I hate to step in and sound so negative here but please please please be very careful of who you let in your home - regardless if you stay there all day with them. I have had several friends that had housekeepers steal right under their noses. Sadly, in this day and age, with our economy, etc... You really need to know the person and have good references. Craig's list scares me altogether.
When my sweet blind Grandmother was too old to stay alone, yet didn't want to go to the nursing home, we had a lady that opened the church doors daily " to pray" before coming to sit with and cook for my Grandmother. She forged several $1000.00's of checks on my Grandmother, opened a credit card in my Grandmothers name thanks to having access to her mail, cleaned out her attic (literally) and took anything she could load in her car - such as my grandmothers Singer sewing machine!!?? ( I'm still sad over that!) My Father was a wonderful kind man and could not bring himself to press charges against her - so he made a deal with her that she would no longer work for my Grandmother or take care of any other older vulnerable people - he told her he had turned over all the evidence we had on her to the local Sherriff's office and the minute he ever heard she was working in someone's home (it was a small town) he was watching and ready to press charges.... When my Grandmother died and then a few years later my Sweet Father passed away she had the nerve to come to both funerals....? Weird...? My point in telling this long story is that you really have to be careful. There are a lot of wolves in sheeps clothing among us. Forgive me for sounding so negative - but you really can't trust people that just show up or email you, no matter how good they sound or look on paper. We paid a big financial price in the end when combining the forged checks, the credit card and all the items stolen. What we paid hourly became a mute point!
I have someone that helps me a few times a week in the afternoon - I pay her $50 - for 4-5 hours a day. I found her thru a friend that had used her and her sister for 10 years b4 I met her. So, I was able to check her background thru people I knew.
I hope I haven't rained on your parade/stressed you out with fear and worry - a housekeeper is a fabulous thing to have but you really have to know who you are trusting with your belongings, your home and pets - it's worth the effort to play Nancy Drew on the front end!
I wish you lived close to me I could help you find someone!
Good luck
Janice |