Housekeeping Guide: Everything You Need to Know

When you’ve got a busy work, social, or family life, typical house cleaning chores and tasks tend to fall by the wayside, or worse, they become these tedious obligations and start feeling like a real waste of time.

If you are a homeowner or apartment owner and want to spend less time cleaning and more time doing other things, it might be time to consider a housekeeping service. There are a lot of reasons to pay someone else to keep your space clean and tidy:

  • Your time is free to do other things
  • You get to enjoy the benefits of a clean house without the hassle
  • Less stress to tackle a bunch of house chores AND your other responsibilities
  • You get a healthier and safer place to come home to

A professional housekeeping service is one of the biggest homeowner life hacks you can use to make the whole process of owning property better. Hiring a housekeeping service is an investment in your home as well as your peace of mind.

When hiring a housekeeper or housekeeping company, there are a number of ways you can ensure you have a positive experience. As a customer, you should know the typical housekeeping duties and how long the process should take. When you know what to expect from your housekeeping service, the process will be easier for all parties involved. Housekeeping services take care of cleaning your home, with laundry services added in if needed.

What is Housekeeping?

When you hire a housekeeping service, you are paying a cleaning professional to come to your home and keep it clean and tidy so you don’t have to. Often, this service is offered by a company that specializes in training house cleaners and managing a bunch of customers and cleaning projects.

Sometimes, people will work with independent housekeepers instead of a licensed and insured professional.

What Are Typical Housekeeping Duties?

Typical housekeeping duties are the things you can expect your housekeeper to complete on a weekly basis.

Most typical housekeeping services include:

  • Cleaning all flooring and carpeting
  • Dusting shelves and countertops
  • Wiping down baseboards, kitchen appliances, door handles
  • Tidying up common areas and bedrooms
  • Cleaning and disinfecting bathrooms
  • Removing trash

For some housekeeping services, they may also put away clothes, do laundry, make beds, and do dishes, but those aren’t always part of every housekeeping engagement. Talk with your housekeeping service ahead of time to see what is included in your base price for cleaning services.

What is “Light” Housekeeping?

Housekeepers not only provide a cleaning service, they make sure that your home is tidy and looks nice. A cleaning service will make sure your home is clean, but a housekeeping service makes sure your home is inviting. Light housekeeping is a weekly service that keeps your home looking great through consistent upkeep, while a deep cleaning is comparable to what you would do in the fall or spring at the start of the season.

Often, light housekeeping duties include the laundry, making beds, organization, and putting away clothes.

How to Make Your Housekeeper’s Job Easier

As you get ready for a housekeeper, take some time to remove clutter from your home. You don’t want to leave a room full of children’s toys that your housekeeper has to deal with. When your surfaces and floors are easier to access, your housekeeper is going to have a simpler time cleaning your home and be able to accomplish more while they are there.

To make your housekeeper’s job easier, be sure to do some basic tidying up on your own. You can help by:

  • Making sure floors are free of clutter or debris
  • Putting all dishes, clothes, and laundry in a single place to be put away
  • Organizing countertops and desk areas

If there are rooms or areas that you don’t want the housekeeper going, you can also put up signs to tell them not to worry about cleaning that space.

How Much to Tip Housekeeping

A housekeeper is going to make your home look and feel great. You can tip your housekeeper if you choose, and this can be done by leaving a tip in an envelope on the counter or kitchen table. Its not mandatory to tip a housekeeper, but many people choose to leave a tip for a job well-done.

For hotels and rentals where housekeeping is part of the service, it is customary to tip $2 – $5 per day of your stay for the housekeeping staff.

However, for a personalized, in-home housekeeper that you hire directly, $10 – $20 per cleaning visit is a health range and highly acceptable tip.

Where to Leave the Tip for Housekeeping

If you don’t want to directly hand the housekeeping professionals cash, you can simply place the tip in an envelope and leave it in an obvious place for them to see, like a dining room table or entryway shelf top. Be sure to clearly write the name of your housekeeper or housekeeping company on the envelope so they know its for them.

Some cleaners might feel uncomfortable just taking unmarked envelopes, so be sure to make it obvious who its for.

What Time Does Housekeeping Typically Arrive?

When you hire a housekeeping service for your home, you can expect housekeeping staff on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis during one of our cleaning window times. Most cleaning service agencies will typically provide two cleaning service windows from 8am – 12pm, or from 11am – 5pm. Work ahead of time with your housekeeper or housekeeping service to schedule a time that is convenient for you.

How Much Does Housekeeping Cost

The cost of your housekeeping services will depend on the size of your home, and how much the home has to be deep cleaned on the initial visit.

Rates typically start at $80 for homes and apartments less than 2,000 square feet, and go up based on the size of your home.

An assessment is done on your home to determine how much deep-cleaning is needed on the first visit, and this will be discussed with you before any cleaning is done.

Invest in a housekeeper to take care of chores for you, and spend your time on more meaningful activities. When you are too busy and can’t keep up with housework, housekeeping services give you the support you deserve. Enjoy a clean, organized home with housekeeping services in place.

National Housekeeping Week

Don’t forget International Housekeepers Week this year, from Sunday, September 12th, 2021 – Saturday, September 18th, 2021.

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