Cleaning your house in the Netherlands: The chore most of us love to hate…
It’s the end of a working week, you’re tired, you’re wanting to sit down with a nice glass of wine and watch Netflix, but your house is in dire need of a clean. Cleaning your house is really not on the agenda, but it should be – you know it, I know it and your mother-in-law knows it. It’s okay to admit that you really don’t have time to do it and frankly, you just don’t want to do it (hey – we’ve all been there, those Netflix series aren’t going to watch themselves). Our lives are getting busier and busier and we’re all finding new ways to manage our time better.
What if someone could come and help us out with the cleaning? And what if finding a cleaner was easier than ever before too?
We teamed up with Helpling to check out how they’re helping people in the Netherlands find a cleaner in just a few clicks.
How Helpling makes cleaning safe during coronavirusWe’re all a bit more concerned about having contact with people than usual due to coronavirus. You might be wondering how you can safely ask someone to clean your house while the pandemic continues. At the same time, keeping your house clean and disinfected is more important now than ever. Helpling has put together some regulations for both you and the person who comes to clean your house, to ensure that the process is as safe as possible. First of all, you and the person who comes to clean your house should keep a 1.5m distance from each other at all times. You could choose to leave the house while it’s being cleaned, even. You should also, of course, wash your hands regularly. You are advised to buy disinfectants, and to have a look at which cleaning materials- like sweeping brushes, for example- can be easily disinfected. You can make the decision on which materials are used along with the person who comes to clean your house. Keep the windows open in the house while the cleaning takes place. Cleaners may choose to wear face masks, gloves, or other protective equipment. They will also disinfect frequently used areas and objects, such as the kitchen and doorknobs, but you can also do your part to keep them safe, and disinfect these objects before the cleaner arrives. Most importantly, though, keep in contact with each other: these are changeable times, so communication is key. You can read more about Helpling’s coronavirus advice here. |
Cleaning your house in the Netherlands
No bias here, but living in the Netherlands is great (ok, slight bias). Many Dutch houses are, dare I said it, cute? However, whether you’re trying to get that new bed up those stairs or you’re trying to clean your house from top to bottom before your friends arrive, they just really aren’t that functional in that sense.
If you live in a Dutch house, you’ll notice that they like the minimalistic look. I regularly visit people’s houses and think ‘it looks like a show home, but I really love it.’ But then that leaves us no excuses to have a cluttered and unkempt house. More stress!
Actual footage of us whenever we attempt to clean anything (no, really).
Dutch houses (traditional ones at least) have giant windows – usually getting dirty from misting up from the rain or if you have a dog or cat, chances are they put their paws and tongue all over it. It’s also rare to find a carpeted room in the Netherlands, meaning that your regularly need to hoover, sweep and mop (in Britain we’d carpet the walls if we could – I wish I was joking). It’s all those stroopwafel crumbs, am I right? 😉 If you have a traditional Dutch toilet, that one might need a little extra scrubbing too. With the hustle and bustle of Dutch life, do we really have the time? The answer to that is probably no.
How can cleaning your house in the Netherlands become easier?
Get a cleaner in: Life made easier!
Back in the day having a cleaner was seen as pure luxury and way out of the price range of the average person, especially as women usually stayed at home and dealt with the chores around the home. If you did want a cleaner you’d have to scout one out by looking through newspapers and bulletin boards in the supermarket. Times are changing and there’s no need to juggle work and housework any longer, or even leave the house to find anyone. But where do you start?
Helpling: Who are they and what do they do?
The founders, Benedikt Franke and Philipp Huffmann saw how counterproductive it was to seek out a cleaner in the traditional way. If you want to save time having a cleaner – you don’t want to spend that saved time looking for one, which is exactly what happens. So they thought up an easy way to find a reliable cleaner in your area: an online marketplace! Think eBay, but for cleaners. A real ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ moment. It makes complete sense and gives people like us more time to relax.
Helpling is the largest online marketplace to find cleaners and their site can be used within 10 different countries – one of those being the Netherlands. Here you’ll be able to make appointments with a cleaner and manage it all online – making it quicker, easier and much more reliable. Here you can find a private cleaner, you’ll be able to see how much they charge and you’ll be able to see what previous clients ‘rated’ the cleaner. Easy, huh?
Finding a cleaner in the Netherlands: How does it work?
Using Helpling is easy and if your Dutch isn’t heel goed then you can choose to have it all in English. Once you’re on the site (click here for ease!) the first thing you’ll have to do it enter your postcode (I mean, you don’t want them going to a different house).
Here are can then choose whether you want the service weekly, biweekly or only once. You can then pick the date, time and duration.
I chose a random time and it showed a list of cleaners in my area. You can also choose an option to require ironing and to say if you have pets. When you click the cleaners you can see their rating, price, reviews and will show you if they have a police check and business license. You can then choose and pay for the cleaner (psst, we have a discount code at the end of the article). So quick and so easy.
So now you have that taken care of, you now have even more time to explore the Netherlands with all that free time. 😉 It’s a good job DutchReview has a shed load of city guides to keep you going.
Cleaning your house in the Netherlands is no fun and even if you are one of those people who loves cleaning, time is not always on our side. For once you can put your feet up and not run around like a headless chicken after work before your inlaws arrive. Netflix. Chill. And leave it to Helpling.
Before you go: In true DutchReview style, we have a discount code for you (we Dutch people sure do love a kortingscode). Enter: Dutchreview10 at the checkout!
(Psst, if you’re looking for a cleaning job, Helpling are always on the lookout for great cleaners too!)
Do you have any tips when cleaning your house in the Netherlands? Or experiences with finding a cleaner in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments!
Feature Image: djedj/Pixabay
Interesting and Excellent blog on cleaning house with the Netherlands helping. Keep it up. Please keep sharing.
Hi buddy,
I just read your blog. Amazing post about house cleaning. Great work, thanks for sharing your amazing blog.
Good Job! I found recently nice portal when you can book an appointment for cleaning on a their website and as I saw they have a lot of types, like car cleaning, carpet, window, home, industrial, office, etc.
+ they work across the Netherlands.
https://freshandtidy.nl