Whether you are a landlord, a tenant, a roommate, or you own your own home, it may be time to hire a housekeeper. I know what you are thinking — “I can’t afford a housekeeeper”; “only the rich have hired help”; “I’m perfectly capable of cleaning myself”.
For every job in the world that you either hate doing, or don’t have the skills to do, there is someone else who loves it and is great at it! If someone has great passion for scrubbing a toilet, and takes great pride in seeing their reflection in the shiny procelain, who are you to deny them that pleasure? You probably think I’m kidding, but I’m not. There are people that love to clean. And if you love doing something, you will put more effort into it, and therefore will do a better job than someone that hates it.
I used to feel bad that I had hired a housekeeper — like it was shameful that I could not clean myself. One day I realized that I do all sorts of jobs that other people pay professionals for: I do my own taxes. I’ve painted both the inside and outside of my house; I’ve installed an entire kitchen and bathroom, including tile work, plumbing and electrical. Therefore, I refuse to feel guilty for paying someone to scrub my bathrooms (something I loathe doing).
Professional housekeepers charge $30-$40 per hour. I trust that most people in the Bow Valley cannot afford daily maid service — I recommend once or twice per month for 2 hours each time for regular cleaning. For between $60-$160 per month, you may never have to scrub a toilet again! Even better — find a housekeeper willing to work on the barter system. You could tune their skis/bike, design their website, change the oil in their car, or whatever other thing you love doing that they hate. Make an agreement that is fair for both parties, and voila! You spend more time doing things you love, and less time doing things you hate. Brilliant, if you ask me!
Living with Roommates? Share the cost of the housekeeper and virtually eliminate arguments over whose turn it is to vacuum.
Tenants? Hire a housekeeper to clean on move out day. Who wants to be scrubbing baseboards when you should be moving into your new place? Talk to your landlord — they might even split the costs with you (since tenants rarely clean the unit well enough, landlords often have to re-clean).
Landlords? Consider including monthly cleaning in the cost of your rent. Don’t think of it as cutting into your profit margin. Think of it as insuring your investment. A housekeeper can be your ‘eyes’ on the property. If something is leaking, broken or stained, the housekeeper that you employ will tell you immediately. Your tenant might never tell you. Show your housekeeper a copy of you lease, so (s)he knows to tell you when your tenant is smoking, has a pet iguana, and has subletted your basement to 8 extra people (s)he will know to tell you that something is awry. Any tenant that would object to someone coming to clean is likely doing something in your unit that they are not supposed to be doing.