While wealthy families had the money to hire as many staff as they desired, even the middle class managed to scrape together enough extra money to hire at least one servant. Having domestic help was so essential to the social image of the Victorian household that almost 13% of the woman of England and Wales were employed as domestic help during the 19th century.

Regardless of how may servants the household employed, most families followed a logical hiring progression that was designed to ensure that as many domestic tasks as possible had a corresponding person who was responsible for either doing it or seeing that it was done.

Lowest on the domestic pecking order, and often the first to be staffed, was the daily girl or charwoman. This entry level position was usually filled by a young girl in her teens who was responsible for general housekeeping and heavy cleaning. Depending upon the size of the domestic staff, she might also have laundry and other responsibilities as well. Think Cinderella without the help of the Fairy Godmother.

The next to be hired would usually be either a housemaid or a nursemaid depending upon the age of the children in the home. The housemaid would assist with serving meals and guests, freshen up the parlour, turning down the beds, and helping the Lady of the house with her personal needs. Sometimes she might even provide domestic services to other house staff of higher rank.

The nursemaid provided all of the services normally provided by today’s nanny. She dressed the children, bathed and fed them, took them outside to play, and acted in like a mother in many ways. In some instances it was actually possible for a “wet nurse” to breast feed infants in some Victorian homes.

The next in line to be hired would normally be the cook. The Cook had absolute authority over the kitchen and, in homes where there were no domestic staff beyond the charwoman and a housemaid was often responsible for supervising and hiring the domestic help as well.

This trio of char girl, nurse or housemaid and cook was capable of providing a wide range of services to the smaller and less affluent Victorian families. But for larger households, the hiring progression continued with the next in line usually being a male attendant. Depending upon the home, his responsibilities usually ranged from general maintenance, to providing valet services to the Lord of the mansion. He might also double as the stable keeper and drive the carriage as well.

For those households with larger staff needs, domestic staff were selected to fill specialized positions which varied among families. Available positions included a lady’s maid, kitchen maid, laundry maid, housekeeper (who automatically became the domestic staff supervisor unless a Butler was hired), groomsman, coachman, footman, a chef and a whole variety of upper and lower parlour maids, chamber maids and more. The very wealthy seemed to have a maid for every reason.

For homes with property (known as landed estates), there was always an assortment of grounds men, gardeners, stable boys and gamekeepers positions available.

The hours were long and the pay was dismal, but there was a sense of pride in being a valued domestic. In fact, many servants spent a lifetime with the same employer and often watched the children grow into the new Lords and Ladies of the Manor.

Domestic Services franchises cover a variety of services for example:-

Domestic Cleaning Franchise opportunities Domestic premises always require cleaning whether it be general house cleaning, carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning and other such services.
Handyman Franchise opportunities Theres always odd jobs that need doing in the house and finding a handyman is not as easy these days as it was. Specialist handyman franchise opportunities have been formed which provide for this marketplace.
Kitchen Service Franchise businesses Kitchen services such as oven cleaning cover the sort of jobs people put off forever and having another person do it for them is an desirable offer. Kitchen door replacement franchise opportunities can give a facelift to a kitchen which is in need of a sprucing up.
Utility Franchise opportunities Gas and Electrical services are more and more regulated and there is a perpetual requirement for people with the training to perform home electrical and gas servicing and maintenance.
As with any business investment, when looking into taking on a Domestic Services Franchise business its prudent to carry out your research properly:-

What is it you enjoy doing? Study the selections and see what works best for you. You can see our %LINK3% section for a helpful variety of franchise businesses.
Take time to assess your funds and savings… what are the franchise costs and setup charges involved in the franchises for sale that are of interest to you
Make contact with the franchisors which attract you and discover everything you can in relation to their systems.
Organise to go to the franchisors head offices and get some insight into their operation and backup facilities.
Pick up a list of franchisees that you can chat to regarding each franchise. This will usually provide you a reasonable, on-the-ground view from those people who are operating the franchise system as a lifestyle.
Ensure you are up to date on the legal side of investing in a franchise by talking to a professional franchise lawyer.
A good number of the major banks have franchise departments… get in touch with them to discover what funding and facilities are offered.
In conclusion, make your choice and commit yourself to the necessary training and working the established system.

Domestic services, and more particularly home cleaning, relieves from your family’s shoulders all the workload necessary. To make ends meet, a lot of individuals are now so much more focused on their careers, that they no longer have time to allot to cleaning. This makes it always a better option to hire domestic cleaning services. The benefits from these services range from keeping up the hygiene of your home up to protecting your valuable property investment.

Cleanliness and hygiene are essential to keep in mind, to counter potential health risks and hazards. Reliable cleaners are essentially equipped with the right knowledge and expertise to clean your home down to the last speck of dirt or bacterium. There are a set of governing rules and licenses that need to be acquired by a cleaning company to be accorded clearance to offer such services. Perhaps one of the primary concerns about home cleaning is cost. In any type of product or service, cost and pricing is no longer an issue when we are equipped with accurate and comprehensive market information. There are now numerous resources, particularly on the internet, which can provide you with the best rates.

Aside from health and time issues, home cleaning provides a clean and tidy home which ultimately reflects your good qualities as a person. When your home is clean, tidy and organized, your friends, guests and onlookers will definitely receive a positive impression. Home cleaning and other domestic services are essential when we celebrate certain occasions, parties and gatherings. You’d have a hard time dealing with all the resulting mess all by yourself.

You can find a variety of types of domestic services… home cleaning, carpet cleaning, after-party cleaning, end-of-tenancy cleaning, shampooing, etc. But prior to contracting a particular company, you should have an idea as to which particular cleaning tasks need to be done. To be able to find really reliable cleaners, you could first gather and compare quotations, check relevant information from the internet and the newspaper, and get recommendations from your friends, or use those companies who have earned the most positive customer reviews. Finally, remember that your home is part of your investment, therefore it is a must to take good care of it.

And now I’d like to recommend to you Home Sparkle, a home cleaning company with a difference. We provide a range of domestic cleaning services across North London, with a team of reliable and thorough cleaners, who ensure your house, flat or home sparkles! If you want a clean and tidy house before or after your tenants move, trust Homesparkle. We also help with your home management, offering support with services that give you more time to relax and enjoy y