How to Find a Housekeeper for Your Home
The kitchen is spotless, the laundry basket is empty and the beds upstairs have fresh sheets, all done while you are out of the house. For a busy Home Counties family juggling work, school runs and a home that never quite stays on top of itself, that kind of order comes from finding the right housekeeper.
At Nannies Matter, we have spent decades placing trusted household staff and housekeepers with families across the Home Counties, including many who commute into London and need their home to run quietly in the background. In this guide, we explain what a housekeeper does, how to understand the kind of support that would work best in your home, and how Nannies Matter can take care of the search and shortlisting process from start to finish.
What does a housekeeper do?
A housekeeper takes broad, ongoing responsibility for the cleanliness and the daily rhythm of your home. A housekeeper keeps your house clean and orderly on a regular basis, week after week, so the home stays at the standard you want.
Typical housekeeping duties
Experienced housekeepers cover regular cleaning across the home: this may include deep-cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, vacuuming and dusting the living areas and bedrooms, and maintaining surfaces and floors. Laundry, washing and ironing are almost always part of the role too, along with changing beds and general tidying.
Beyond the core cleaning tasks, housekeepers often take on some responsibility for running errands, managing household routines, accepting deliveries, letting in tradespeople, and handling special requests. If you need someone to do light cooking, this can be discussed when we shape the role and search for suitable candidates.
This is where the role differs from an hourly cleaner. An hourly cleaner will usually come into your home to carry out agreed cleaning tasks. A housekeeper supports your home as a whole, keeping everything organised and running smoothly.
What is a nanny housekeeper?
For busy families with young and school age children, a nanny housekeeper combines childcare and housekeeping in a single trusted person, which suits families who need both a clean, well-run home and reliable care for their children without employing two separate members of staff. Read more about the nanny housekeeper services we offer at Nannies Matter.
Decide what you need before you start looking
Deciding what support you actually need shapes who you look for, how you find them and what the role will cost.
Full-time, part-time or live-in
A part time housekeeper comes in for a set number of hours each week, which works well for families who only need to keep on top of the essentials. It is often the most practical starting point for households new to hiring. Full time housekeepers suit a larger property, or a family who wants the home managed throughout the week.
A live-in housekeeper lives on site and provides an agreed level of support. Bear in mind that this brings accommodation requirements and other considerations you will want to think through carefully.
Map the duties and hours
Write down the specific duties that matter most to your household, from the cleaning and the laundry and ironing through to errands and household routines. Then decide how many hours a week the role genuinely needs. The team at Nannies Matter can use our extensive experience sourcing housekeeping expertise to assist in this area. A clear list of duties and a realistic hours-per-week rota make it far easier for our team to find a shortlist of ideal candidates for you to choose from.
Where can you find a housekeeper?
Once you know what you need, the question becomes where to look. There are four main routes, and each has its place. Knowing the trade-offs helps you find a housekeeper without wasting weeks on the wrong approach.
Word of mouth in your local area
A personal recommendation from someone in your local area is often the first port of call, and a trusted referral can be reassuring. The drawback is availability. Housekeepers suited to your requirements may not be looking for work when you need them, and a friend's recommendation still needs proper checks before you hire.
Online platforms and job boards
Online platforms and job boards put you in front of a large pool of housekeepers quickly. They suit households who are comfortable managing the search, the messaging and the vetting themselves. The work, and the risk, sits entirely with you: you must screen every applicant, verify their background and confirm they are who they say they are.
General cleaning companies
General cleaning companies that send rotating staff can be a good fit for straightforward, regular cleaning, but their operatives are not housekeepers in the full sense. They tend to focus on cleaning rather than the wider running of a home, and you may not always get the same person, which makes building trust and a consistent routine harder.
A specialist housekeeper agency
A specialist housekeeper agency takes a different approach. A good agency, such as Nannies Matter, understands your needs, sources a shortlist of experienced housekeepers, and carries out the vetting before introducing anyone to you. For a busy household that wants a reliable, long-term placement and would rather not manage the search and the paperwork alone, this route removes both the risk and the legwork. It is why many households across the Home Counties choose to hire a housekeeper through a specialist agency rather than going it alone. Working with Nannes Matter means speaking to a range of candidates who all meet your specific needs, and choosing someone based on how well they will fit with your home and family.
How to vet a housekeeper before you hire
Proper vetting is time-consuming, and it is the single most common corner cut by households hiring housekeepers in a hurry. Whichever route you choose, these checks matter.
References and right-to-work checks
Always take up references and carry out reference checks with previous employers, rather than relying on a written reference at face value. You must also confirm the person has the legal right to work in the UK before they start: this is a mandatory check, and an employer can face a civil penalty for getting it wrong.
Background checks
Sensible safeguarding means background checks appropriate to the role, including a DBS check where applicable. It is worth knowing that the level of DBS check available depends on the role, so not every housekeeping position qualifies for an enhanced check. Working out which check applies, and arranging it correctly, is one practical reason households turn to an agency that handles the right checks for them.
Interview and trial shift
Finally, interview properly and, where you can, arrange a short trial shift. A face-to-face conversation tells you about temperament and fit, while a trial day shows you how your prospective housekeeper actually works in a real home environment. Relevant experience is important too, so ask about the kinds of private households and duties a candidate has handled before. Don’t skip this stage on the basis of a good feeling about a particular candidate.
How much does a housekeeper cost?
The most useful way to think about cost is to start from the level of service you need, then build the budget around that, rather than focusing on a single hourly rate. The budget you set depends on several factors that vary from one household to the next: the number of hours per week, whether the role is full time, part time or live in, the size of the house, your location, and the scope of duties involved. A housekeeper for a large house with extensive cleaning, laundry and errands will naturally cost more than a few hours of regular cleaning. An hourly rate also looks very different from a live-in arrangement.
Part time housekeepers typically cost less overall than full time placements, but the per-hour rate will vary with experience, location and the range of duties covered. Live-in housekeepers have a different cost structure again, since accommodation is factored in alongside wages.
How finding a housekeeper works through Nannies Matter
As an established housekeeper agency serving the surrounding Home Counties, Nannies Matter takes a bespoke, director-led approach that begins with understanding your home, your routine and your specific needs before we introduce anyone.
From there, we source a shortlist from our stable of experienced professionals: trustworthy housekeepers whose references, background and right to work we have already checked, and whose relevant experience we have confirmed. We will only introduce the housekeepers we believe genuinely fit your household, and you can choose the right person for your family. We handle the search and the vetting to give you the best possible options to choose from.
Because we place household staff throughout the region, we understand what families actually need in areas we cover across West London, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the wider Home Counties. That includes families who commute into London and want their home running smoothly in their absence. We know what a good housekeeper can deliver, the role they can play in making your life easier, and how to match one to your home.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk through the kind of housekeeping support your household needs, whether that is a part-time housekeeper, a full-time role or a live-in arrangement, Nannies Matter would be glad to help. Tell us about your home and your routine, and we will take it from there.
Call us on 07736 337065 to start the conversation, or send us a message through our contact form and we will get back to you. Finding the right housekeeper should feel reassuring, not overwhelming, and we are here to make the whole process a calm and considered one.