Here’s an answer to one of our clients most popular and maybe puzzling questions:
How can you clean so fast?! You cleaned my whole house in only two hours? Also known as “You’re done already?”
When our clients ask we explain a few practical reasons for the speed.
- We do this for a living! So, we know how to use our cleaning time most efficiently. Things get done in a particular order so as to not have to re-clean any surfaces later. We have also learned some tricks of the trade for getting tough jobs done smoothly.
- We’ve got all the supplies together! We have all of our own supplies we like to use together in one bag that we can carry throughout your home. No searching for this, running out of that, etc. Everything we need to clean is stocked and close at hand. Saves us the time you might spend rummaging under the sink muttering how sure you were you had more Mr. Clean.
- There are usually two of us! Only one of you… unless you have a super cooperative family…so we take half the time!
But here’s what I probably won’t tell you. Here’s the REAL secret reason why:
It’s not our home. It’s not our stuff. Our families aren’t lounging around in it. We don’t need to stop and make dinner. We aren’t going to get involved in a phone call. You get the idea. We’re on the job and we’re focused, but it’s more than that.
All of this occurred to me, just now, as I was cleaning my house. Now, before you think I must have a pristine mausoleum of a spotlessly clean home since I own a cleaning company, I promise I don’t. Sure I tend to keep messes to a minimum, clean as I go, put things back in their place etc. It’s obvious I enjoy a clean house. But, we live here. Our whole family. Two small kids, two hairy dogs, it’s definitely lived in. At any rate, although it doesn’t look like a bomb went off, I felt compelled to give it a good scrub this afternoon. I got started around two thirty. It’s quarter to six and while the house is mostly clean, it’s not finished. I started cleaning in the kitchen. It’s a good plan to tackle one of the toughest jobs first. But I didn’t just clean the kitchen. I rearranged some canisters, decided I needed a different fruit bowl on the counter, scolded myself for not keeping the pantry more organized, considered the litter decorating my fridge and opted to go through all the recipes, coupons, church bulletins, child art work, what have you that covered it, discovered the plants on the window sill could use some water, etc. And that was just the kitchen. Since then I’ve moved on to the rest of the house where I’ve answered four questions from a six year old, assured a four year old 11 times “yes I love you too, kiss” replied to six text messages, changed two loads of laundry, taken “a facebook break” and answered a phone call. All of this was followed by several glances at the clock, worries about what to cook for dinner, and thoughts of “Why is it taking me so long to get this house clean?!!” Finally followed by “Hey, I should blog about this!!” And now here we are, nearly six and no clean house. I would NEVER do those things cleaning someone else’s house.
When we’re in your house we’re at work. It’s all business and all cleaning. But, this is my comfort zone, this is where my family and all my other distractions live. Even cleaning for a living can’t help me stay on task in my own home. So, I completely understand where you’re coming from. I know how it gets overwhelming, how it never seems to get done. I’d say that we’ll clean your home like we would clean our own, but that’s not true. We’ll clean it better, we promise. You don’t need to worry about coming home to your housekeeper taking a “facebook break” your fridge art in the trash and your home half cleaned. We’ll just do the cleaning, and leave you free to enjoy all the wonderful distractions of your life.
~Victoria
