27 January, 2020
How To Get A Clean House, Even With A Rambunctious Puppy
Even with two kids, I try to keep our home obsessively clean. But then we got a puppy, and things got out of control.
I sweep and mop weekly, but once the puppy came, all of that went out the window.
It was impossible for us to keep up with pet dander, and since our boy was still just training, accidents were unavoidable—and from what dog owners tell me, don’t go away 100% even after the puppy years. (It’s okay, he is very cute.)
Between taking care of the kids, cooking meals, going to work, and training a puppy, my husband and I knew we needed some help.
We asked our dog-loving neighbor to walk Freddie in the afternoon, and she recommended we use Handyto book a cleaning service to help us. Sure, I was a little overwhelmed at the moment, but I highly doubted anyone could tackle the mess better than me. I carry a lint roller and own a label maker!
After having our second daughter, we had looked into some cleaning services, but were dissatisfied with how unprofessional it seemed—we couldn’t find any info on any of the cleaners, and they were extremely unhelpful over the phone.
Our neighbor told us she loved Handy because they match you with vetted and background checked cleaning Pros in your area. She recommended her Pro, but she said anyone we’d get would be experienced.
We talked about it and decided we wanted someone who was super reliable and qualified, and who would come about once a month to give the entire apartment a deep clean, for maintenance.
Browsing Handy’s site, I was impressed with their background checks on all cleaning professionals, customer ratings, affordable pricing, and their Happiness Guarantee. If we didn’t get what we expected, they would send someone else at no cost!
We ended up booking a Pro through Handy based on consumer reviews—a woman who appeared to be very well-liked by her customers, didn’t have any allergies to pets, and who was available on the days and times that worked for us.
It was very easy to book everything online, where we could also manage payment, tipping, and rescheduling, instead of having to call the service during the workday.
My Pro kept me updated in the hours before my first cleaning and showed up right on time. When I came home, I was so impressed with how thorough the cleaning was.
Honestly, no other cleaner has ever done such a good job on our floors. I could tell right away that much of the dust from fur and dander had been cleared since it wasn’t the first thing I noticed.
Giving the place a closer look, I couldn’t believe how fresh and clean everything felt—it was like finally taking a breath of air after years of clutter. Maybe I wasn’t as good at cleaning as I initially thought I was…
I received a free cleaning from Handy in exchange for giving an honest review, but I loved the service so much that now my husband and I are looking into signing up for a monthly cleaning plan. Getting a cleaning each month would help make a huge difference since the clutter and dust won’t accumulate as much.
Even when our puppy does have an accident—though we’re trying really hard to train him!—we know that smells won’t linger on our floors and carpets, because our Pro will give them a proper scrub down on a regular basis.
Our lives are hectic enough, so it’s nice to know that Handy is one thing we can definitely feel relaxed about.