To Clean or Not to Clean? That is the question. That is the question I asked organisers in a survey about whether, and how much, to clean as we help our clients to get organised.
A good chunk of POs responded – 23 to be exact. Thanks to all who took the couple of minutes to add their voices. Some of them even agreed to be quoted on the topic.
Question 1 asked “When working with clients, do you ever clean?”
83% of respondents said, “Yes, I clean a little.” 13% offer both organising and cleaning services. And 4% said, “No, never.”
A follow up question asked, “If you answered Yes, can you tell me how much cleaning you do, and in what circumstances.”
Rachael Wald from Time to Tidy said, “If I am organising a wardrobe or pantry, I would clean the shelves etc before putting items away. I have also vacuumed when needed but it is not a given. I use the client’s cleaning products but my own gloves. I am not qualified to attend to mould etc so that would be a different conversation. My elderly clients especially appreciate the simple clean.”
Genevieve Davey from No Sorrys similarly said, “Cleaning a space that is being decluttered. Eg. Wiping a shelf to then organise items back on it to.” And in addition, “ I also have scrubbed furniture ready to sell it. Assisting the client’s workload and helping the process along.”
Kath Moynihan from Let’s Conquer Clutter has a similar policy. She said, “The cleaning which is associated with my organising task – Once an environment is decluttered, I would usually ‘clean’ in order to restore it.”
This was the strong thread through all the responses.
A third question asked, “Care to tell me more? For instance, do you have a written policy about cleaning? What would you say to a client who expected you to do more cleaning than you are comfortable with?”
Kellie Rose from Rosy Retreats said, “I do have a section in my terms and conditions that spells out thar I am not a cleaner and only do what is needed to keep the area organised. I would consider doing more if the client asks but it would still take up whatever time we have and if we go over time because of it they would pay the usual hourly rate for my services.”
Silvana Bruton from My Sanctuary Home & Co said, “Don’t have a policy, but if they were to ask to clean outside of my designated area to organize, I would say no.”
Joey Camilleri from Creating Positive Spaces said, “It’s not stated in my terms of service, however I do have under my FAQs on my website, that I am not a cleaning service but will give the space a quick wipe before finalising it.”
Julie Cliff from Space & Time said, “No written policy. No one has every asked me to do more cleaning.”
Amie Eaton from Empowered with Amie replied, “In the discovery call we are very clear what we will and will not do and we collaborate with a cleaning company who can go in once we have removed rubbish and organised.”
Ilana Lipski from Smart Organising Australia said, “Don’t have a written policy, but under “Services” on my website and in Service Agreements it just says, “light cleaning of the space/s to be organised”. I would say (and have said) to a client who wanted more cleaning than I do that it is not the best use of my time and skills or their investment and I recommend outsourcing to a cleaner. I also recommend a couple of different cleaners who I’ve personally worked with if they are looking for someone. For bigger jobs, or multi-room, team jobs, etc, I offer to bring my own cleaner and charge the client accordingly (then I subcontract to the cleaner and take a cut from what the client pays me to cover my “finder’s fee”).”
Tracey Warren from Professional Organising Solutions said, “No written policy. The amount of cleaning required can depend on circumstances, e.g. I have at times washed dishes when organising a cupboard or cleaned a bathtub in a hoarded home after removing the items stored in there, but those situations are not usual.”
Karen White from The Sorting Angel has a great line that I may just use in the future. She said, “Your cleaner will be able to fix this.” And also, “I give suggestions of possible ways to clean something.”
So there you have it. Again, thanks to those who shared their experiences of “to clean or not to clean.”
If you’d like to read about more organising industry surveys, click here. If you’d like to suggest a future survey topic, please let me know.
