Starting a Cleaning Business ... when you hate to clean

Recently I was invited to join two other women who want to start a part time cleaning business. My immediate gut reaction was "Hell NO!"... and then my secondary and third reactions were equally as negative and not appropriate for print but they basically summed my feelings up like this, "I can't stand cleaning my own house, why would I want to clean someone elses?"

And then.... what often happens to me... happened and I had an epiphany.

I realized that I don't have to clean houses to earn money cleaning... I can clean office space!

I enjoy vacuuming, mopping and dusting uncluttered surfaces, provided I have gloves, I don't mind cleaning bathrooms. That my friends, sums up the office cleaning responsibilities... right? I would say that in most offices you aren't going to run into dirty laundry, toys, crayons.... and a sink full of unwashed dishes..... Oh did I mention that most offices don't have dog or cat hair!

So, I set out to do some research.... (most of which was performed in my head... right before I fell a sleep)... I thought back about the cleaning services I have witnessed.

1.) JaniKing - cleaned a post-secondary school I worked at as an instructor in the evening. Basically, they wiped the bathrooms down, emptied the garbages and vacuumed the floors. They didn't clean any table tops or computer monitors... Maybe, they used fantastic on the cafeteria tables, but I don't think so. I NEVER saw a mop on any of the tile floors, but that doesn't mean they didn't do them... I never saw them. AND I remember that they did NOT remove stains from the carpets.

2.) Alfredo - The guy that cleans the office where I work now. Alfredo comes in every Saturday for an hour or so, and cleans the bathrooms and empties the garbages. He also vacuums the carpeted areas... OH, I think I've seen him damp mop the tile floors.

Again.... no toys, no dog hair, no cat hair, no laundry, no dishes.

I guess the question would be, how much would you need to make a cleaning business worth the money. And that question, will be answered after additional research... Until then, have a great day!

HOW TO GET YOUR WHOLE HOUSE CLEAN IN ONE HOUR

As the mother of three children under the age of 7, my house is a mess.

I marvel at the homes of my friends and relatives who seem to be able to keep your homes so tidy and clean it looks like a furniture showroom. I have told myself (and anyone that will listen) it's because I am either too busy to go following them around and picking up immediately after them or it doesn't bother me and I'd rather let them experience youth then stand over them making them scrub floors (obviously an exaggeration).

Here's the truth. I'm tired and it doesn't bother me enough to change how I am parenting. I get up, the kids get up, we all leave the house to go to work or school or preschool. We all return, they play while I cook dinner, we all hang out for 1 hour then they go to bed, then I go to bed. Did I mention that all starts at 5:00am and bedtime is 8:00pm. I'm usually asleep by 8:30pm.

It would seem that there isn't a lot of time for cleaning... or messing up the house for that matter. However, if you are a parent with three small children, you are aware that they don't need much time to pull out the Lego's and spread-em all over the living room floor. Or the floor puzzle.

I know, I know, I can hear my sister-in-law with the always tidy, and never messy house say, "Get them to clean it up before they come to the table".

I have finally found a solution that works for me... and works for the kids.

The Pile Method.

I start in the messiest room and I literally sweep EVERYTHING into a pile. Dolls, Puzzle pieces, dog hair, paper plates, whatever is under the couch, or table. I sweep across the rug, I sweep under everything and end up with a big pile of STUFF in the room. This stuff can be broken down into 3 basic categories
1. Clothes - if your kids are like mine, they are constantly taking their clothes off, or shoes off, or socks off.... and just dropping them where they are
2. Toys - like I explained, puzzle pieces, Lego's, littlest pet shop toys - houses - furniture
3. Garbage - empty paper cups, plates, used tissues, you know things that were on the coffee table that maybe fell onto the floor.

So, it takes about 5 minutes to sweep everything into a pile.

I give the kids 5 minutes to pick out the stuff that they want to keep and put it away.

I put everything else in the trash, then I sweep the rest into the garbage with the dust pan and it's done.

That's right.

I go from Incredibly messy, to incredibly clean in 15 minutes.

I then apply this to their bedroom, the dining room (where our kitchen table is).

PAINFULLY, I also apply this method to myself in my own room.

Here's the trick.

The trick is to really throw the stuff out. If the kids see that their toys are going in the trash, then they will be more likely to pick them up. You can't threaten and not follow-through.

Prepare yourself. Prepare yourself for your children's initial cavalier attitude towards expensive toys that you believe you would cherish. Prepare yourself for the (what you would believe) misplaced devotion to the doll you got from the dollar store. Prepare yourself. Just get rid of it.

My biggest battle with The Pile Method, was the waste of money. Here's the thing. Having the house cleaned up and straightened up and tidy.... is relaxing. The children are relaxed. I am relaxed and happy to be in that space.

I have been using the pile method for several months and my children's toys have been weeded out to the point where they are quick to clean up the toys in the pile, lest they end up in the garbage.

Ahhhhhh life is good.

Now is someone could just help me get the piles of laundry folded and put away..... sigh.......