NeatFreak
Ardmore, OK
Female, 36
For six years I have been a freelance housekeeper/house cleaner, picking and choosing my 'gigs'. The job may sound un-glamorous but if done right, can be pretty profitable, and there is the benefit of being my own boss and every day being different. It's can also be very entertaining as I am often in the position of advice-giver, listener, sympathizer, or the one rumors are spread to from bored, well to do clients. I've also learned many tips and tricks to the trade. Ask me anything!
Hm........well, obviously I have more freedom to choose since I work for myself. There were houses, back when I worked for a service as a teenager, that I'd often said to myself 'I would NEVER agree to do something like this'. However, as an adult, and more skilled and the fact that my financial situation depend upon me not being TOO picky....I am less discriminating. Really, I often base that decision more on the people than their home. There are really not too many conditions I won't take care of as long as the pay they agree to reflects the condition of the house or what I'm expected to do. The only real issues I've come across so far as far as house condition have been a couple of clients that had vicious dogs that they either wouldn't- or forgot to- seclude when it was time for me to clean, which is a condition of mine if the dogs are not friendly. I walked it and was the subject of nasty attack by one client's pit bulls. And I have refused to clean in homes that go beyond uncomfortable into dangerous, such as those that either dont have or refuse to use heat or a/c in winter and summer. I live in an area in which the winters often get below 0 in temp, and the summers can top 108 to 110 consistently. I have dealt with both scenarios and I I refuse to work in a house in which I am so frozen I cannot move or so hot that I cannot breathe. There have also been a couple houses in which I simply could not get them clean. Ever watch that show 'Hoarders'? Homes like that. I cannot clean a home in which I cannot move through the house, and everything is blocked by stacks of junk, and organizing is off limits because I'm not to touch anything. That is an impossible situation; and not pleasant if the house is so filthy cockroaches are dropping onto your head from the ceiling. As for the clients themselves.....I am pretty resilient, and I realize that I won't keep good business if I cannot handle the more unpleasant ones to some extent. I have patience, and I have a thick skin, and I have the ability to ignore some things. It does help that I know that I can choose to drop them if certain attitudes become more than I want to deal with. The only things I won't subject myself to is outright bullying- you'd be surprised at how some people take and run with it- and I won't subject myself to a client that I fear for some reason. One thing to always be aware of is that I am a woman alone in a stranger's home, and I have been subjected to a few male clients that tried to take advantage of that fact, either in subtle ways or more aggressive, and obviously I dropped them like a hot rock. I am also always very careful to have things like pepper spray on me and I always keep my car keys in my pocket. It can take a few times cleaning for a new client to feel comfortable, especially if it is a single male in the home.
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This can be a touchy subject because it centers around morals, ethics and of course what should legally be done. There is also personal safety to consider. I am fortunate that I have never stumbled across that particular scenario, and I would hope that anyone that has something that illegal in their home would do their best to make sure it's well hidden from someone payed to be moving things around and cleaning in usually hidden spots.....however, I have heard friends in the business talk about finding such things. I would like to say that I would do what is right.......but to be honest, if it a small amount, I probably would not do much about it and if the situation made me uncomfortable I would drop the client. I have involved myself into sketchy situations in other ways that involved the police, though, and this is always a very hard thing to decide to do, because, as I stated, one has to consider personal safety as well. Twice I have been involved because of domestic violence. Once, I arrived to the home in time to see a babysitter badly abusing an infant and called the police and the child's mother instantly. Another time I had been cleaning in a new client's home for a few hours, was about to leave, in fact, when the family came home. The married couple were in an heated argument, and it soon turned violent, with the man brutally beating on the woman as well as the children. I actually feared for my own safety at that time, but I also fear for the woman and her children, and although I began to leave, I stayed in my car and called the police instead. There are some things, I guess, that have to be decided in such a scenario. Is the thing you are seeing worth involving yourself? Will it be against your morals, ethics or sense of duty to turn a blind eye? Will it risk your personal safety or that of another and, if so, are you okay with that? If it's not something major, do you want the inconvenience of police involvement and all that? It's something to think about and really is all based on the individual.
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Actually, I was hired twice to take care of houses just like that. Of course, given the nature of the disorder, I did not actually do the jobs because both times I was hired by family members, and when I arrived to the house to assess it, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was not wanted because the house was just how they wanted it. Very sad. Yes, I do actually see a lot of hoarding. It's hard to work in those houses because it's hard to get around the stuff I'm not supposed to touch, and often times it makes me feel that I haven't finished cleaning the house. The few that I continued on with, though, I learned to just work around the stockpiles. I have one house currently in which the woman collects and keeps old newpapers and magazines. She literally has piles and piles of them stacked up to near the ceiling, and they date back to World War 2 to current. They are actually falling apart, many are little more than dust crinkles. The rest of her house is fairly normal, though, so it's easy to work around that area. I do have a couple others, and have had in the past, those that make it difficult by asking me not to touch their hoarded items, but as long as I can safely move throughout the house and actually clean SOMETHING, and as long as they are still willing to pay me, I just do the best job that I can.
