, you will be happy and they will be too because you agreed to it ahead of time.

I have a cleaning lady come in twice a month. With working 2nd shift full time, taking care of my daughter and helping my mom with driving my stepdad around (he had 2 strokes), I have absolutely no time to clean! My cleaning lady does everything (even laundry!) She charges 10$ an hour and is here approximately 5 hours (One week she can be here 4 hrs, the next 6hrs, and I pay her $50 each time).

I try my hardest to keep it somewhat clean throughout the time in between. But sometimes (most of the time), life happens.

I love coming home to a clean house. Clean bathroom, shower, toliet, bedding, clean floor, NO dog hair anywhere! It's definately worth it, I think!

I would personally go with an independent person and not a cleaning company.

As a former cleaning lady, I had to answer your post on several matters! I was a detailed cleaning person and would clean the house just as I would clean my own. Which means I didn't do once a month cleanings- it would take me way too long. I need to keep after the dirt to keep up with it. I washed all floors on my hands and knees- vacuumed all baseboards- windows spot cleaned aside from the obvious ones (windows around the sink, door windows, etc. kitchen stove was taken apart and cleaned, everything on counters wiped with a hot rag, fans, EVERYTHING. Vacuum out of a room, pillows all zippers down, furniture, drapes all vacuumed! The only thing that got done only about 4x's a year was the top of the kitchen cabinets if they didn't go to the ceiling. I also required that they stock up on non-toxic cleaning supplies (since I am the one using them) ;) So now, the big question is how much? Depended on the house, but I also spent about 8-10 hours to clean a house (Most of them are quite large) I charged anywhere from $275-400. And I don't do laundry, or cook! If you think people are not willing to pay that, my schedule was full- 3+days each week. So people are willing to pay for a GOOD cleaner. But if you want to pay $10/hr, you aren't going to get someone to clean the floors on hands and knees.

It is totally worth every penny! I have 2 kids and we both work so it enables me to worry less about cleaning and spend more time with my kids. We use a service but if you can find an individual that you trust it is probably better. I am just nervous about letting soemone I don't know in my house, so we are home when they come. We pay just under $100 every time which is every other week for a 3 hour priority clean. Our house is about 2500 square feet but they only clean the top 2 floors and can get both of those entirely cleaned. It isn't extremely detailed but they know what my pet peeves are so make sure those are taken care of. If you have an individual you will probably get more of the level of clean you are looking for. I usually fill in where I need to.

My summary of cleaning service - they never do as good a job as you would do - but they definitely do a better job than you not getting it done. In this suburb of NYC they are about $75 - $150 for a 4 bedroom house with 2 baths. The more expensive ones do a better job I'm told - but I've never spent more than $80 - so I can't really tell you. I

My kids are now teens so if they want spending money they clean - and they always want money. My days of needing a cleaning lady will return but now my kids work together to clean. They were quite cute while cleaning the bathrooms last night as a matter of fact. My older, more savvy daughter was cleaning the vanity, window, mirror, lighting & plumbing fixtures while she had her younger borther cleaning the toilet & back of the toilet (appropriately I might add, being a boy - if you know what I mean), tub and tiles around the tub. She ended up with the floors.

You won't get "get on your knees scrub clean" on every visit. We've used a number of independent and chain services over the years and no one does that every time. You may get that every six months or so and that's only with the best ones. The good ones will make your place look great and it's wonderful just to get this off the to-do list, esp. if you're working (or in your case, have a back injury) and have limited free time anyway.

We pay $100 every two weeks. This is for a 2,400 sq ft home with 3 full baths and mostly carpet and a little tile and linoleum. If you have hardwood floors, you may pay more. We have had several mention how relieved they are we don't have hardwoods. Guess it takes special cleaners and more work to care for them? Anyway, just a heads up on that in case it's relevant to your situation.

My cleaning lady is paid $20/ hour and she is worth every single penny. I would live on rice and beans to keep her on board!

We did not go through a service b/c we wanted someone who would do more than clean. She cleans the house "top to bottom" (yes, far more than I would do), does the laundry and starts dinner on her way out the door. She comes twice a week and it costs $140/week to have her.

Once you have someone in your home to clean, you'll never go back!

I was just reading the other posts. I am sorry Beth M, but I think your fee is outrageous. Do you clean mansions? I totally disagree.

My housekeeper is awesome. She does not do laundry or change the bed. But, she cleans the floors, dusts all surfaces and blinds, vacuums, and helps to organize the toddler's play area and our closets when needed. I most appreciate the fact that she is a professional -- I have in the past "tested" her and dropped by the house unexpectedly when I know she is there, or I ask for my parents at time to be present when she is there. We did this for 6-7 months, and we have never found her lingering about the house not working, looking through our things, whatever. Nothing has ever gone missing. And she is absolutely charming with our child. For this, we pay $100 every 2 weeks, and during Christmas I bonus her with an additional $100, and for summer I bonus her with $50. I think this is just right. Our home is modestly sized (no mansion here!)

We pay $80 and she comes every other week. IT IS SO WORTH IT!!! Like another mommy said, the house is completely picked up, she just cleans. She doesn't do laundry or anything like that. She strictly cleans. She cleans stuff that I never have (oops!). It is well worth the investment if you have the extra cash to spare. For us $160/month is well worth it. She is usually here for about 4 hours.

We have a family owned company do ours. 3200 sq ft house, 3.5 baths, $85 per visit. We don't have them come every other week, usually every 3 weeks or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. We've had great service and not so great service from them; but they are always open to suggestions and I couldn't get anyone else for this price & flexible schedule.

We pay our cleaning lady $75 every two weeks for our 4 bd 2 1/2 ba house. It is money well spent. I started using them when I was pregnant with my second child. It was a life saver. I figure it's cheaper than marriage counseling (my husband does not help with most chores) and I feel like a million bucks every time I come home to a sparkling clean house.

So that I could make extra money I have taken two different cleaning jobs...I only charge $10 an hour and I do what is asked of me. Look on Craigslist and there are tons of postings for people who clean independently. I used to work for Merry Maids and could never believe people would pay those prices to have their homes cleaned. For Miss A I am available Mon, Wed and Friday. I also pick up one of her children from school daily. I clean the house top to bottom and I also do laundry and dishes and change linens etc. So far the most I have made in a week is $175, but I also put in relatively short days. Today I cleaned top to bottom, caught up her laundry and did dishes and I was there 5 hours...I think most moms would think that was easily worth $50. I do not do her floors on hands and knees unless it is a small area like in the bathrooms, but heck if someone was paying me to I would...money is money! I would caution you to interview the person carefully, get references, and trust your instincts. If someone does not seem trustworthy do not hire them!
Good Luck!
B.