hiring a maid

[geormiet]

Because of my love of cleanliness and my hatred of actual cleaning, I'm thinking of hiring a maid. When I was living in costa rica, we had a maid who charged $10 a day, and life was great. Now that I live in San Francisco, I anticipate that I may have to spend more like $15/hr but I think it might still be worth it.

Anyone want to share their experiences with having a maid clean their houses/apartments? I have a 2 bedroom fairly large apartment. No dishwasher, free washer dryer downstairs. What can I expect of a maid? Dishes, laundry, folding, ironing? Can I expect to tell her where certain stuff is supposed to go and have her do that? Like...recycling goes here, t shirts goes here, bowls go here?

Also best place to find a maid? I got a recommendation from a friend but she didn't sound 100% enthusiastic about it.

[MissT74]

Molly Maids LDO [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I've had one before, when I was overwhelmed with work and I paid about $40-$50 per cleaning session, which was once a week or sometimes every 2 weeks.

The first time the maid comes, you give her a tour and explain how YOU like things done, where things go, etc etc and then within a few visits she'll have it down pat.

T

[XXXNoahXXX]

I'd say this post belongs in OOT and not EDGD, but then it'd probably be locked, so who knows.

Yeah, its fine to tell the maid where specific things go, even give her a list if you like. Although, I think the more exacting you are with your instructions and standards, the more you should be willing to pay.

What do you mean, "not 100% enthusiastic". Was she just like "yeah, i'd recommend her, she gets the job done." if that's not enough, prepare to pay a little more.

I think google is your friend here.

[Boris]

I've had pretty good luck with Craigslist. The average price is $50 and they come every two weeks. Could be more if you expect them to do laundry.

[Los Feliz Slim]

I've had a husband-wife team do our house once a week for about eight years, they're the best. They do everything, including laundry. I pay them $80 a visit and tip them around $300 at the end of the year. They put everything back in the wrong places, but I think that's standard. I was put together with them by a friend, I don't think I'd be comfortable with somebody from Craigslist in my house (my people often come and clean when we're not home).

[TheMetetron]

You guys pay too much. Craigslist, get an illegal, pay like $10-12/hr and profit. Always pay hourly and get them to do whatever you need done that day.

[Indiana]

i also live in the bay area, and i just hired a mexican lady to clean our house....she comes once a week for 75 bucks a visit....she doesnt cook or anything, and im thinking of getting me a lady from a poor country that can do everything for ~500/month or so....is this possible?

Indy

[J.A.Sucker]

I have a great pair that comes and cleans my place every two weeks. They are really honest and do a great job. Sometimes they leave me food (papusas!!!) to eat. They will do laundry or whatever I need. They are a bit more expensive than others (100 vs 75) but the fact that I can trust them in my house is well worth it. You get what you pay for.

[Punker]

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When I was living in costa rica, we had a maid who charged $10 a day

[/ QUOTE ]

Wage inflater! Our maid comes 6 days a week and we pay her $200/month. Costa Rica labor is the best.

[turnipmonster]

I have thought about doing this for years but it's just me and my wife and we have a small place. we are fairly neat but things can get messy if we are both real busy at work. anyone have any recs for bklyn services?