House cleaners

[texasharleygirl]

So we are having a cleaner come in today to start service on maybe biweekly visits.   For those that have this service,  what do you do to "prep" before their arrival? 

Hubby and I were laughing last night that we were cleaning before the cleaners arrive.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

[kitchenreno]

I don't 'clean' but I definitely tidy up and make sure things are in their proper places, making sure surfaces are bare so they can be cleaned without having to move stuff.

[tiki]

We 100% clean before cleaners arrive. All floors clear, all surfaces clear. All kid "projects" or activities-in-progress cleaned up and put away. All clean laundry that needs anything other than a t-shirt fold put away. I don't want our cleaners moving (and potentially losing) anything, and I want their time spent on actual dirt, not moving our stuff around.

Do a walk-around after they come, too, because they may not re-set your house exactly right. Yesterday we found they'd shut the sliding door in a way that locked the dog in (i.e. away from her bathroom).

[scm1011]

Cleaning for the cleaners is my least favorite chore. But yes, clearing surfaces, picking up toys, dishes away, etc.

[eb777888]

I wash the dishes, put new sheets on the bed/make the bed, clear all of the counter spaces, pick up anything that's laying around/on the floor. When the cleaners come, the house looks clean. They're here to do a deeper clean, not put my things away.

[hbomdiggity]

I pick up clutter - clear the kitchen island, bathroom counters, pick up shoes. Because we are not minimalists and that just accumulates during the week.

I def don’t clean though.

Our cleaner works for herself, set fee, works until it’s done. So I’m not worried about making sure she can accomplish the clean within a constrained timeframe.

[wildrice]

I don't consider de-cluttering "cleaning" - but I always put everything away, did any dishes so that they could properly clean the sink, and generally made sure that it was easy to access any surfaces that needed cleaning.

[Susie]

We have biweekly cleaners, and we do a "pick up so they can clean" session ahead of their arrival.  Basically, clearing off surfaces, dressers, tables, shelves, counters, picking up things on the floor, so they can dust and vacuum without encumbrance.  

That way, they spend their time getting more actual cleaning done, and everything gets put away before they arrive in a place I will find it easily again.

[lavenderblue]

I use to have biweekly cleaners and I miss it so much!

I would never "clean" before they came, but I would certainly straighten up. Make sure that everything is picked up on the floors - mainly dog and cat toys. Surfaces cleared so they can more easily be wiped down. Things like that. I never wanted them to have to waste time on picking up after me, I needed them to spend as much time cleaning as possible.

[janegold]

We have weekly cleaners. I don't do much but do try to pick things up so things stay somewhat organized; otherwise everything gets get tossed into a random drawer and is hard to find.

I also put out clean sheets so they can make the beds.

They fold our laundry too, so I always try to do as much laundry as I can before they come.

[hermione]

Declutter. That's it.

[meanie]

H always teases me for this, but they need to actually be able to access the areas I want them to clean!

I put away as much clutter as possible, if things are really messy I will stuff it all in our bedroom and have them skip cleaning that room. This is actually what I did today, I have so much laundry to put away - just crammed it in our room and shut the door. 

I make sure the kitchen sink is empty and beds are made, some people would have them do those as well but I don't mind doing it myself and would rather they have time to clean the ceiling fans or whatever.

On the flip side, I stop wiping surfaces and doing the floors the day of - seems unnecessary.

[lolalolalola]

Similar to others, I don’t clean, but I do tidy and clear surfaces to a reasonable level. I want her to spend as much time as possible cleaning vs moving my shit around to clean under it. It is a good exercise to tidy every 2 weeks so I’m happy to do it!

She washes our towels so I also start the white towel load because I like to do a 2 hour sanitizing cycle. She does the dark towels.

[definitelyO]

I clear surfaces so she can get to everything.
and I make DS clean his toilet - it's just gross and no one needs to clean up his stuff.

[sofamonkey]

Ugh. I’m having this run through my head too. We’re having another round of super dust producing construction (just did this last summer, but redo due to a flood)

I think from last time we had regular cleaners, we’d just tidied. Now that it’s going to be a deeper startup clean, the more I can get done, the more they can dive deeper into things. Like, dust off or clean some areas that have more buildup so they can spend less time on that. Realistically though, I think I’m just going to need them to do their best and split the deep clean over 2 visits. But I’d like to start EOW cleaning once this shit is all over with.

