maid

I didn't think anyone called them "maids" anymore.

I'm actually having someone deep clean my apt this Saturday. She's supposed to be the "degriming queen" (in her own words). I'll definitely let you know if it's worth a shot.

Try Neat Freaks. It is an awesome service that is completely worth it.

http://www.neatfreakscleaninginc.com/

kosherdave wrote: Wow, does no one hire cleaning people? I thought this was the PS not PH board (j/k)

What do you think this is...the Crowne Plaza? Do your own housework, you lazy bastard! Besides, cleaning people will rob you blind and beat you up for calling them "maids."

quiddity wrote: We use Miracle Maids. They have a weird price policy -- they have "basic cleaning" and then some other level for deep cleaning. It's double the hourly rate for their deep cleaning. I like the people I've hired for the basic cleaning. I tried their deep cleaning once and it was NOT worth it. They sent over a team of people who did a lousy job. It was a disaster.

I never used them, but I used to pass their storefront on 6th St frequently. They were the sketchiest-looking gang you ever saw -- looked like a bunch of carnies, and all of them permanently surly, with a cigarette either in hand or dangling from the upper lip. None of them looked like anyone I'd want in my house at all, let alone cleaning. A middle-aged fat lady appeared to preside over this motley crew, so my hubby and I sometimes called them "Ma Barker's Gang."

Anyway, I have no personal experience, so maybe I've totally misjudged. I just always thought it was funny that people like that operated under the name "Miracle Maids."

Subject: PBS Tonight: Your Maid on Antiques Roadshow!

Outside of Brooklyn, I had a bad experience with a cleaning service. An antique dealer, who was a friend of the family, called my family to report that two people tried to sell him some of my family's heirlooms (very small objects). The antique dealer's description identified our cleaning people. We busted these thieves because of the coincidence of befriending the exact antique dealer the cleaners contacted. We never recovered all objects that had both monetary and sentimental value.

If you’re inviting cleaners into your home, clean your home yourself before they arrive. If you organize your objects in obsessive compulsive disorder style, you visually inform thieves that you’re aware of all of your objects. Lock valuables and cherished cheap items that look valuable. Hide stuff you can’t lock up, as thieves usually don’t go to the trouble of searching for things they cannot see or imagine (unless they are in the business of selling specific stolen objects). Once you hide everything you care about, you might find yourself standing in an empty box that only needs Windex to sparkle.