Presented in partnership with CottageCare
If you know me, you know I’m not exactly the cleanest person. Tidy and organized, yes, but my house isn’t exactly spick and span. I’ve been searching for a Calgary house cleaner for over a year, but none of the cleaners my friends recommended used environmentally friendly cleaning products. How the majority of cleaning services in Calgary get away with using harsh chemicals is a mystery to me. Then, CottageCare reached out and asked me if I’d try their services.
I jumped on that offer faster than Trump Tweets. Truthfully, I’d never heard of CottageCare, but their site look totally professional, so I dutifully filled out the Get a Free Quote section. Within an hour, an agent got in touch and answered my many questions such as, why do people clean before their clean? Turns out, you don’t have to!
We chatted about how many rooms I had, what exactly they clean (in a nutshell, everything from top to bottom), etc… Based on the number of rooms and staircases in my home, my one time clean would cost $173 plus GST. If you opt for a monthly clean you get 10% off, bi-montly 25% off and weekly saves you 30%. I love the add-ons CottageCare offers: inside fridge, oven cleaning, deck and garage sweeping, plus inside cabinets if you’re moving. It’s a $35 flat fee per appliance, so I added on an oven clean, bringing my total to $218.40 all in, include tax.
The day before my clean, I was given a reminder call and this cute video arrived via email explaining their process:
Jody gets nervous
The night before CottageCare came, I started feeling, well, a tad anxious. It suddenly dawned on me why people would clean before their cleaner. I felt quite bad someone would dust my shelves around all this junk that wasn’t supposed to be there. But I supposed I didn’t feel too bad, because I did nothing about it.
In the aftermath of Christmas, I’ve become lazy. Housework lazy. I’ve let life pile up around me. It became all too clear I needed to simplify my life. Cut back on products and projects. And then it freaked me out I was having all these meta conversations in my head triggered by a house clean. Was this a sign of perimenopause?
The best best cleaning service in Calgary
I needn’t have worried about any of those things, as my lovely cleaner thought it was no big deal. She reassured me it was OK to leave things out. And because CottageCare charges by the room, not the hour, it doesn’t cost you any more to have piles of junk on flat surfaces.
Guys, they spent over six hours at my house! My kitchen floor was washed by hand! They cleaned my baseboards! My blind were dusted! (Wondering: Have I ever done that?). Even my upholstery and my dog’s adorable chaise lounge was vacuumed. But the big wow moment for me and The Huz was our carpets. Here’s a reenactment:
Me: Wow! I didn’t expect you to steam clean my carpets!
CottageCare Cleaner: Actually, we didn’t.
Me: Are you sure? These look more than vacuumed. You didn’t spray anything on the rug prior?
Cleaner: Nope. That’s just my vacuuming job.
Me: Do you have some kind of a fancy vacuum?
Cleaner: Just this one.
I inspect the vacuum and can confirm it wasn’t a Dyson. It looked pretty standard. Colour me impressed! Then The Huz walks into the house.
The Huz: Holy cow! Our (20-year-old) carpets look amazing. Did they steam clean them?
Cleaner smiles. Clearly, she’s never seen a client get so excited about clean carpets before.
House cleaning Calgary
What’s cool about CottageCare is you can pick and choose which areas of your house you want cleaned, and they adjust the pricing. Say you’re having a party and want only the downstairs done. Not a problem! If you have a special task, like, scrubbing out a pot or a wall, just ask. They bill out in 15-minute increments until your special job is done. Best is, CottageCare refunds your money if you’re not happy with clean – though I doubt you’ll be disappointed
Many people I know have randos (random peeps, yo!) cleaning their house. Sure, you can find someone on Kijiji, but I’d think twice about leaving my valuable around. All cleaners with CottageCare are legit employees of the company. They have background checks done every year. They’re licensed, bonded and insured.
Environmentally friendly cleaners Calgary
What really hit home was my house didn’t smell like a chemical factory after the cleaners left. CottageCare uses EnvirOx, a fragrance-free, hydrogen peroxide based cleaning solution that has dissenting and sanitizing properties.
There are three Cottage Care locations in Calgary. There’s one for Central and North Calgary, the West end and Calgary South. When you plug your postal code into the Get a Quote section of their website, the appropriate location will get in touch with you.
The aftermath
Not to get too hyper about it all, but I came away from this experience feeling rather inspired. Our 1,300 sq ft condo may not be my dream house, but could I enjoy living in it more? Yes, I definitely could. This clean also made me realize I could be proud of our place instead of embarrassed by it. (I’m the only 40-year-old I know still living in our starter house.)
Interestingly, after the cleaners left, I spotted The Huz building our new patio furniture outside. Without being asked! And I had the sudden urger to walk down to West Elm to finally buy ourselves some bedside tables. (Currently using $12 IKEA side tables.) I’m not saying if you try CottageCare, you’ll suddenly feel the urge to transform your space, but it inspired me and made me feel so much happier at home. If this is what delegating housework leads to, then sign me up!
Win free house cleaning in Calgary
Would you like to get your house cleaned for free? CottageCare is offering one lucky Travels with Baggage reader a complimentary clean worth $200. To enter, you must live within Calgary city limits and comment below, before midnight, Sunday April 22, 2018. Please tell me how often you clean your house or what household jobs you make your kids do. The following week, I’ll randomly draw a name and will be in touch with the winner.
Receive double entries by following me on Instagram and commenting there.
Thank you to CottageCare for cleaning my house so thoroughly and offering one of my readers the same opportunity.
I hate cleaning my house. So it doesn’t get done often enough! My kids have their rooms and bathroom to keep clean daily. They put away their laundry and empty the dishwasher. And they’re really good at dusting. Did I mention I hate cleaning?
