It's a hard time for someone trying to save money. You can cheap out a little bit on gifts, but there's a fine line between "being creative with a low-budget" and "what the heck IS this you cheap jerk?"
After cutting back the spending limit, and the amount of people you're buying for, some money is saved, but it still ends up costing a lot.
I was thinking the other day about what to do, and my mom had a pretty good suggestion.
As a summer job last year (which ran into fall too) I cleaned 4 houses. I really liked it, and I'm pretty good at it. And I have almost all of December off of school. So, here's my idea:
Christmas Cleaning.
Pre-decorating, pre + post party (Christmas or New Years), or just as a Christmas treat for yourself.
I have yet to come up with a price, mostly because some houses are big, and some are small. Some are close to my house, and some are far away. Some houses have many people living in them, and some do not. So in those respects, an hourly rate isn't the best bet. I'm trying to work out a fair way of setting the price, because I guess it doesn't look professional to walk into a house and say "um...... how about.... 50 bucks? Sound good?"
Also, I usually use whatever cleaning supplies are in the house, because some people are particular about the products that are used in their home (smells, allergies, etc) but I do have a few things of my own. I live in Abbotsford, but would drive into Langley if it's not TOO far away.
Anyways. If this sounds good to you, or any of your friends (please spread the word), let me know!
Justine Janzen
by email: justine_janzen@yahoo.ca
by phone: 604-857-9716
I'm planning to start in December, but I could probably do a few sometime this month too.
References are available!
(i really hope someone reads this:P)
