Underwhelmed By Professional Cleaners?

My housekeeper has cleaned for us every week or two for the past five years, and her rate is some of the best money we spend. Both my husband and I just really hate cleaning, we’re not very good at it, and if we’re being honest, if left to our own devices we’d put it off as long as possible. But we both truly appreciate the value of a clean, fresh house, and we are so grateful that my housekeeper can so thoroughly and efficiently keep our space spotless.

However, I’ve met people who are pretty underwhelmed with professional cleaners. They find that the cleaning itself isn’t thorough enough, or it takes too long, or that things seem to get mixed up or misplaced during the cleaning.

I have a sneaking suspicion I know why these problems are happening: it’s really hard to clean a disorganized home!

The area under this client’s kitchen sink is set up so that his housekeeper can quickly grab her tote of essential cleaning products and get to work.

It’s important to remember that cleaning and organizing are two very different things. Organizing involves creating storage and systems for everything, and putting all the items back where they belong. Cleaning involved physically removing dirt and debris from surfaces. So, as you might imagine, if there is a lot of clutter, it’s pretty hard to remove that dirt!

So, if you’ve been disappointed with using professional cleaners in the past, but are sick and tired of doing the cleaning yourself, I recommend a different approach: Get organized first. Then, call in a pro cleaner to keep your newly organized space pristine.

In fact, many house cleaners will also maintain your organizing systems for you! They might tidy up your desk, put away your laundry, or change your sheets as part of their weekly service. But they can only do those things if you already have an organizing system set up that they can use.

I also strongly recommend using a housekeeper or service who will send you the same person or crew each time. Just like with organizing, your cleaning team can do a better job for you when they understand how you move through your space and what aspects of cleanliness are most important to you.

Organizing and cleaning are not the same thing, but they are highly correlated. It’s no surprise, then, that my own housekeeper has referred her other clients to me many times for organizing! My work helps her do her job better, and both of our contributions make our clients happier.

Want to get organized so that it’s easier for your cleaning team to keep your home sparkling? I can help! Find out more about my virtual organizing service, and book your home organizing consultation!

LMW