The Art of Order

Doesn’t have voicemail. Doesn’t return emails. Don’t waste your time.

I’m giving the woman who came to clean for us the benefit of the doubt because our house was really dirty at the time. It’s possible that it was just too much for one person to do in three hours. But instead of doing a haphazard job on everything, she should have told us that she couldn’t do it all in the three hours so what should she focus on, or asked if we wanted to pay more for the extra time. My big gripes were: (1) We were told to strip our bed so the housecleaner could make it up. We did this (I’ve never been instructed to strip the bed before — other cleaners do it themselves) and put clean sheets on the bed with the blanket and comforter folded over the end of the bed. The cleaner took the mattress pad and blanket off the bed (why?!), threw those in the corner, then put on the sheets but nothing else. The comforter was left in a heap at the end of the bed. The pillows were bare. (2) There were some dirty dishes in the sink. Other cleaners I’ve had wash up dishes as part of the service so I assumed that was included. Whether it was or not, I wasn’t told. Instead, she just put everything — including non-​stick pans, our best knives, and wineglass — into the dishwasher. Luckily she didn’t run it (again, why?) and so I was able to rescue these items before they were damaged by the machine. (3) She moved NOTHING to dust. Our dresser has a clock, a photo, and my jewelry box on it. It’s not at all cluttered. She didn’t move any of these items and just did a sweep around them. This is how she did all the dusting. I had to go through and re-​do all of it. Finally, we were home for a bit while she was working and she told us all about the complications of her (apparently messy) divorce. It’s just not professional to dive into your personal details in the middle of providing a service for clients, no matter what that service is, unless you’ve known them a long, long, long time and you’ve developed a friendship. On the plus side, the rugs and floors were clean and the bathroom looked fine. Maybe I’m just spoiled because I had the BEST maids in D.C. (If you live up there, look up Standard Cleaning and ask for Ana. They are just top notch and so reasonable.) My previous maid service did more than this cleaner did, for less money (and we’re talking less money in D.C. vs. Austin). I like to hire people to clean because I’m not especially good at it. I like how thorough professionals are. The service I got was far worse than what I could have done myself.

I discovered The Art of Order through the Living Social Deals offer. Sounded like an excellent deal and perfect timing considering I had a new roommate about to move in at the end of the month. However, I was sadly disappointed with the service.
First, there were two rescheduled appointments on their end before they could actually show. Not the most convenient thing for me. Secondly, they failed to mention to me that if I had pets, they would need to use my own vacuum cleaner for the carpet and tile floors. This would not have been a problem as I have a carpet vacuum cleaner and tile floor vacuum cleaner but I came home to the whole house unvacuumed. They should have called me to let me know they couldn’t use their own supplies and I would have told them where to find the vacuums. Afterall, isn’t that why we leave them our phone numbers in case they have questions?
I called to complain about the fact that my whole house was essentially still dirty. Not even the sweeping/​broom job on the tile floor was sufficient as leaves were still in corners. The lady who answered the phone promised someone would call me back and possibly I could schedule a return visit. But no such person ever called.
After several initial rescheduled appointments, inadequate service and no returned phone calls, I opted to stop trying altogether. I no longer wanted to do buisness of any kind with these people.
I will never use The Art of Order again and I will never recommend it to anyone either.

I first discovered The Art of Order during a Living Social promotion. At the time I was currently using Molly Maids for my cleaning needs and had been very unhappy with their service. I decided to give Art of Order a try and as soon as I saw the cleaning results I had to sign up for monthly cleanings. The service is excellent! Excellent customer service all the way around and customizable cleanings to suit all of your needs.

I found The Art of Order through
and decided to use them to reorganize my cramped apartment. Lori was super friendly and had lots of great ideas on how to declutter my home and keep things organized with the small amount of space I have. I scheduled the appointment and it only took about 2 hours and my place completely changed and i have some room to breath and store a few items which I never had before. I highly recommend her and her team.

Would not recommend this service. I was dissatisfied with my service and the owner basically chewed my head off for even questioning it. Did not listen, did not do any of the things the previous reviewer said. Hate to leave a bad review but when an owner practically yells at you on the phone for a lack of communication, I have to speak up.
Extremely unprofessional behavior, I work in the service industry and am mostly just disappointed that I ever contacted them.