It is a common misconception that hiring someone to clean your home is a luxury only the very rich can have. Another misconception is that we should be able to hold down a full-time job, raise the children, cook, and clean without any help at all. To admit that this is overwhelming or that we cannot do all this alone is to be a failure.
In the 1950s, there was a division of labor: the husband went to work and the wife raised the kids and took care of the house. Those days are long gone. With both husband and wife working forty or more hours a week to advance their careers, the housework no longer has a dedicated person attending to it. Cleaning and laundry are weekend projects on top of whatever else may be going on.
Housecleaning, especially when kids or pets are involved, is a never-ending cycle of picking up, wiping down, and scrubbing. You finish one room and the next is waiting. By the time you finally finish every room, you should just begin again. The clutter is back. The dirt has returned. The dishes have piled back up.
We feel guilty when our homes are anything less than pristine. We feel that unless the house looks like a picture out of a home magazine that we have somehow failed. We need to accept the truth : that there is simply not enough time to have a job, raise a family, cook, and clean. And despite all those misconceptions about the expense of hiring someone to clean, a Dublin house cleaning service is much more affordable than you ever imagine.
Whether lack of time is your main reason for hiring housecleaners or you simply want a cleaner to come in once and deep clean everything as a treat to yourself, house cleaning services are extremely affordable and easy to find. However, you are letting a stranger into your home, possibly when you are not there, so choosing the right service is a nerve-wracking proposition. Here’s a few tips for hiring the right people.
Ask around. Do friends, family, or co-workers have someone they would recommend? Once you find a service, ask them for referrals you can call.
Before you have the service come look at your home, interview them. On the phone. Ask them if they are insured. Do they use eco-friendly products? Over the phone is a perfect opportunity to ask everything that concerns you without the added distraction of giving a tour of your home.
If you decide to have them come see your home, do not clean it before they show up! You are defeating the purpose of the visit if you clean. You need an accurate price and they need an accurate idea of the work involved to give you that price. Their job is house cleaning. Your job is to let them, not pre-clean it for them.
Hiring an individual may cost a bit less than a house cleaning service, but keep in mind that services usually have better insurance and bonding than an individual can afford and services have crews of people, so they don’t usually have to cancel whereas if an individual gets the flu, you may be back to weekend cleaning.
Enjoy this. The stress of trying to do everything ourselves is really not worth it. Spend your weekends having company over, playing with the kids, or just watching TV.
In your beautiful, sparkling, clean house.
