Reply to If you're a control freak how do you handle cleaners, etc. in your house?

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[quote=Anonymous]You know, I used to be much more neurotic in this way (not as bad), but I've learned over the years to lighten up or I'll end up too stressed.  Ultimately, other life issues became more important.  When my wife's health needed much more care (my wife has a genetic disorder that complicates our lives), I ended up having to sacrifice my cleaning standards and to let someone else take care of some things.  I also realized that if I stressed over the house AND over my wife, my own health deteriorated and we couldn't afford that.  So, after looking long and hard at my priorities, I slowly learned to ease back on my neuroses.  Having twins has made me lose even more of my neuroses.  Things bother me, but I've learned to keep moving on and accept a huge number of things that would have bothered me no end in my single days.

We used to be a shoe free house.  We're now a shoes optional house.  And you know what?  Most people come in, look around and immediately take off their shoes.  If you put a shoe cabinet next to the door or a pair of shoes that have been taken off, it signals to many that you have a shoe-free house and they should take off their shoes.  Even if you just put out a pair of shoes by the door mat when you are expecting people in, it seems to trigger the response or at least a question "Should we take off our shoes?"  We have a plumber who refuses to wear his shoes in our house (he's been our plumber through 3 houses and didn't do this in the earlier ones, but won't keep his shoes on in our new house).  We interviewed several cleaners and during the walk-through inspection for the cleaning quote, I watched how the cleaners behaved.  It gives you a good idea of how they'll treat the house when they clean.  For example, the most recent one was a mother-daughter team.  They took their shoes off when they came in.  They daughter pulled her sweatshirt sleeve over her hand to touch a couple of things...those types of actions speak much louder than words.  I would make sure that when you interview, you walk through the house, talk about your concerns and see how they address them.  I've found that a 30-45 minute walk-through of the house discussing issues really tells you a lot about the way they'll treat your house.

For contractors, yes, get a box of the shoe covers, keep it by the door, let the contractors know that you expect them to either take off shoes or wear the shoe covers inside the house.  Put a basket by the door where they can put the shoe covers when they walk out.  I've found that the basket serves as a visual reminder to take off the shoe covers before going out.  It doesn't always happen (there are always those who will walk out with them...tell them to throw them out if they wore them outside).  You can get a box of 100 (50 pairs) for $4.69 + $3.99 S&H at ecrater:  [url]http://www.ecrater.com/p/11462545/100-pcs-disposable-shoe-covers-carpet[/url].  Cheap for the peace of mind that it will buy you.

Basically, it's a bit of compromise...look for people who will try to be as respectful as possible and then lighten up a little to accept if/when they fail to meet your expectations.

Good luck.[/quote]

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