Postal Letter - How much would you pay a cleaning lady?

How much would you pay a cleaning lady?

I am a self employed cleaning lady for 6 years now, & am wondering what the average pay is. I live in the south Chicago suburbs. I try to charge by the job not the hour. I quoted one lady $75.00 for a once a month cleaning & she thought that was too high. Are you kidding me?? I have to pay for insurance & my cleaning supplies & my gas. What do these people think they are going to pay? I average around $20-25 an hour for a basic cleaning & $30 for a deep clean or a move out. Also with the exception of maybe one customer, none of them have ever given me a Christmas gift or a bonus. I heard that nannies get a one week's salary as a bonus & the mailmen gets around $25, too. What do you think? Shouldn't I get a bonus at Christmas? Why do people tip the paperboy & the mailman but not the cleaning lady? wow Gary D! You got away cheap! She did laundry & dishes for only 75 bucks?! thanks to all who answered...

Public Comments

I would pay $100 for the whole house. I have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. It would be wonderful if this price included the carpets but if not I would add an extra $50 if you did the carpets for the whole house.
I paid a service $90 per cleaning for a large house in the Denver suburbs. I had no problem with that amount as a team of two worked for about 3 hours. I wish I had a self-employed person rather than a franchise service, which I was very disappointed with. A good reliable person is worth every penny!
You may want to drop a few subtle hints about Xmas bonuses. However, with the economy the way it is, don't be surprised if none are forthcoming. And maybe, just maybe, your work hasn't been bonus worthy. I would research what other cleaning ladies are getting by perusing Craigslist or other classified ads.
If you think your rates are reasonable, stick with them. Rates are different depending upon your area of the country. In our area, the rates are fairly low because we're so close to the Mexican border. Here in Austin, TX, I had a cleaning lady do my house about 8 years ago. The house is 1,800 square feet in size (4 bedrooms and 2 baths with kitchen, dining, kitchen nook, and living rooms). Two of our bedrooms have been changed into offices and we didn't want her to clean these (we closed these up and kept our cats in there when she visited), so she only had to clean... kitchen & dining nook master bedroom another bedroom living room dining room both bathrooms She swept, mopped, dusted, did the windows and floors, vaccuumed and changed the bed linens. We never asked her to, but she also did dishes we left in the sink, cleaned the insides of the stove and oven, and if clothes were in the washer/dryer, she'd finish them up and fold 'em too! We're two bachelors living here so it was extra dirty when she started, so she charged us $75 for the first cleaning and $65 for each cleaning after that. We had her come back every 2 weeks. After realizing she was doing so many extra things, we ultimately gave her a raise and paid her $80 per cleaning day from then onward. We provided all cleaning materials...chemicals, wipes, soaps, air fresheners, mop, bucket, vaccuum, etc. so all she needed to do was show up for the labor. ...and she definitely got a nice bonus around Thanksgiving time.
Sounds like you are doing well as a cleaning lady. But the fact that you should get some thing for christmas is true. If they are loyal and good coustomers they should concider giving you something, especially if you clean up after their christmas!
i own a cleaning business. i never give a quote 'by the hr." i always say it is by the job... you could have two identical houses and one may have more stuff and take twice as long or one may need more picking up... my rule of thumb is to charge 7 or 7..50 per room.... include long hallways and stairs... you may want to combine a stairway and short hall as one room.... i also supply all cleaning agents and vacuums.. but i find it fair to do the dollar per room charge... but i never give a 25 to 30 per hour... that way if you say 70 for the house cleaning you may get out in 3 hrs. one time and 4 1/2 the next just depends on your mood and physical ability for the day....