Do you ever casually go about your day, popping into the kitchen for a little peanut butter toast and then the next thing you know you’re turning over the toaster oven because it’s been so long and you just can’t take the crumbs anymore?

Hiring just the right housekeeper can be life-altering for the busy family. Now this may seem to be a little over-the-top, but I am serious. Think about your life-whether single, a couple or a family-you have no time. No time to keep your home as organized or clean as you would like. No time to do the smaller tidying jobs that would make a huge difference.

Maybe you struggle to fold laundry, clean ovens and counter tops, or scrub bathrooms. Maybe you need to clean your house fast for a party, need a hotel maid to help scrub motel rooms, or are looking for a professional to help with hospital housekeeping.

It seems cliched to say it, but often we let things slip through the cracks. We spend too much time thinking about them, too much energy worrying about them. You deserve a house cleaner or home maker to make your life easier. You deserve professional house cleaning, or a dedicated housekeeper.

And here enters great housekeeping. Now to be realistic, all relationships whether working or personal, have a starting point, and with the right match, can grow into something much more. It is certainly so with a new housekeeper. You look for certain qualities in a person, offer them a job and hope that it was a good choice.

went to the opinions of my friends. I asked each of them the same question. “What is the one quality that you would have to have to see when hiring a new housekeeper?” Below, I’ve distilled down their answers.