| Real Talk | Cleaning Ladies
“But what do you even do all day?” Sound familiar? To anyone who hasn’t spent entire days home alone with a non-verbal baby, a full day of free time sounds like an endless to do ANYTHING. And it is for moms ….but in a completely different way.
Being home with baby, whether on a Maternity Leave or as a SAHM, is an incredibly busy job. Yes. A JOB. A job in which you’re mostly taking care of another human who has not yet learned fingers don’t enter the dog’s nose or toilets aren’t for drinking. Add to that the requirements to feed everyone multiple times a day and keep clothes clean, when is there time to do cleaning beyond simply tidying up at the end of the day?
Cleaning ladies are a topic of conversation in my mom group. We talk about our ‘girls’ in hushed tones, almost embarrassed to pay someone to do this work when we are home. Shouldn’t we be doing this? Couldn’t that $100 be better spent on something fun or important? Is this frivolous?
In short, the answers are ‘Not unless you want to’, ‘Absolutely’, and ‘EFF NO’. A cleaning service, however often your budget permits, can be a life, sanity and marriage saver.
The trick to this arrangement is having someone who understands the expectations and you feel comfortable having in your home, whether you’re there or not. It seems from my discussions with other moms, the major hang-ups occur in one of these two categories. Ensuring you and your cleaning squad are on the same page about your expectations will result in a better arrangement for everyone.
Based on the discussions in our mom circle, here some real life situations you can avoid and questions to get the conversation started if they do happen to you.
Coming home to your girl cleaning the shower with laundry room bleach.
- “Since there is a baby in the house, I prefer to use natural products in my home, are you comfortable using the products I provide?”
Realizing your home isn’t being mopped (or any other major cleaning job you HATE)
- “I’d like us to work together in keeping our home clean. I am happy to do X,Y and Z small tasks weekly so you don’t have to spend your time doing that. This will free you up to do A, B, C Annoying cleaning job every week.
Realizing your girl isn’t working her full hours
- “I noticed you have been arriving a little late. Let me know if we need to discuss moving your start time later to ensure you can finish the job.”
- “The last few times you’ve left early. If you’re finished early, here is a list of additional cleaning that can be done when you have spare time.” And provide a list of busy bonus jobs (changing beds, organizing linen closet, folding laundry).
Realizing the cleaning isn’t up to par with your expectations (for example, missed scrubbing the shower, didn’t fold blankets on the couch, etc).
- “I’m sure you have your system of cleaning for each room. However, I’m a bit particular about this thing so if you can make sure to do the thing next time, I’d be really appreciative!”
These are pretty major issues encountered by myself or my friends. Of course, if you’re non-confrontational, or there is a language barrier, perhaps leaving a note on the kitchen counter is a better way to get your message across.