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I actually give the clients their choice because some have preferences of brands or certain products used, or might have allergies to something. I keep my own supplies and use them in most houses, and I also let the client know that if they prefer something specific, I will purchase it for use in their own home and just add the cost to their fee. Alternatively, they can supply it themselves to keep at their home and I will use that rather than my own if they prefer. I do have those that are pickier than others, but I use my own supplies in most homes. I also ask the clients and take note of their favorite scents and burn candles or incense while I am cleaning, or use air freshener before I leave, to give the house a welcoming scent rather than the odors of the cleaning supplies (little things count in making them happy). However, there are always some things I use that belong to them, such as trash bags, or laundry detergent if I am doing laundry for them. Some homes I even use their own mops and vacuum cleaners, though I have those of my own as well. It all depends on what the clients want and I am very flexible in that area.
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Actually yes, although I did not know what it was for at the time. She told me that their financial situation had changed and they were cutting corners where they could, which of course meant cleaning services, too. This is not unusual reason for either the client or myself to have to terminate our arrangement of service, but I was a bit suspicious because this was a wealthy family. It didn't really matter in the end, though, because I'm certainly not going to force someone to keep my services, and although I've never had any real complaints and I feel I do my job very well, you just can't please everyone. I take steps to insure my clients are satisfied but sometimes that is impossible, depending on the person. In this case, the client had given me no indication she was unhappy in any way, and I make a point to ask for periodic evaluations and if there are any concerns, etc. I simply took her at her word, regardless of why she decided she no longer wanted or needed my services. It was about 3 months later that I heard rumors through the grapevine that she either believed, or was telling others (whether she knew it wasn't true or not, I am unsure) that I had stolen $200 from her 13 yr old son's wallet. This, of course, was nowhere near true. I planned to call her to get to the bottom of it but before I did she called me back and asked if I would come back to work for her. I am pretty sure she was unaware that I'd heard the rumors, and when I mentioned it she apologized and said that she'd thought I had stolen but had realized later that it was untrue. I am not sure if that is the truth or if it was her way of covering spreading rumors, but in any case, I did not feel comfortable going back to her. Besides that I could not be sure that she would not do it again in the future, I also had to do a lot of damage control to my reputation.
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Oh, absolutely. I'm a pretty open-minded person so I guess 'risque' or 'gross' is all based on individual perception, but yes, I have seen those things that make me take a second look! I discovered one of my single males clients was a cross dresser and drag queen when he asked me to organize his closet; I won't pretend I wasn't stunned by the things I found! But, I was more appreciative of the step it took for him to ask me to do it. He'd previously asked me to never open that closet door as it was a very private area, so I had not seen it's contents before then. This was a subtle way of him letting me know that he trusted me to not only not judge him, but to remain discreet (I will never tell names, and never repeat things such as this without being anonymous....in fact, have never told of that incident until just now.). I have also come across quite the array of sex toys, BDSM equipment, paddles and spanking implements, etc. I have one married couple I clean for that really doesn't care about keeping some things hidden from me, knowing that I will likely come across things eventually; they keep cuffs attached to their bed at all times. I simply work around them while I'm making the bed. I've never bothered to ask about them. Their use is pretty self explanatory and what they do with them is certainly none of my business lol.
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Actually, that's usually an individual decision, and probably depends on the type of house cleaner you have, too. For example, if you hire from a service, it would depend upon whether or not the company the house cleaner works for offers that, and if you indicated to them that you want it. If you were to hire someone who works for themselves and decides what services the offer, like me, then that would depends upon the services that person provides, but it's not really going to benefit the house cleaner to not offer laundry service in some way because many people need/want it. How it is offered can vary, such as if they offer it included in the rate or charge extra, etc. I personally offer up to 3 full loads of linens/towels included in the rate, then charge a small extra fee for anything more than 3 loads, or for more than two loads of personal laundry. The reason for this is because I am usually in a house on average between 4 to 6 hours, and I have to keep the laundry expected down to a reasonable amount that can be done in that amount of time while I am doing other things too, or I will be stuck sitting in a clean house just finishing up laundry, and that is time that I could be making money in another house. That is not a problem, too much, if they have paid extra to cover that. Sometimes I will make a trade if someone does not want a service I usually provide but does want their laundry done, to even out the time I spend in the house in relation to the rate. For example, if the client doesn't want windows done, but needs 4 or 5 loads of laundry done, I might consider doing those two extra loads that are not included in my rate in exchange for not doing the windows they don't need done.
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