Preparing for what exactly?

Hi Amber I think it is natural. We don't want it to look like we NEED a cleaning person. We don't want to be embarrassed because we don't know what the cleaner is thinking. I think that embarrassment will pass I'd a cleaner came every week or every month.

Actually when I was younger I would clean houses for some extra cash, but always for people I knew. I cleaned my brother's place a few times.. and his was so awful he had dishes stacked up in the shower, and just showered around them.. ewww! There was this one friend of the family who I would clean for occasionally, and he was the same way. He always had to "clean up" before I came over. I never understood why, but I was really really young at the time, like not even 16 yet, so I'm sure it was the same for him, just putting away things that I did not need to see, that sort of thing.

NIce of him. adn I would probably do the same as you preclean

I have always done all my own housework and I prefer to do it but with having had a heart attack and now other medical issues (lungs) and so forth I am absolutely unable to do the vacuuming and I can strip my bed but to stretch the fitted sheet and making my bed is impossible resulting in lung and heart issues. I have been so lucky and I am so grateful to my little cleaning lady. She comes in with her own cleaning supplies and even rags, she spends an hour every other Monday and all she wants is 15.00 each time. On Monday she even gave me a treat a Tim Horton muffin and two rosettes she made. She's just a gift from heaven.

Lucky girl! I'd love to get a cleaning lady of some sort or rather I'd prefer an organizer. Now hubby is awsome at cleaning it's getting him to do it & not toss out something that may be important to someone else KWIM? I guess I could see some pre-cleaning you know like getting embarassing items taken care of and important papers.

If some one was going to come to my home to clean, I'd select the jobs I wanted them to do. And none of them would be things I routinely do myself. It would be the jobs that I hate, or that don't get done often enough. Like washing windows/mirrors or dusting all my knick-knacks. I won't making to big of a list of 'those chores' here though. I don't want everyone to know what I don't do. Enjoy your treat!

Oh, I could never get my house clean enough to have a cleaning lady. I think your dad is very sweet to you. I know it will make you feel good for the holidays to have your house cleaned up. I have a lot of those things that I do not think anyone would know what to do with, and I am not sure of myself. My brother does nice things for me often.

yeah I know many people who clean first before the cleaner comes, that is great your dad was appeciated like that

That is sooooo wonderful for him to give you that opportunity~! I used to have a cleaning lady. Back when I worked two jobs all the time. I hired her to do extra things that I couldn't get to. Like you I didn't want anyone to see my house a mess so I would touch things up before she got here? Strange. Well one day I was going to have her do some deep cleaning....like doing the fronts of my cupboards while I painted the ceiling.....I had two ceilings done before she finished the cupboards which only take up one wall that has a window in it..I was a bit upset and told her that day I didn't need her anymore.

My sister-in-law is like that, she has to go around and dust and clean things before the cleaning lady gets there. We used to have a lady come in and clean and we just let things be cause she did a good job and we were paying here. Times are hard now and our med list has grown so we have to depend on family to help us with the cleaning.

LOL, you know, I think my neighbor does that when she asks for my help, she will clean her house and then have me over... I think it is great that your dad is able to bless you this way, and you should relax and enjoy it..

Yep, I would do the same thing. I have only had cleaning people come in once and it was a mystery shop and I got paid for having people clean my house and it was free for me so it was a deal I could not pass up, but I did clean up before they came, I had to actually force myself not to clean the toilets and mirrors and such I told myself that they were going to do that and I should not waste my energy, but I did do a lot of cleaning up. One other time when we were on vacation as a surprise my husband hired one of my friends who was a maid to clean while we were gone. It was mostly to do things that you don't normally have time to do like clean the ceiling fans and behind the stove and stuff like that. I had cleaned before we left like I always do before we go on vacation and the house was already pretty clean, the only thing I did not clean was our area in the master bedroom, I had wanted to, but I was running out of time and thought nobody would see it anyways and I would clean it when I got home. When I found out my husband had hired my friend to come in while we were gone I was mad. . I was really embarrassed about the shower stall not being cleaned, she of course cleaned it but I was so humiliated. I also thought it was a waste of our money because everything was clean already when we left, except that shower stall and the ceiling fans. We basically paid her good money to re-clean everything I had already cleaned. Plus he hired a friend of mine who saw how gross my shower was. It would have been easier had it been a stranger. My friend tried to make me feel better by saying it was the cleanest house she had ever cleaned, but I was still really angry at my husband. Plus she reorganized my chest freezer in the garage and cleaned it which was nice, but I had my own way of organizing it and I couldn't find a lot of things that got put down towards the bottom, that frustrated me too.

