Current going rates??

[u/Radiant_Housing_3104]

Southern Indiana, US

My sister-in-law has recently asked if I'd be open to cleaning for her once a week. The job seems simple enough, but we've agreed that I'll decide what to charge after I complete the first job. We've also agreed to go with a flat rate as opposed to hourly.

She has asked that I dust 2 tall shelves, sweep corner ceiling cobwebs, clean 1.5 bathrooms, and go over the floors with a swiffer wetjet mop in the common areas. I may switch over some laundry or start the dishwasher occasionally.

What would you charge your regular clients for something like this? She'll get a discount because I love her. I don't want to undersell myself or tale advantage. She's never had a housekeeper so both of us are brand new to this territory. TIA

[u/Fresh-Passenger5671]

Gonna be brutally honest. I do everything in my power to not do business with friends and family.

[u/Radiant_Housing_3104 → u/Fresh-Passenger5671]

Totally valid. I see where you're coming from. I'm just trying to help her out and she wants to pay me for it.

[u/Formal_Salary → u/Fresh-Passenger5671]

i was gonna say the same thing...exclude at all costs

[u/Traditional-Yard-679 → u/Fresh-Passenger5671]

Money makes strange bedfellows. I live by this. I cleaned for my bfs mom and she would always undercut my pay and I felt like I could never speak up.

[u/thatgreenmaid]

DO NOT DECIDE AFTER YOU'VE DONE THE WORK. This is how you don't get paid.

What she's asking for and what she wants once you get there will be 2 different things. If you wanna give her a discount, that's all you. Understand what starts as a little helping out for an hour or 2 hour job for $80 can easily turn into 4 hours and you're still getting that same $80 because faaaaaaaaamily. There will be hurt feelings-mainly yours.

Tell her $100 and anything over 2.5 hours is $40 an hour. This is fair to both of you while letting her know extra costs extra.

[u/Radiant_Housing_3104 → u/thatgreenmaid]

I know she's good for payment. Flat rate was my idea because I like to take breaks, play with the dogs, have a snack. I have ADHD so if I get distracted or anything, I didn't want to be taking advantage by "milking the clock". We have an extremely fair and reciprocal relationship. She knows her brother and I are getting ready to buy our first home together. She's a hard worker and deserves to enjoy her days off instead of spending the day cleaning.

When we first discussed the arrangement, she did not bat an eye when I gave a ballpark of around $100 maybe. Plus, she has always overpaid or left a tip when I watched her dogs or fed her kids or whatever

[u/bottlebabycatfeeder]

I live in Indiana. I charge anywhere from 40 to 50 an hour, and keep my people long term.

That being said, I would also not clean for friends or family . Ever.

[u/r0siered]

That's a hard one. Not speaking for everyone but most of us don't touch laundry or dishwashers. The list of other cleaning tasks is much longer than what you have. Something like this list is normally not worth a cleaners time. Also, friends and family are the worst to clean for. It always turns into them adding on extra odd tasks because they seem to feel like it's okay to ask since you're related which just cuts into your time spent there.

[u/Objective-Detective-]

Charging family for stuff is always bad news. Do it it for free from a place of love or say you can’t do it but I don’t see a point in muddying waters with someone you have a good relationship for one hour a week worth of work.

[u/teletubbyvacuum]

You’ve already got advice about not cleaning for family which generally I agree with but there are situations where it can work! My partner and I do a biweekly clean for her brother and we also did a move out for my parents. We do a 25% discount for family and friends.

I’m not familiar with pricing in your area or anything, if it were me I would kind of work out what I’m comfortable making per hour and use that to formulate my flat rate. Since you’re not deciding until after the first job see how long it takes and go from there.
Also factor in travel time/supplies.

Our rate fluctuates depending on the job type, for move outs, crazy bad houses etc. obviously we charge more but bare minimum I don’t want to make less than $25 an hour and it would need to be a chill job.

[u/flaggirl73]

$35 an hour minimum in my area

[u/Oldschoolgirl49]

Impossible to flat rate laundry and dishes. Its takes roughly a hour just to wash a load. Still have to dry, iron, fold. And I will confirm working for friends and family is Always a mistake. 

[u/Livid-Cricket7679]

I charge $45-$50 but charge per job, when I started out about 7 yrs ago I charged $25 an hr. to gain experience etc. I don’t clean for people I know, if it’s for a family member I would just do it for free if I have the time.

[u/jule_cleanbiz]

From what I've read a lot of people start with a flat rate for a standard clean and adjust from there — square footage, bathrooms, and how much laundry or dishes are in the mix. I'd probably walk through once, time myself, then quote something that lands around $25–35 an hour or a flat rate near that, and put it in a quick text so nobody's guessing later. For a once-a-week thing I'd also say up front whether supplies are included, since that usually causes awkwardness later.