For many of us domestically challenged folks, the prospect of hiring household help seems like the ultimate luxury. And while you might be surprised to find out that a one-time visit from a professional maid service can actually be affordable, running on average about $50 (sometimes less if you can land yourself a special for first-time customers), some of us just can't bring ourselves to pick up the phone and hire someone to clean our houses. After all, that's something we can do ourselves, right? A root canal might seem like a more pleasant alternative to scrubbing your bathroom and cleaning the kids' bedrooms, and you may put those chores off for weeks as if they're the plague, but still you avoid paying someone else to do the job for you. For a growing number of time-pressed Americans, however, hiring a professional maid service is something we're quite happy to do. Since our time is so limited between work and home responsibilities, performing household chores is hardly how we want to spend the few free hours left over at the end of the day. But how do you hire a service in which you can be confident? You don't want to hire a so-called professional cleaning service only to discover upon their departure that your microwave still contains traces of last week's reheated lasagna or that your kitchen floors haven't been swept. Ask your friends and neighbors for recommendations. If you don't know of anyone off-hand who has recently used a maid service, open the Yellow Pages, and as you begin calling various companies, ask each one for a list of their recent references. You'll want to obtain at least three estimates before you choose a service, and make sure that you've called at least one of their references first. Determine exactly which tasks you need a professional cleaning service to perform. If it's easy for you to take care of the more general chores, and you really need someone to assume responsibility for the more laborious tasks like window-washing, dusting, bathrooms and kitchen, make sure you communicate those preferences to your prospective cleaning service. You could save yourself a considerable amount of money in the process. As you begin to speak with companies, ask them to come to your home for an on-premises interview. This will ensure that the service is able to determine the magnitude of the job, and it gives them the opportunity to decline if they feel it's beyond their present capabilities. In addition, if they determine the price to clean your home is higher than they originally expected, they can communicate the price to you and avoid surprises later. Before you speak with any companies, draw up a list of the chores you need performed in your home. Ask the service representative to review the list, and inform you of any chore they cannot clean for you. Before the representative leaves, make sure you have a firm estimate in writing. Ask how long the cleaning service has been in business. Obviously, a company with ... | 