reminds me of an old I Love Lucy episode, where desi got her a maid and she cleaned everything before they came and each one she got was lazy and worked Lucy harder then ever. what a great dad you have. no, id let her clean everything. thats just me. i used to do that job most of my life. i was a house cleaner till one wanted me as a caretaker.

yes my friend if we try to maintain the home clean befor the person arrives for the job for the first time,then it would be making the person a thought that she should maintain the same neat and clean home when she is hired to work.So if we give the clean home then from future she will see the home is that neat only.

Toooooo funny..Ambie, I think you ARE peeking into my past...when T.J. (my son) was only 6 months old..and I was literally working 16/7...I had a cleaner (first time) for the summer...and I was already exhausted from work...but worked myself into a FRENZY---cleaning...before the cleaning lady came! Frenatic cleaning, it was insane! Is there a word for a "male" ANGEL, because your Father is the epitome of one! What a wonderful selfless soul he is! So ultimately sensitive and caring..YOU are blessed, and I am sure you deserve it!

I am a cleaning lady. My daughter and I were cleaning houses together for the last 3 years and just 2 weeks ago we split our clients and now we work alone. I rather work alone as I used to do before my daughter moved here and started working with me. I have been cleaning houses, self employed, since 2002. Anyways, I just picked up 4 new clients in the last two weeks and everyone of them precleaned their houses before I came for the first cleaning. The point of precleaning your house is....cleaners are supposed to only clean. They are not into organizing your stuff and if there is papers or things laying around everywhere it is impossible to clean your house properly. It isn't a matter of looking good enough for the cleaner, but to make it possible for the person to clean. If you are paying me a certain dollar amount and you are getting a certain time slot and you want me to spend most of that time picking things up and organizing then I wouldn't have much time left to clean your house. Or if you are paying me an hourly rate and you want to pay me for a longer period of time because instead of taking me 3 hours to just clean I am going to take 5 hours to clean and organize, then it's your dollar. Most people don't hire a cleaner for a one time clean, most people will then hire me for a weekly clean. Most of my clients pay me $100 a week to clean their house and that gives them 2 1/2 to 3 hours of cleaning. Since I am there weekly I then am doing more organizing, I almost become part of their family, that's how close we get. Some of my clients are home because they run a business of out their home and they treat me so good, they make me lunch and they make me take breaks with them and that is all included in my cleaning time. I could go on and on about this as I love my job because I love my clients, they treat me so well. Good luck my friend and happy mylotting Chris

I could never understand people wanting to pre-clean. But I guess that is because I hate cleaning under any circumstances. I can see going through papers and taking care of things that the cleaner would have to ask about anyway, but I don't worry about any of the rest of it. Recently the social worker at the cancer center arranged a cleaner to come in once a month and the day after they came through I got a new roommate who has been taking care of cooking and cleaning for me since then. Happy Easter!!!

hi dear Ambie, was not online much yesterday so could not answer your discussion yet. Thats really nice of your Dad to have someone help you out too with cleaning up. I never had anyone help me like this so it would be a totally new experience for me. But I guess that like you I would also tidy up a bit before this helper comes around so I wont have to be ashamed of myself. I am no neat freat so there would be quite a lot to pick up first. LOL