You’re a hardworking, honest and reliable worker. You find satisfaction in cleaning and organizing homes, and you enjoy having concrete tasks to perform that make other people happy. Does this sound like you? Then housekeeping could be the job for you.
Once you’ve decided that you’d like to enter the house cleaning profession, you’ll want to figure out exactly what type of house cleaner you want to be. You can work on your own or as part of a team, or you can find an opening with a professional house cleaning company. Whatever your motivation may be, a house cleaner job can be a good way to pay your bills.
Here’s a breakdown of the different types of professional settings you might choose to work in.
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Types of house cleaning jobs
Independent contractor
If you work on your own, you will be responsible for finding the clients and also for anything that breaks while you’re cleaning the home. You will have to provide your own health, disability and liability insurance. You will also have to use your own car and pay for your own transportation expenses. On the other hand, you will be able to keep all the money you make — other than taxes! You will be able to control your own schedule and choose your own clients. You will be your own boss and will be responsible for your own work.
Team of independent contractors
If you decide to work as part of a team, you will be able to divide up the housework, perhaps with each person owning a preferred cleaning task. However, you will then have to divide up the earnings. It’s important to find a trustworthy team of people to work with because if they don’t do a good job or are not careful or honest, you will all suffer the consequences.
Cleaning agency
If you work for a cleaning service, they will keep a percentage of your earnings. Typically, professional cleaning agencies will provide a company car for you to use, saving you transportation costs. The agency will also be responsible for finding and assigning clients to you. Benefits such as liability, healthy and disability insurance vary from place to place.
Live-in house cleaner
Another option to consider is working as a live-in house cleaner. These jobs may not be that prevalent, but they do exist. A live-in house cleaner typically cleans the house each day, performing many of the same tasks as a biweekly or monthly house cleaner. Additional live-in house cleaner duties often involve preparing meals for the family and acting as a nanny for young children. The disadvantage is that the work hours can be long. A great deal of the job satisfaction would depend on your relationship with the particular family you would work for.
Typical house cleaning duties
You should always ask the client to outline their house cleaning expectations before accepting a house cleaning position. This ensures that the two of you are on the same page when it comes to your house cleaning duties.
The following duties are typically expected of residential house cleaners:
- Vacuum.
- Dust shelves, light fixtures and ceiling fans.
- Sweep and mop floors.
- Bathrooms (wiping down countertops, mirrors, shower and/or tub tile and sink).
- Kitchen (wiping down appliances, countertops and inside of microwave).
- Bedrooms (Make beds and straighten up closets).
Now that you are aware of the various house cleaning job options, you can move on to the next stage of assessing how much to charge for your services.
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