Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[jenn-hall180]

I've been cleaning for others for a fairly short time just over a year now, but as a wife and Mother I've obviously been cleaning a LONG time. Also I grew up in a very strict military home where everything had a place and it was in it. I know how to clean and I love to clean.. I have found though that when cleaning others homes an in an effort to clean to the standards I keep my own I take too long. I have now had my second client remark that it was taking longer than they had expected.. Great JOb but too long. Without simply providing a surface clean what can I do to minimize time and also without skirting on attention to detail.

[mrscleannw]

Hello jenn-jall180 and welcome to the forum.

Prior to cleaning, are you providing your clients an estimate based on the size of their home and you are not meeting your estimate? Maybe you could carry some sort of timer that goes off 15 minutes before your time is up and try to analyze your steps and make sure you are as efficient as possible?

How often are you cleaning these homes? Can some cleaning tasks be rotated in, leaving you more time to spend on the areas that need the attention to detail? Do you provide your clients with a list of things you are going to do for the time frame you are quoting? Maybe you are over doing for the time you are quoting and you need to adjust your cleaning tasks accordingly.

Do you have different cleaning services such as a Regular Clean, Deep Clean, etc.? Maybe you could also make yourself a check list for the services you provide and check off as you go, then leave that with the client so they can see that you’ve done what you quoted.

Do you use multi-purpose cleaners that can work on glass and countertops, for instance, versus one for this and one for that? Do you have good equipment? We train our house cleaners to work from top to bottom, back to front, and make every move count.

It is also true that nobody wants to think their house is as dirty as it is but when they live in that space daily, they don’t always see the dirt that a housecleaner might see when you are only there once a week or once every other week focusing on the dirt.

Mrs. Clean