Give her a tasty treat and beverage while chatting so you can start to get to know her... then Sit her down in front of your computer and show her what you just wrote.

My last cleaning lady stole about $10,000 worth of jewelry and coins from me. She was good....but often didn't show up with no phone call...but always an excuse. She was poor, filed for bankruptcy during the time she was cleaning for me. I felt sorry for her and didn't fire her well past the time when I should have...
But, what I learned is never to have someone in your home who is desparate for money.
Ask for refrences and ask who they worked for before. Then call that person. The one who stole was new to cleaning and while she cleaned for several of my friends, she only stole from one other....and she had been warned by me and didn't lose much.
Linda C

I am a cleaning lady.
The thing that will make me not want to be there the most, is people not treating me with respect. Most of them are awesome, it is the ones that treat you like you are a low life.
Be honest with them, if they missed something just ask can they please work on ____ today. & the words I appreciate you are wonderful. Hope this helps

Thanks for the advice. She didn't show up. Argh!!!

I am a cleaning lady and my advice to you would be for both of you to tour your house and tell her what you would like done. Treat us kindly and it will be a reason we'll want to clean your home. You have to find someone who actually likes to clean, and they are out there. Ask around. It's the best way to find someone. My customers leave me notes sometimes and I do the same. It takes a while to work it out. When you find the right person leave them to their work, pay them well and they'll stay with you. If you are referred to someone let them put you on a list. I always have someone move away or can't affort a cleaning woman any longer and I have a few people who are waiting for one. Hope that helps. This forum is a great way to learn things like this.

I wish I knew! My last one, who came recomended, was NOT doing a good job. I left a note asking to be sure and get such and such and no luck. I fired when I found out she was only staying two hours and I was paying her $75.00. After doing so I found she was using PineSol on my hardwoods, well the times she mopped. Its been a year now, and I really need a house cleaner.

I'd like to get a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning lady. My sister in law has a good one. Ahe comes once a week and my SIL leaves her a list of special jobs she wants done, like clean the oven. My mother had a cleaning lady but the woman broke things and hid them in the garbage. Another friend had a cleaning lady who tried to clean two ceramic Chimese antique dog figurines she owned. They were covered with kitchen grease (from being in a Chinese restaurant). The cleaning woman got them clean all right, but they turmned white, from their "original" brown patina. LOL. Will i get a cleaning lady? Probably not. Too much clutter in my house. You can't even see my dining room table.

cleaning 'lady'
is this some kind of discrimination.
Why have you ruled out other cleaning persons ?

I think the best way to start with a cleaning lady is sit down and discuss what you want her to do and what products you want her to use. Will she bring her own or use yours? Also, does she have insurance? Will she be able to come the same time every week? Some cleaning people will want to bring their kids, or if they are short on time they will want to bring someone to help them. Outline everything you want her to accomplish and if there is enough time for her to do it. I think I have the best cleaning young lady in the US! She was co-worker of my daugters at the local Vet Clinic. My daughter used to say she drove everyone crazy because she was always cleaning. I asked her if she wanted a job and she has now been cleaning for me for three years. I occasionally tip her or give her money for gas. I always recognize her birthday and give her a bonus for Christmas.

I once got into a conversation with a saleswoman in JCPenney. I was buying a brass soapdish. She looked at it and said she wanted to buy one for a housecleaning client of hers. Wow,was I inpressed. A cleaning lady who gives little gifts to her customers! If I was any smarter, I would have hired her on the spot. There was another time, I work in a big office for the federal government. They had a Spanish speaking cleaning woman who cleaned the toilets every single morning and kept the whole place sparkling! Then someone found out she was an illegal alien and she got fired. I wished I had talked to her and arranged for her to come to my house to clean.

It took a few visits before I was happy with my cleaning lady. At first there were some things she did not do that annoyed me, but you know, they are not mind readers. I would have to ask her "can you do XYZ" or show her what products I wanted used. She got to know my preferences and was great after that.

We had a cleaning person when I was working. This is embarrassing to admit but it took months for me to find out that A) she was cleaning the kids' bathtub without picking up and cleaning the bath mat or cleaning under it; and B) that she was not changing and washing the kids' bed linens. (I was taking care of the master bed linens.)

Obviously we had not communicated well. I would recommend going over everything you'd like done. Don't make any assumptions.

Make sure you are willing to do the paperwork if she wants you to contribute to Social Security.

My two best house cleaners were men. Just wanted you to know that it doesn't have to be a woman.