It’s important to know how much you’re going to be regularly spending for cleaning services. Most cleaning pros charge by the hour for the first visit, but some do charge by project or by the numbers of folks they send to get the job done. Make sure to ask for an estimate of how long it will take to get your home clean.

Once that’s been done, you might get the same flat rate for each visit—providing you keep the property in roughly the same shape! You can also save by asking if the housekeeper or cleaning service has a “not to exceed this price” clause to spare you a bigger bill than expected.