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Spring Clean housekeeping services when homeowner is absent


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We are soon moving to Ajijic and are trying to decide what to do about a housekeeper.  We travel a lot and may not be in the house for up to six months, at times.  Has anyone used Spring Clean for cleaning services while on extended vacations?  Do they send the same individuals each time, or is it constantly changing?  Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

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BAD move to expect anyone ----- contract cleaners (like Spring Clean) or private ladies----- to (1) show up regularly when nobody is there to check, and (2) not succumb to temptation when they KNOW you are going to be gone for XXX weeks or months at a time.  NOT saying any are bad people.  Saying doesn't mater what you have or don't have, it's so much more than they do that even the best person  could slip a little.... or mention that you're away..... or.... or .... or

(1) Follow Lily H's advice and simply don't clean while you're gone.

(2) Be sure to arrange a trusted person to go into the house at least once a week (not always same day or time) to check around, be sure all is OK, and make arrangements if, for example, a water pipe has burst, a window is broken, or worse.....  The bad guys KNOW when a house is unoccupied for longish periods. So be a pro-active in this department! You won't be "in Kansas" any more. And then enjoy your traveling. 😀

 

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Both our maid and our gardener always had our keys. When we traveled, the gardener came and did his routine work, twice a week. Our maid was 'in charge' and stayed at our house every night, but went to her other clients during some days.  As such, she got extra pay, the pets and plants were well tended, the gardener and she were 'occupants' with good knowledge of the neighborhood, etc.  Our maid used to consider it a 'paid vacation' away from her extended family & always looked forward to our vacations.  It worked well for everyone and we had full trust in both of them.  It works both ways: When either of them had family emergencies, we tried to help in any way that we could, and when they had celebrations, we were always sure to attend. We would not have had it any other way & miss it now, in the USA.

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 We have had Spring Clean for several years with the same lady coming on her designated day. However when we travel we just cancel the service for that period of time. We do not go on extended travel like you mentioned  only two or three weeks at a time.  Six months is a long time not to have the house cleaned as even with the windows closed it gets dusty and little spiders make webs and of course the ring around the toilet. 

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Have you thought of the agencies that can arrange someone to stay at your house ? They do not charge but these are people who like to travel and get free lodgings. We had a girl highly recommended to stay 3 weeks with 3 dogs and it worked out fine.  That being said everything important whether legal or personal was taken to a friends house.

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We travel a lot.  When gone for more than a week, we contract with Veronica at ROMA Management to come by the house weekly.  We have a gardener who has access to the garden and pool area, but not to the house.  ROMA pays the gardener and he reports any outdoor issues he sees to Veronica.  A few months back there was an issue with a water pump; he alerted Veronica  and she called our electrician to fix it (she collects names of your contractors to call).  

Also during our absences we tell the gardener to work whenever he wants; he brings his family to the garden and the pool.  For sure the house doesn't look vacant!

We do not have a housekeeper so the only person with a house key is ROMA and she keeps them under strict control which I found out when I went to the office to retrieve them once.....she does not allow other employees access to the keys, just her and her #1 assistant.  

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