[waverly]

Just picking stuff up off the floor so they can vacuum mostly. We are hit or miss on countertops and kids rooms. For example, I never declutter the bathroom countertop because it is small. I try to declutter the kitchen. I try to do dishes, but I've definitely ran out of time or forgot.

[twilightmv]

Remove any clutter from the floor and surfaces, make sure the sink is empty. That’s about it. My mom removes anything delicate from her shelves so they don’t get knocked over by dusting but I don’t do that.

[CrazyLucky]

We also have a bi-weekly cleaner. Before she comes, we basically just make sure everything is put away - no shoes or clothes or earrings laying around, dishes done and put away, that kind of thing. The kids' rooms are a disaster, so she doesn't even go in them, but I do make the kids clean off their bathroom counter so she can clean in there.

[sdlaura]

I try to get stuff out of the way so they can actually clean. I'd rather pick up legos from the floor and throw away magazines from the countertop than actually scrub the floor or countertop - so I make as much space as possible for them to clean. I also clear off bathroom countertops a bit and put things like toothbrushes and jewelry in cabinets.

I also strip DH's and my bed and throw the sheets in the wash and switch them to the dryer so that the washer is empty for them to start towels/bath mats and our sheets are clean to put back on our bed.

I really really hate the cleaner pre-clean, but it is a nice reset every other week in terms of getting rid of some clutter.

[nicolewi]

Yes, we totally clean for the cleaning lady every time!

I just try to get floors and surfaces cleared as much as possible. It always seems like a much bigger job than it should be. Slowly working on my kids’ rooms and trying to get rid of a lot of stuff.

[bugandbibs]

Like others, I declutter surfaces/floors and make things easier for her to actually clean. I throw the rugs by our doors in the wash and hang them to dry. If they are dry when she leaves, she will put them down after she cleans the floors.

[gottadobe]

De-clutter and a quick vacuum due to the dog hair... so we don't look like completes slobs.

[Roc A Bee]

No cleaning here.

I make sure counters are clear, no dishes (clean or dirty), no mail laying around. Shoes and clothes in the closet. Just a general pickup.

I don’t vacuum or clean anything, like ever.

[mrsukyankee]

Try to pick up clutter but it doesn't always happen. I do not clean the night before or day of (I do try to keep things reasonably clean as we go along - kitchen mainly).

[devonpow]

I definitely do a full house tidy pre cleaners coming. I make all the beds (I do this every morning anyway), make sure everything is picked up/put away etc. I don’t want her having to deal with clutter, I want her to be free to dust and mop etc. The only “cleaning” I do for her is a check of the toilets and a quick Clorox wipe if need be because I have boys and they can sometimes splatter 🤢 She’d already scrubbing my toilet, she doesn’t need to deal with pee on thr rim because my kids can’t get it together

[rachers]

I clear off any clutter - which is usually the myriad of construction paper projects my DD has that week. I do try and make sure the washer/dryer are empty because they wash our sheets in the amount of time they are here and I don't want them to have to fold anything extra (they're awesome though and do if I forget).

They take any trash out so I try and make sure our trash cans in the house have room for their trash to add.

Basically try to make it easier on them to get everything clean that I don't get to - all the dusting and vacuuming and whatnot. I don't want them to have to move random things around.

[Jalapeñomel]

I put things away, but I don’t clean.

[SusanBAnthony]

We don't clean but we put shit away, which in the context of me cleaning my own house I do consider part of cleaning.

[janegold]

I’m surprised so many people make the beds! Changing sheets is a chore I do not enjoy and is one of my favorite tasks to outsource to the cleaners!

[Wallflower]

Like others, I de-clutter. It's a two-fold thing - I want my cleaner actually cleaning, not also having to tidy. But also, she'll "tidy" things away to places you don't think to look, so I try to make sure there isn't anything she'll relocate on me. (Before you ask why I keep her when that could be really annoying, she's reliable as hell and not expensive. She's also used by others in my family, so I knew going in that this was something to prep for.)

The upside is that I'm a very cluttered person and having her clean drives me to tidy up every two weeks. And over the years since I started using her, I find that overall, I'm less cluttered in the in-between times.

And like janegold, I have her change the sheets and I LOVE it.