Thank you to WellKept for the wonderful house cleaning and the opportunity to review the service. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.
We didn’t have the luxury often as kids, but when we did have a maid to clean the house, I remember my Mom egging me on to clean my room.
What?!, I thought… why in the world do I have to clean for the maid?! Isn’t that what she or he is supposed to do? But, then I grew up. I got into an awesome marriage with a very cool house and a boatload of crap. And that crap gets spread through the house quickly and then gets super dusty. Because I don’t dust. Admittedly.
Now, the first time I had a house cleaning service, Red was a tiny baby and I stretched super thin. As soon as the ladies showed up, I sped ahead of them into the kitchen and started polishing the countertop, snagging the crumbs from the toaster and touching everything I could (I’m a nervous cleaner and hate to have a dirty room for company!). But I was caught… there was so much STUFF in the house that I had to start picking up before the ladies could even start working. It was that moment I realized that you have to pick up all your junk so that your cleaners can get to the dirt. And if you are paying by the hour, the faster your crew can clean, the less your wallet will ache.
So my biggest tip to you is: Pick Up Your House. In the most extreme fashion, too. Pick up all your trash, get all the dishes into the dishwasher or the sink, pull your laundry into the hampers, and make sure all tables or surfaces are clear.
Yes, this will feel like you are cleaning your house… before the crew comes in. But consider the before (below!) and the gorgeous aftermath: a sparkling clean, clear and fresh house. Your crew will be in and out faster, and I’m sure they will thank you for making their job just a little bit easier!
A a bonus pro tip: Ask your crew to clean a certain room first (the living room, or a large bedroom, etc.) so you can make if your haven while they are present. It will keep them out of your way, and they won’t have to clean around you and your activities. If you have a baby going down for a nap, ask them to work on the baby’s room first so she can go down for a nap (that’s what I did, and it was great!).
So how did I find these cleaners, exactly? I used what some are calling the Uber of cleaning services, called WellKept. You can book cleanings for a single room (living area after a party!) or an entire home in minutes online. The prices were affordable, starting at just $15/room or $60+ for a home (there no hidden fees, no questions about square footage,etc. Getting a cleaning was very upfront and straight forward). There were also no long-term commitments to make; while I LOVE to have my house cleaned, I get nervous hiring someone for the long haul. What if I don’t need them one month? What if I don’t need certain areas cleaned, or need some extra services? I didn’t have to worry about that with WellKept.
And, unlike Uber, WellKept didn’t provide me with the name of the cleaners that were coming, or the name of the small business (Uber will give you a car make/model, a name and a photo of the driver). I only received a note from WellKept through email reminding me of the appointment and how many rooms I had asked for. Even though that made me a little nervous, the cleaners that were assigned to me showed up on time, were courteous and professional and had everything they needed for the service. They even came in their marked service car. I was told by WellKept during my booking that they are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all cleanings. Bring it on!
I hear other home services, such as lawn care, pool cleaning and pest control, will be added to WellKept’s service offerings in the future, which will be really interesting to see. I wonder if pop up companies will be born to work in this model, or if it can complete with the larger single service options. All in all, I really enjoyed hiring WellKept, and they left my dirty, dirty floors sparkling and honestly… well kept. I would easily hire them again.
For more information, follow up with WellKept.com or find the soon-to-be-available app.
This sounds like great service. I wouldn’t mind having someone come in to do the vacuuming and dusting. It bothers my allergies when I do it and I have to get after my son to do it for me.
WellKept sounds like something that I would use. A lot. Everyone in the house is so busy, cleaning is the last thing on the list.
I would love to give this service the go around. My house would certainly put it through its paces.
If I did not straighten things up for the cleaning lady, she would not have time to clean the house! I agree, I clean before she comes so she can see what work really needs to be done, otherwise everything is hidden from view as no one puts anything away!
I have had a cleaner come in a few times and I definitely cleaned for her before she came.
That’s funny about cleaning for the maid. Whenever we stay in a hotel I do the same thing! I have everything picked up, cleaned and sometimes I even make the beds before we go out for the day. 🙂
I have a cleaning lady that comes in every once in a while. I always do a little cleaning up before she gets here.
Well, I guess that made sense. It wouldn’t be bad either way but I guess your situation calls for it.
I’ve never had a cleaning lady or anyone clean my house but me… for one reason, I thought I’d have to clean my house first before I let anyone else come in and do it. So now I see, that’s what I’m suppose to do! Well then, maybe I’ll have to see if there’s a WellKept in my area.
I think this would be something I’d do if we had a maid. I’m thinking of hiring one right after baby comes this summer to kind of just chill out for a while and not have to do EVERYTHING once she’s here. WellKept sounds great!
Girl, I read this whole post all the way through. It’s seriously written so well. I’m totally going to try this service, and I love your bonus pro tip about asking the crew to clean a certain room first!
This sounds like a great cleaning service. I can see picking up some before will make the cleaning go faster.
I can see myself using this service in the near future. I was kidding myself to think I’d be able to maintain this house with two small kids and all their stuff and all that we do. I just got the name of a cleaning lady from my friend.
Wow the uber of cleaning services. I will say I never had a maid and always wanted one or just some weekly help. I thought it was weird at first to clean before ur maid get there but it makes sense now!
We have a ritual the day before the cleaners come in our home. The kids have to pick up all their toys from around the house and anything on the floor in their rooms. I also clean off all counters in the house so they can clean un-obstructively.