The One Thing Your Professional House Cleaner Wishes You'd Do Before They Arrive

If you're one of the people who kids around about needing to clean the house before the house cleaner comes, you're not completely wrong. There is one thing you can do to make their job easier and allow them to work more efficiently. Professionals wish their clients would tidy up, or, more specifically, declutter before they arrive on the job. Keep in mind that the distance between cleaning and tidying is vast. When you tidy, you put things away where they belong, dump the trash, and empty the dish rack. Cleaning involves removing dirt and dust, tackling dirty floors, and killing germs.

Read your contract with the cleaning service to determine the scope of the work and understand what you should do yourself — the cleaner may or may not do jobs like washing the dishes or doing the laundry. Making sure your expectations meet the reality of what you've contracted for will reduce the likelihood of a dispute. If you leave the laundry scattered across the bedroom floor rather than picking it up, you may find it moved into a tidy, unwashed pile that the cleaner created so they could vacuum. Or, you might see an unexpected charge on your bill because you asked the cleaner to do the laundry at the last minute, and laundry isn't included in your contract.

In the kitchen, load the dishwasher, clear the counters, and tidy up the kitchen island. You don't have to wipe the counters down — that's typically part of the cleaner's job. Put the cereal boxes and jam jars back where they belong, and toss dirty kitchen towels in the laundry basket. Tuck the pet bowls away so the cleaner doesn't have to move them (and put them back) before they can vacuum or mop the floor. If your pet has accidents, clean up their waste. 

In the bedrooms, make sure your kids have put away their toys, put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, and carried dirty dishes to the kitchen. Put shoes in the closet and clean clothes in the dresser. The same applies to adult bedrooms. In the bathroom, put dirty towels in the laundry and tidy up bathroom counter clutter around the sink and tub. Declutter the entryway by hanging up coats and backpacks and putting shoes away. 

If you have things that are precious to you that aren't of value to anyone else, such as a treasured tchotchke you picked up on vacation, put it out of reach of the cleaner's feather duster, or tell them that the item needs special handling. House cleaners are professionals who take care not to damage your things, but accidents do happen. If you tend to misplace things regularly, keep that habit in mind before you accuse the housekeeper of making off with them. They probably moved them in the process of cleaning — putting those items away before the cleaner arrives cuts down on this issue.