April Flowers 2003 Playgroup

I posted a classified on our church bulletin board that I'm looking clean houses part time. Well, I got my first inquiry. UH oh! I have no idea what to charge. Her email only says it would be once/month and she has a detailed list of to-do.
What fee should I go in with? or how should I base my fee? I gave her my phone number and will probably talk to her within the next couple of days. I need some kind of $ amount to come to the table I guess.
I know some of you use house cleaning services. What advice or suggestion can you give me?

(I probably should have thought of that before posting an ad huh? LOL)

I think alot of the rates depend on the area you live in.  My area is not super expensive as far as those services go...... I asked a neighbor who cleans offices and two neighbors who have a cleaning person each week.

The office cleaner makes $15 / hr but only works in the evenings etc when no one is there.

The others I asked ranged between $11-$15 and hour. However one woman has a cleaning person for 7 hours once a week while she is out of the house for work and it costs her $80 for the day. Not sure if that helps but gl.

Our cleaning person (who I only had a brief time 3 years ago, because I was always cleaning after she left was $10 an hour)

I agree that it would be different depending on the area that you live in.  I recently went back to work, and in addition to my Tastefully Simple business it just doesn't leave much time for cleaning.   I  have some friends who started a cleaning business and I offered my house to them, lol!  I get a GREAT deal, as they clean my house (about 1,200 sq ft) weekly for $45.  Normally they charge closer to $60 and hour, but I was able to refer a lot of people to them so I got a bit of a deal. :)

They dust, vacuum, mop, clean bathrooms and the kitchen as well as put clean sheets on our beds.  Takes about an hour and a half I believe.

I know a cleaning service (like Merry Maids) would probably start closer to $80, which is why many people prefer individuals as opposed to a company.

Hope this helps, and best wishes on your new venture!