Is Your Apartment Always A Mess? Read This

These days, I barely find time to make my own bed, much less give the oven a scrub down. After a long work day, I come home to cook, help the kids with homework and indulge in any little “me” time I can find.

While I try to tidy up here and there, it seems like the list of household chores never ends. Sometimes I ask my husband to pick up some of the slack, but I’ve accepted he’s never going to figure out how to properly use a broom.

I’ve joked with my girlfriends about how I sometimes wish I could afford a maid, but even if I could, I’d be nervous about letting a complete stranger into my house. Maybe I’ve watched too many horror movies.

One weekend, I went out for dinner with some of my friends from the office, and one of them mentioned how much she loved getting help with her family’s never-ending laundry load.

After we bombarded her with a bunch of side eye, she said her secret was Handy. She called it the “Uber of home cleaning” and explained that Handy’sa service that connects you to cleaning professionals that’ll come over at a time that’s convenient for you. On the app, you can schedule, message the cleaning pros, see an upfront price without negotiation, and find a pro who can handle anything you need from cleaning out your fridge to deep-scrubbing your toilet.

I’ll admit that sounded amazing, but I thought it couldn’t possibly be affordable, much less safe. It’s not like I’m personally interviewing the person who’s coming over to clean.

But after checking out Handy’s website, I learned that the cleaning professionals booked through the app have to pass a background check and are vetted and screened. Plus, you can look up a pro’s rating and reviews to see what other people have said about them. The fact that Handy vets the professionals made me feel a lot better about using them to book a cleaning service. Price became a non-factor once I used the site.

They give you an upfront, affordable quote for biweekly, weekly or monthly cleanings, so you don’t have to deal with any negotiating or cash. Plus, it’d end up costing less than I spend on dinner out and drinks with the girls.

My husband and I took the plunge and went ahead and scheduled a cleaning. The cleaning pro, Annie, arrived on time and with all her cleaning tools. We chatted with Annie about how long she’d been booking jobs through Handy and about how her 5-year-old son is just as messy as mine.

I originally planned to stay home while she was there, but Annie was so friendly, I didn’t mind stepping out for a few minutes to get some ice cream with the kids while she cleaned the house and did the laundry (an extra option we added on through Handy). Besides, after reading about the Handy Happiness Guarantee for cleaning bookings, I wasn’t too worried.

Every cleaning booking is insured, so if something does break or I’m really unhappy about something, Handy will work to make it right. The pros booked through Handy are also skilled at what they do and want the best ratings, so they do their best to make sure you’re satisfied.

At first, I felt guilty about hiring a cleaning pro. But when my husband and I got back to the house that first day, I was completely blown away. Our house was spotless, even the dust bunnies from under the couch (a place I’m ashamed to say I ignore on purpose) were gone. Getting a cleaner through Handy was one of the best decisions we’ve made this year. I received a free cleaning from Handy in exchange for giving an honest review, but I loved the service so much I’m telling all my friends about it.

Now I’m looking into getting a weekly plan, so I can enjoy my weekends with the kids without feeling guilty about procrastinating mopping the floor. With a regular plan, we can have our favorite cleaning pro come on a schedule that works for us, so we don’t have to think about rescheduling. Plus, my husband won’t have to pretend he knows how to sweep.

Update: The folks at Handy are extending a Special offer to our readers. For a limited time follow this link to get a special offer on a cleaning plan!