I am sharing with you today how to successfully employ a housekeeper in your own home.
There are a number of things I recommend one does before even speaking to potential candidates – and that is, prepare the brief.
The more specific you are going to be in your brief, the more likely you will be happy with your housekeeper’s work.
I have experienced a number of times not really being able to achieve what my clients wanted. It can be incredibly frustrating for both the client and the housekeeper when the communication is not crystal clear.
The key is – BE VERY SPECIFIC.
Make a list of all the rooms in your house. Write down the number of bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, utility and reception rooms. Maybe you have a large hallway – make sure you have a complete list of all the areas in your house.
Then go through that list and identify which areas you would want to be cleaned regularly – then put a little arrow next to each list item with an indication how frequently you want it cleaned – i.e. weekly, bi-weekly, or daily if you have a full time housekeeper.
Then you need to decide whether you need each of the room just to have a basic clean, a thorough clean or a deep clean?
I shall give you some guidance on these points.
Basic – dusting the fronts of the surfaces and vacuuming. You would need to specify whether the items in the room also need to dusted and whether they need to be put away tidily, or are they to be left where they are found. Be very specific about these things.
Thorough – this involves thorough dusting of items, fireplaces and skirting boards cleaned properly, and cobwebs removed.
Deep – moving furniture, vacuuming and thoroughly cleaning under and behind it, to include the sofa cushions, cleaning the windows’ inside frames etc.
Some areas of your home you may wish to have deep cleaned bi-weekly or monthly, or even once a year. You need to think carefully about this. Some clients and their housekeepers sometimes find ways to ensure that deep clean is never even required, by making sure that certain areas are cleaned regularly. In each room you may wish to have a basic clean everyday and have a deep clean, such as removing cobwebs – once a month. It much depends on the type of your home, the standards you expect and of course, your budget!
It is helpful to create a little table – rooms listed on the one side and tasks on the other. Then indicate how often you would like these done.
If it is your first time using a housekeeper, you could work together to come up with a plan that works for you.