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« on: April 24, 2019, 07:55:10 am »
I used to clean houses on the side when I was just out of college. What I found was that I tended to fall into a routine and would end up just cleaning the same things every time while not moving on to other areas - such as under heavy furniture or windows, etc. One client would leave me a list of a few extras to do if I had time within the afternoon. This worked out really well and oftentimes I did get the extras done. There wasn't extra money, as I was paid a flat rate for the cleaning, but it still got done as I had gotten the house to the point where baseboards (for example) in the beginning had to be actually washed down, but now just got a quick dusting and were fine.
Your home should also begin to be easier for her to clean now. So start asking for a few extras that wouldn't take a lot of time. For really time or effort consuming tasks, leave those for a whole extra day where your cleaner just does those. Steam cleaning, deep cleaning, that is a whole different day.
As for the flat rate for the four hours, I wouldn't worry about it if she is getting the job done - but I'd bet that she isn't hustling as much as she did in the beginning. There is nothing wrong (imo) with dropping by during her cleaning time. It is your house. I cleaned for a woman that followed me from room to room. She never took her eyes off of me. It was weird at first, but I got used to it. I didn't do a better job for her than for those who left me alone, but it made her feel better to know what I was doing I guess (or she was lonely).