How to write the perfect to do list
We love a good To Do list here at HCC HQ. Keeps the mind focused. Saves hours of procrastination.
Some people say To Do Lists don’t work (and done lists do!). But we are practical people here at The Home Cleaning Company and have no truck with this kind of fashionable nonsense.
When it comes to getting the best from your cleaner a good old school To Do List is the way to go.
You are probably think writing a To Do List is as easy as rolling off a log.
Respectfully, we beg to differ – not all To Do Lists are created equal. A well written list is a thing of beauty (especially if you have fancy handwriting and some nice coloured pens). A bad list simply stresses and depresses.
So without more ado here are a few golden rules on How To Write The Perfect To Do List For Your Cleaner.
Rule Number One: Be Clear
Remember that your house is your house. You live in it and you likely know it backwards. You know exactly which room you mean when you say ‘side bedroom’. Your cleaner, on the other hand, probably doesn’t.
So give your cleaner a fighting chance:
Do write: Dusters are on the bottom shelf of the kitchen cupboard to the right of the fridge.
Don’t write: Dusters are in the big cupboard.
Do write: Please hoover carpet in bedroom with the blue door and biscuit crumbs by the desk.
Don’t write: Please hoover the carpet in Tom’s room.
Remember – if your cleaner can’t find something, they can’t use it and they can’t clean it!
Rule Number two: Prioritise
Your cleaner may be very talented at a lot of things,but almost certainly your cleaner will not be a mind reader. Ask them, just in case by all means. But if you want our advice then if you value some tasks more than others your best plan is to tell your cleaner your priorities.
Tell them what must be done, and make it clear that anything else they can fit in after that is a welcome bonus.
The most important thing in your world might be that all your kitchen glass surfaces shine like a cherub’s cheeks. Fair enough – we all have our little pecadilloes. All we are suggesting is to make sure your cleaner knows this. Safe in this knowledge they can focus on buffing and shining and not on removing cobwebs from the dusty neglected corners where you never look and where their fine work will not generate any improvement in your sense of wellbeing.
Rule Number three: be realistic
Most often a cleaner is not a magician any more than a mind reader. Time is finite so you need to be realistic in the tasks you set for them to do, in the time you have agreed upon.
Don’t expect them to keep working after their time is up or rush around in the time available to get everything done.
This is why prioritising is so important. If you effectively prioritise, only giving your cleaner a list of top tasks that can definitely be completed in the time they have, you won’t run into trouble.
Rule Number four: be Polite
It’s nice to be important. But it’s more important to be nice. One of the easiest ways to ensure everything on your list gets done, and done well, is to make it a polite list.
If you abide by these four simple rules, you can’t go too far wrong.
Need some inspiration?
Check out the services cleaners regularly provide for our clients to give you a good idea of the tasks your cleaner should be completing for you. Looking for a cleaner? Get in touch, we’d be delighted to introduce a great cleaner to you who can take care of your To Do List……
