7 Things House Cleaners Really Wish You’d Do Before They Clean Your Home

And one task you really *don’t* need to be doing.

Relationships Reporter, HuffPost

You may have grown up in a house – or live in one now – where there’s disagreement about what preparing for a house cleaning should entail. Some people spend hours getting things ready for the crew’s arrival, others don’t do much at all, and many fall somewhere in between.

To settle the debate, we asked professionals to tell us what’s actually helpful for clients to do in advance and what you can skip. Below, they share seven tasks that matter and one that’s not only unnecessary but could even be a hindrance.

Clear off counters and other surfaces

Doing some tidying up before the cleaners arrive – think: decluttering countertops, tables and other surfaces – is well worth your while. It helps them maximise the time they’ve allotted to get your home spick and span.

“If you hire me to clean for a three-hour period and I cannot get to any counter space, that is a problem,” Charleston, South Carolina, house cleaner Sara San Angelo, founder of Confessions of a Cleaning Lady, told HuffPost.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have walked into a client’s bathroom to clean, only to be visually accosted by what can only be described as a disheveled Sephora display strewn across every inch of the counter. If I have to spend 45 minutes moving your 15 half-empty jars of face cream, that is time I am not cleaning, but you are still paying.”

Bryan Griffin, founder of Patriot Maids Cleaning Services, told HuffPost that his team is there to clean the space, not organise it. “When everything is picked up, they can actually focus on scrubbing, dusting, and disinfecting........

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