Teens: You Can Earn Money Cleaning Houses!

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If you’re a teenager looking for a way to earn extra money, you can earn some quick cash cleaning houses—starting right away! The only thing you need is energy, transportation, and a few cleaning supplies. Once you have these things, you can start looking for people who need their homes cleaned, and who either don’t have the time, the inclination, or the ability to do it for themselves.

Make a list of all the house cleaning supplies you’ll need. Consider window cleaner (for mirrors, especially), floor cleaner, all-purpose spray cleaner, and furniture polish. You’ll also need paper towels, cleaning rags, a broom, dustpan and mop. Many of your customers will let you use their vacuum and even their broom, mop and dustpan if you ask. You may want to buy supplies by the case to save money, but that’s not mandatory when you’re first starting out.

Another important thing you’ll need is transportation. Check with your parents or a friend if you don’t drive. If your customer is a friend of the family, she may even be willing to pick you up if needed. This isn’t recommended, however, since it’s unprofessional and you’ll do better to appear as professional as possible. If you have a friend who drives, he can drive you to you job and pick you up in return for gas money if he will.

Decide how much you plan to charge. Some homes will be filthy and the clients may want everything cleaned from the floors to laundry. You can charge by the hour or by the size of the home and the tasks involved. You may want to negotiate to get a customer, and you don’t want to set a rate that the customer is unwilling to pay. Set a rate that you’re comfortable with, though, since you’ll be the one doing the work.

When you first start, you can clean your own home to get a feel as to whether or not this is something you’d want to do. Act as if were actually cleaning a customer’s home: vacuum, wash the windows, dust, sweep and mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, do the laundry, etc.

Some homes will have stairs, so you have to be sure you can handle carrying the vacuum up and down the stairs or see if you can find a small vacuum that’s made for the job. Once you get a feel for the work, you’ll be ready to find customers.

Make up some flyers and post them everywhere around town. If you post them in a store, ask the store owner for permission. Also ask friends and neighbors, your parent’s co-workers, and parents of your friends if they need any work done.

People who know you are good first customers. They already know you and will trust you around their home. It’s still important to always give your parents the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any homes you’ll be cleaning so they know where you’ll be at any given time.

Eventually, you’ll be working in the homes of people you don’t know so you always want to remain safe. That’s why it’s may be best to have a friend or family member work along with you, or at the very least be sure your customer knows your parents have dropped you off and will return at a specific time.

Do your best to work only during daylight hours. If a job will take a long time, arrive early in the morning so you’ll be finished before it gets dark.

Always start the laundry first thing so you can work on it as your day progresses. While the laundry is going, you can make the beds then clean the bathrooms. A helper will certainly make the job go faster if you can find one.

When you get into cleaning houses as a part-time business, it’ll take energy and time, as well as dedication. Don’t strain yourself physically, but don’t be afraid to work hard either. Practice safe habits, don’t overdo the physical labor and cleaning houses makes a great way to earn some extra money.

Tags: Business Ideas, Business start-up, house cleaning business, Teen Business Ideas