Part time house cleaners, a desperate choice

I have never used the services of part time house cleaners until recently. I used to enjoy cleaning the house myself and keeping it spotless. With a little toddler at home, it is no longer possible. I started using them a few months ago when Hayley got older and requires me to spend more time with her. I got so exhausted juggling work and motherhood that I have no energy left to do anything else let alone clean up a double storey house with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms!

As I am a neat freak and a perfectionist (hubby says I have OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder), I just cannot imagine my house being cleaned by total strangers (who might not live up to my expectations) but I have slowly come to terms with it. I know I cannot clean the whole house by myself all the time so I will definitely need some help. And I have also learnt over the years (started since I got married to my husband) to lower my expectations :-)

I have therefore decided to use their service twice a month. I basically got them to help me clean the hard to reach places or places that I dislike cleaning such as the sliding doors, grill doors, ceiling fan, windows, stairs etc which does not require weekly cleaning. I have tried 4 companies todate and the charges varies from RM98 - RM120 per month. They come for 4 hours per visit, 2 hours if they come in pairs. Some of them are good and efficient and some of them are really slow (according to my husband who helps to oversee them during the cleaning as they normally comes on weekdays as they are fully booked on weekends) but nothing escape my very sharp eyes. I always check after they've cleaned the house to see if I would like to continue with their service. So far I have not found one that I am comfortable with.

The other thing which I noticed is that the maids will not be thrifty when it comes to using my supplies. They finished up my cleaning/washing detergent very quickly and I'll need to replenish them more often. Some of them can't take proper instructions as well as most of them are Indonesians. It can get pretty frustrating trying to communicate.

Even with them coming every fortnightly, it doesn't mean that I do not have to do housework anymore. I still sweep and mop the floors myself once or twice a week. I still do the ironing and washing of clothes and toilets. I guess I cannot run from these chores unless I have a permanent maid which is not a practical solution for us right now. Or maybe I should really consider moving into an apartment so I have a smaller place to clean.