Hiring just the right housekeeper can be life-altering for the busy family. Now this may seem to be a little over-the-top, but I am serious. Think about your life-whether single, a couple or a family-you have no time. No time to keep your home as organized or clean as you would like. No time to do the smaller tidying jobs that would make a huge difference.

Maybe you struggle to fold laundry, clean ovens and counter tops, or scrub bathrooms. Maybe you need to clean your house fast for a party, need a hotel maid to help scrub motel rooms, or are looking for a professional to help with hospital housekeeping.

It seems cliched to say it, but often we let things slip through the cracks. We spend too much time thinking about them, too much energy worrying about them. You deserve a house cleaner or home maker to make your life easier. You deserve professional house cleaning, or a dedicated housekeeper.

And here enters great housekeeping. Now to be realistic, all relationships whether working or personal, have a starting point, and with the right match, can grow into something much more. It is certainly so with a new housekeeper. You look for certain qualities in a person, offer them a job and hope that it was a good choice.

went to the opinions of my friends. I asked each of them the same question. “What is the one quality that you would have to have to see when hiring a new housekeeper?” Below, I’ve distilled down their answers.

“I am still learning about my home. If you can’t do it yourself, find good service people and treat them well.” — Terry (mom to our Human Resources Coordinator, Louisa)

Raise your hand if you grew up with a mom (or another parental figure) constantly reminding you to clean your room. Often, our earliest memories of figuring out how to tidy up and take care of our homes are with our moms—they taught us how to do laundry, how to do the dishes, and how to make our beds. So it should come as no surprise that when we asked our moms for their best homekeeping advice, they came back with some great tips.

Most agreed on a few major themes: it’s important to make sure everything has a home, that you put things back when you take them out, and that your home is an inviting, relaxing place to come home to—and invite others to.

Hiring just the right housekeeper can be life-altering for the busy family. Now this may seem to be a little over-the-top, but I am serious. Think about your life-whether single, a couple or a family-you have no time. No time to keep your home as organized or clean as you would like. No time to do the smaller tidying jobs that would make a huge difference.

Maybe you struggle to fold laundry, clean ovens and counter tops, or scrub bathrooms. Maybe you need to clean your house fast for a party, need a hotel maid to help scrub motel rooms, or are looking for a professional to help with hospital housekeeping.

It seems cliched to say it, but often we let things slip through the cracks. We spend too much time thinking about them, too much energy worrying about them. You deserve a house cleaner or home maker to make your life easier. You deserve professional house cleaning, or a dedicated housekeeper.

And here enters great housekeeping. Now to be realistic, all relationships whether working or personal, have a starting point, and with the right match, can grow into something much more. It is certainly so with a new housekeeper. You look for certain qualities in a person, offer them a job and hope that it was a good choice.

went to the opinions of my friends. I asked each of them the same question. “What is the one quality that you would have to have to see when hiring a new housekeeper?” Below, I’ve distilled down their answers.