Are you looking for your very own Alice, Florence, Miss Garrett, Rosario, Rosie or Tony? Well life is not exactly like it was
on The Brady Bunch, The Jefferson’s, Different Strokes, Will and Grace, Jetsons nor Who’s the Boss. But that does not mean that you cannot find someone just as great to become an important part of your household. Here are our top tips for hiring a housekeeper:
1. Decide if you want an individual housekeeper or a service
A service provides you will a professional service and the peace of mind that comes from doing business with a business (i.e. liability insurance, etc.). If you do decide to use a service,however, you have to be ready for the potential for different cleaners to becoming to your home. An individual housekeeper allows you to develop more of a relationship with your housekeeper but you will need to take responsibilities for checking references thoroughly.
2. Be clear about the parameters of the service you want
Are you looking for someone to do the general cleaning in your house or are you looking for laundry and food shopping as well? Being very clear about what you want will ensure you and your chosen candidate are on the same page; this should include the coverage of less frequent cleaning (such as annual window washing, etc).
3. Know the pay rate in your area before you start interviewing housekeepers
Ask around to find out the going rate for housekeeping services within your neighbourhood; this is particularly important for individuals as services will likely have pre-defined packages based on a number factors. You should consider how big your house is, the frequency of cleaning, whether you have pets, how lightly or heavily you want your home cleaned, etc.
And don’t forget that even Alice could not do everything – you will need to keep your home tidy so your housekeeper can do the cleaning – and, as we learned from all our favourite TV housekeepers,chosen well and managed considerately, your housekeeper can become an integral part of your family.