In a nutshell, it depends! There are many types and levels of service you can choose from when considering household help–we’ll break down the various options and help you decide which one is the best fit for you and your home! Taking into account your budget, expected workload, and outcome goals, you can find household help that suits your specific needs.

• Housekeeper/maid service

  • This is the type of help most people are familiar with. A person or team comes into your home and cleans. That’s it! Some service providers may tidy or do laundry, but that is up to the individual company or person. Pricing and scheduling methods can vary quite a bit depending on whether you live in a large city, how often you need to have the house cleaned, and whether you expect a standard or deep cleaning. 

• Mother’s helper

  • This is typically a person who provides support and assistance to a parent. Their duties can include short babysitting stints while a parent showers, goes to an appointment, or runs errands, light housekeeping, tidying kids’ rooms, and helping prepare meals. Mother’s helpers tend to be paid lower rates than other household help because they are directly supervised by a parent. This is a great option if you are a stay-at-home parent who needs a few hours of help each day, want to spend time with your kids while having support available, and don’t want to break the bank.

• Virtual assistant

  • This is someone that works remotely and allows you to delegate online tasks that you don’t want to do or don’t have time for. They can work independently with minimal supervision. Tasks that fall to a VA may be online research, planning travel or simple events, scheduling, making phone calls, and handling personal or light admin/office tasks that can be completed remotely. There is usually a lengthy onboarding process as you and your assistant get to know each other and develop a working relationship. Proactivity may be limited, especially during the onboarding process. An important factor to consider before hiring a VA is whether you prefer a US-based person or if an overseas VA will meet your needs.

• Personal Assistant/House manager

  • Personal assistants/House managers generally provide a higher level of service and utilize a broader range of skills to complete their work. Their responsibilities can range from completing weekly chores, errands, and occasional projects to fully overseeing the functioning of the household. This may include tracking and completing maintenance tasks, scheduling service providers and ensuring work is completed in a timely manner, communicating with other people within the household (such as housekeepers, landscapers, pool companies, etc.), and managing entire to-do lists. Options for hiring a PA or House manager include going through staffing agencies, working with an individual, or hiring through a company such as Queen of To Do. Rates can vary depending on number of hours needed each week, duties assigned, and expectations as outlined in a contract or service agreement.
  
  

  Lifestyle concierge

  • This person makes sure everything in their client’s life is running as smoothly as possible. From making reservations to keeping their favorite treats on hand, a lifestyle concierge is the client’s right hand human! Encompassing all the above roles, they generally build an extensive understanding of the client’s preferences, needs, and home so that they can identify and handle issues before the client even notices or needs to mention them. The ultimate in proactive support, a lifestyle concierge can free up a client’s mental bandwidth and provide them a consistently peaceful home environment that encourages them to relax and unwind in their leisure time. Clients with higher monthly packages through Queen of To Do experience the freedom and tranquility that a lifestyle concierge can offer.