Hellobee Boards

We have a house cleaning service. It was just easier to come across than an individual. Usually a team of two come to clean, but when they do windows there's another 2 people that come. I'm not sure how many people the owner employs. I like that two people come at a time to clean because they are in and out faster.

I use a service. It's pricier than an individual but I feel better about potential issues, etc., being handled by a licensed company.

We use an individual, but she'll occasionally bring someone with her to help. She came as a personal recommendation. She's also significantly cheaper than a service.

Ours is kinda both. It's a service that individual cleaners work for as an independent contractor. They are insured/bonded and you have the same cleaner each time. You also rate them, and request a different cleaner next time. My favourite part is that it is all organized through a website, where you pick which days/frequency you prefer, how many hours, etc. I get notification texts at the start and end of the cleaning. Because the cleaners are independent contractors, they decide how much they want to work, i.e., how many jobs they want to accept, especially great for parents who want to work PT while their kids are in school. It's a very parent-friendly local company.

We just have an individual. We found her through a friend of ours and she has been with us for almost 5 years now. We love her! There have been times when she has extra time and will do some laundry for us and clean out the fridge and pantry for no extra charge. She is part of the family now.

@BandDMommy: Yeah, I love how simple/elegant it is! The very modern interface is what got me interested. It's so easy to reschedule cleanings, too. The company has strict QA policies, and new cleaners are supervised/mentored to ensure that they meet the company's cleaning standards.

And because it's a super small world, our cleaner is the wife of the best friend of the new lease holder of the hair salon that I used to go to, before my hair dresser (the previous owner) moved across town and opened up a bigger salon. He had worked there for a year before taking it over, so I got to know him a bit.

We literally just started last night but we're using an individual. Though, it's a bit of an unusual situation. We're good friends with our neighbors and their 13 year old son is trying to earn money for a class trip. Over the summer he mowed our lawn and it worked really well and made us much happier campers. So, since we're both back at work after the baby, we decided to hire him to clean house. He is going to come in the evening when we're there so that we can supervise (both our preference and his parent's preference). Last night he came for 2.5 hours and vacuumed, did dishes, cleaned kitchen and bathroom and some other random things like wiping down walls because we recently had a repair guy who made a huge mess. He requires more guidance than a pro and I had to ask him to redo a couple things that he half-assed, but he's cheap since he's only 13 so I think it's going to be a good arrangement. And it was certainly a life-saver last night since I just found out my in-laws are unexpectedly spending the night tonight!

Individual ... i know her well... I love how well she knows my house and her rates are much lower than a service. And she is so sweet with my girls!

I use a service since I can't find anyone willing to be paid on the books and have taxes taken out.

We use an individual (and actually, this reminded me to send her an email cancelling her service in March since I'll be home on mat leave). We found her on kijiji. She's fine - I'm not convinced she does a GREAT job, and there are some extras I wish she did that she doesn't do, but she does a perfectly adequate job. I might try a different person or service once I go back to work after mat leave, though, because I don't /love/ her.

I feel like Emily Gilmore- I have gone through 3 cleaning ladies and 2 service teams. The last lady I used had to go back to her husband in Mexico so I decided to go back to a cleaning service - it's two girls who come in each time. They are pricey but they follow everything on my list and don't cut corners.

I would only use an individual if she/he came recommended by someone I trust.

We have always used a service, although two of the three we have used the cleaners were the owners. All small businesses. I want licensed, bonded, and above board for tax purposes.