The average adult who works full-time clocks in around 47 hours a week. Tack on an average of a little over 4 hours of commuting per week and you burn through over 50 hours per week without touching personal commitments.
It’s no wonder that so many people turn to professional cleaning services. Not only can they free up your personal time, but you probably get a cleaner home as well.
If you’re considering a cleaning service, though, you must do some basic preparation before they come. Let’s jump in and look at some of the most important.
1. Do Your Dishes
Cleaning services almost never include washing dishes. If you leave a sink full of dishes or dishes piled on the counter, you’ll find them there when you get home. Even worse, the cleaning person will skip the sink and counter entirely.
2. Pick Up Random Items
Ever leave dirty socks by the couch or kick off your shoes in the bathroom. It’s not the responsibility of a cleaning service to organize these randomly scattered items. Do a quick pass and drop scattered items in their natural homes.
3. Declutter
Clutter is all the stuff that takes up space on counters or tables that doesn’t belong there. Piles of magazines on a coffee table are one good example. Clear away as much of this as you can.
4. Secure Your Pets
Dogs possess deep territorial instincts. They can pose a physical threat to cleaners. Cats can scratch, bite, and otherwise make a cleaner’s job more difficult.
Secure them outdoors, in a specific room, or arrange for some form of out-of-the-house care.
5. Leave Out Linens
Many services will change your bed linens. You shouldn’t expect them to search your closets for clean sheets. Leave fresh ones on the bed before you leave.
6. Stick Around the First Time
If your schedule allows for it, stay at your home for the first cleaning. This lets you get a clear view of what the service entails. It also lets you know if you should ask for a little more attention in part of the house.
7. Leave Payment
If you don’t prepay for the service, make sure you leave payment at an agreed on location. A counter or dining room table is common choices.
Parting Thoughts on Preparing for Cleaning Services
Preparing your home for cleaning services is about making it easier for the cleaners to do their jobs.
Picking up random items, decluttering surfaces, and making sure you do the dishes lets the cleaners work steadily from one area to the next.
Securing your pets not only makes the job easier, but it also protects everyone involved. No matter how even-tempered your dog acts around you, you can’t predict how they’ll react to a stranger alone in your home.
If you ask for the linen service, leave clean linens on the bed. You can’t expect cleaners to search your closets looking for sheets.
Leave payment if you didn’t make other arrangements already. It’s a basic courtesy.
Rescue My Time Cleaning Service provides a full range of home cleaning, office cleaning, and laundry services. If these sound like services you need request a quote today.
