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We used to use a small local, insured company until my husband started to suspect they were stealing some of our narcotic medications we have in the house because of my chronic pain and anxiety and my husband's post surgical pain. We couldn't prove it 100% but we fired them none the less.
Now we use the mother of one of his coworkers. We pay her under the table. She cleans the houses of lots of other cops and detectives and they all love her. We're very pleased.

We used someone who left an advertisement on our door! I would have preferred word of mouth recommendations, but DH set it up as a surprise for me (best. surprise. ever). So it was just an independent company but they got the job done. We felt like they were sort of slacking after a while though, then we moved and never signed someone else up.

I didn't really worry about the insurance aspect of it, although we probably should have.

We've always used an under the table, non-insured type individual. I prefer to use someone that is recommended since I'm not home when they are there.

@Cole: This is a really old thread but did you decide? What was the outcome?

We are looking for some short term help. Leaning towards a company that could bring in a few people to get the job done quickly. But I need to figure out how to price compare that to what an individual would charge and complete. We need some deep cleaning (like mopping bathroom floors and polishing the entire toilet not just a wipe down)

@T.H.O.U.: I use a private person that came with a great recommendation from a friend who has been using her for years without issue. I buy all of the supplies and keep all of the rags in my house. She also uses my vacuum cleaner since I think that's better than her using one that she (a) uses in someone elses house, and (b) drags through the street from her car to my house. It works out really well! Like @Cole: said, references are key with a private person. Good luck!

I use a private person, but she's insured. She was recommened to me and I've since recommended her.

The thing is that I do need to keep on top of her in terms of making sure all the stuff gets done.

We use an under-the-table person and it works great. I called maybe 5-8 places/people beforehand, narrowed it down to 1-2, then checked references. My #2 choice (who I consider my backup now) had a great Angie's list review but was $25/clean more expensive. Since we do weekly (two big dogs! ), it adds up. I went with our current person after checking multiple references, especially because I found her on CL, not A's list. She is good, works around the dogs and we were home the first visit to make sure we felt comfortable. I'm not sure if she's our forever person. In the back of my mind, I'd love an affordable dogsitter/housecleaner/nanny unicorn, but DH convinced me to just start somewhere. As for now, I'm always relieved when I come home after a clean and I fully agree it keeps our home and marriage more sane.