I’m not the best at cleaning, my house is usually organized…. but not clean clean. Dog hair is my biggest nemesis so I vacuum a few times a week and try and do a few bigger jobs one every week or so. No kids to help and the dog doesn’t do anything.
Oh, dog hair! That must be a nightmare keeping up with it.
We are in the tail end of calving. As a result, our house looks like a mud slide swept through the area. OK, maybe it always looks like that, but this month, I have a genuine excuse for it. These cleaners sound amazing. Too bad they don’t travel 200 km out of town!
It’s hard for a farm house to stay clean!
Oh man, I am the worst at cleaning. Love to be tidy and organized, hate to clean 🙂 I clean enough to be acceptable before visitors come over! Need to deep clean before baby number 2 arrives as it really won’t happen after that
Yes, smart to get that done before your due date. Wishing you a safe and speedy delivery.
I am one of those people who love having people over, but because my home is usually in some state of disaster, I don’t invite people over as often as I’d like. My dearest friends just know who I am and don’t care, but still, I do get embarrassed when someone drops in!!
Kids do the dishwasher and ‘clean’ the bathrooms. And they are responsible for their rooms, but that doesn’t mean anything really as they constantly look like tornadoes have gone in there.
I need to get my daughter cleaning the bathrooms!
I clean all the time. With 3 kids in the house, you clean and it gets dirty again. My kitchen properly gets done 2-3x per day. I can’t wait till my kids are older so they can start helping around the house.
It’s like we’re all on a perpetual hamster wheel!
My Partner does the majority of the house cleaning, but I always do the bathrooms every couple of weeks. Our place could seriously use some professional TLC. We bought the place needing some, now it’s just getting a bit dire. Haha yeesh…
Just having the professional touch made such a huge difference!
I have to clean a couple times a week now! Our Bernese Mountain Dog is shedding LIKE CRAZY. Combine that with a long haired cat and our house is a perma-mess.
Those pets! Our dog doesn’t shed, but I still find weird hair balls around the house. Sigh.
Not often enough!
He he. Me, too!
I feel like I am constantly cleaning and yet my house is never really clean (or at least not for long). I live with 3 messies and a dog so I am seriously out numbered ???? My kids help empty the dishwasher, tidy and vacuum their own rooms and play area, and sometimes clean the bathrooms. I would so so so LOVE to have a cleaner help me get the upper hand!
Looks like you’ve got your hands full!
I should clean more with two toddlers and a dog but we get it done here and there. We could really use a deep clean because we moved in when I was pregnant and it never happened. Oops!
Well, you had a lot on the go at that time.
I like to do a general tidying up every week and a full clean at least once a month (if possible!). Winning a free house cleaning would be a dream! Followed on Instagram. Great job with the blog and fingers crossed!
We are tidy, but I can’t stand doing deep cleans so avoid it for as long as we can. However we are moving in June and the idea of moving into someone else’s “dirt” makes me feel sick! I would love to get that house polished up before we move in! And as for our kids, they are 11 & 13 and do their own bedrooms, their bathroom, laundry and dishwasher.
I need to get my 13 year old doing laundry. I’ve heard of people putting in their real estate deal that the house has to be professionally cleaned before the new owners move in.
We only have time to clean on weekend. Life gets in the way 🙂
I fractured my back in three places and now it’s full of arthritis moving into my hips knees and foot. I can take me 3 days some times longer to even sweep my floors. Anything with a back n Fort motion hurts so bad I could cry. I can’t bend or lift so there is so much I cannot do and my dirty house proves it. I’m embarrassed to say but I need your help. Please pick me.
My gosh! I’m so sorry to hear. No need to be embarrassed. I have no excuse for rarely cleaning and I’m sure my home’s usual state is much more dirty than yours:)
After a car accident last June and serious bout of migraines with our sudden turn in temperatures, I’ve been slacking on my cleaning routine. Sunday used to be designated as cleaning day, but lately I’ve been slacking and taking my lil girlie and just sleeping off my headaches. I’ve been seriously contemplating a cleaning service and this popped up in my feed… perfect sign. Fingers crossed…
Yorkie not girlie. Thanks autocorrect
When it’s between rest and cleaning, I’d be taking the rest, too. One time my phone autocorrected “love you, hon” to “love you, jon” My husband was like, who’s Jon? 🙂
I have 2 dogs( 1 is a dalmatian and they shed like crazy) so I am sweeping the floor every day and vacuuming every 2 days and the amount of dog hair is insane. I do good clean once a week but still so many little jobs that have to be done so I try to tackle 1 or of those a week. So much cleaning but my dogs are worth it!
We love our pets but not their messes!
I have multiple health issues & 3 surgeries within this past year, hubby has been cleaning house. Doesn’t happen as often as I did it nor as thorough. So my home needs a house cleaner.
Oh my goodness. You both need some respite! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Hope you’re on the mend.
Sounds amazing! Kids vacuum and unload dishwasher. I need a deeeeeep clean!
It’s always a good idea to deep clean a few times a year. Not that I’m that on the ball:)
I have a child with special needs (autism) and with him I have my both arms & legs full and don’t get much time for detailed cleaning ???? oil stains on kitchen stoves abd not-so-clean bathrooms I have ???? my kids are small but I try to include them in unloading dishwasher, setting & clearing the table. They love to help me in baking ????
It sounds like you have your hands full. I have or rather had, those same oil stains.
Unfortunately I live outside of city limits but am doing this for my daughter. She had an eleven month month old so doesn’t have a lot of time to clean. It would be awesome for her to have someone come & clean her house. I forgot to mention she has a dog that sheds!
It’s so busy in those early years. I don’t know how anyone gets anything done with young children in the house!