Preparing for Cleaning Lady

Earnest

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 11:45 pm

How do you (you=most baalebustas) prepare for a cleaning lady without collapsing into utter exhaustion after she leaves? Sad

I'm not used to hiring them, because of $$ issues. Sad

First, I've got to re-organize a lot of my misc. stuff/projects so the area (I.e. apartment)can be cleaned. I'm very creative and I've got ADHD big time. Which, I usually deal with, and frequently enjoy. But a cluttered room can't be vacuumed or mopped. That Level 1 preparation takes a week's worth of my time and energy. shock

Then, I find myself 'pre-cleaning' rooms for her. That's really silly, but I can't help myself. It's a wierd nesting instinct that's hard-wired into my brain.[align=center]
On the day that the cleaning lady actually arrives, I'm conflicted. And slightly stiff.
Is it better to 'work along side a cleaning lady, or, just leave her alone to work?
If I set-up for her in advance, I still find myself hovering around her, just being nervous.
If I take a nap or a bath while she's cleaning, I think she's also 'taking it easy
Please advise me. How do YOU hire/train/work with a cleaning lady without sacrificing peace of mind?
I'm very unfit, and I hate the post-cleaning-lady strains and sprains and exhaustion.

ShiningThrough

Fri, Feb 06 2009, 3:34 am

Hi Earnest, I enjoyed your post and your admission of being ADHD big time- Right there with ya!

I've been sitting here for a few minutes trying to think of ways to help you solutionize... and I'm blank! Rolling Eyes

My only suggestion is to try to stay more organized in general so cleaning day isn't so extreme and strenuous. I don't think I'd be in the bath or napping when she's there either- how about cooking or reading with a cup of tea and your feet up so that you're accessable for her questions or your (non-hovering) input... and then you can either 1)chill out after having gotten organized for her arrival, or 2) deal with the re-organization aftermath from a more relaxed perspective.

amother

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 8:18 pm

If you can afford it, have regular cleaning help. The whole place gets better over time. She's starting from a slightly more organized, cleaner place each time she comes.
I am also super ADD. I stopped going to therapy, so I consider this my therapy. My house is guaranteed relatively clean once per week. I can go into shobbos knowing there isn't a sink or two full of dishes.
I don't work with my cleaning woman, but I work in a different room. I fold and put away all 10 loads of laundry while she cleans everything else. I take it as an opportunity to make things nice.

Good luck!!

queen

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 8:24 pm

a cleaning lady is supposed to help you, not make you more tense.
I also prepare for my cleaning lady in order that all she has to do is the actual hard cleaning.

Everyone has their own method. Mine is to not have her deal with kids toys, but rather I put things away. Both in kitchen and family room. This allows her to clean, sweep, swipe etc. without trying to put my misc. clutter (items left on counters) away, as if she puts them away she'll just stuff them somewhere where it wont make sense and I'll never find what I need.

I can make beds in the morning, pick up toys etc.... however I leave for my lady the things I absolutely abhor doing. Namely:

Folding laundry and putting away 6 loads at a time. (I wash everything the night before she comes, but leave in baskets in basement for her to deal with)

Washing down kitchen completely and entirely. Including cleaning kitchen table and chairs, wiping down equipment in kitchen, washing floors and any dishes that need to be washed from the past 12 hours.

Cleaning bathrooms!!!!!

If she has time after the above (I have her 3 hours, once a week) then I have linen that needs to be changed, rooms to vaccuum, dusting, windows to clean etc.

Hope this was helpful....

manhattanmom

Thu, Feb 12 2009, 8:30 pm

I basically ditto everything queen said.

I do a general decluttering and put things away, make the beds and I leave her the tasks I hate!!

My husband can never understand why I spend the evening before the cleaning lady comes cleaning up!

shabbatiscoming

Fri, Feb 13 2009, 2:38 am

all I do is take things off the floor so that he can sweep and sponga, but I dont do anything else. anything else he will do himself when he cleans. for example, he makes the beds, tidies up.........that is the cleaning person's job, no?

I never understood that whole, cleaning for the cleaning help. that is what you are paying them for.

Marion

Fri, Feb 13 2009, 6:26 am

Rule in my house...she's here to clean, not to clean UP. So toys get picked up and put away (or stuffed out of the way, even on the bed). Dirty laundry into the hamper. Dishes off the table & into the sink. Pots away & off the stove. Bath toys away. Beds made (so that stuff can be dumped on them, like clean clothes). Her job is the floors, the bathrooms, the dishes & then the sink(s). Everything else we can do. And I only hire people I trust with my key. She's more efficient if I'm not there & underfoot.