Available: wife for rent. But don't go getting the wrong idea -- this is not some sort of by-the-hour mail-order-bride deal.

If you take up Lakeisha Butterfield's offer of services, you will get a clean home and an orderly household but that is where the wifely duties stop.

Miss Butterfield is the operator of the newly formed Rent-a-Wife Maid Service.

The 26-year-old has moved into the new business field following ten years of working at restaurants around the Island.

It is a far cry from where many would have thought the young woman would have ended up. She was a typical youngster when it came to cleanliness. As a student at Paget Primary and then the Christian Deliverance Academy, Miss Butterfield's mother had a hard time getting her to clean her own room -- let alone someone else's.

"As a little girl, about 12 or 13 years old, my mom would have our house spic and span but she would leave my room alone,'' recalled Miss Butterfield.

"She would ask me to clean it up and I would say `why, who's going to see it untidy? It's not like a prince or princess is going to be stopping by'.'' But she admitted: "Eventually I started doing it.'' In between waiting tables she began helping her mother at cleaning jobs.

"She showed me the tricks of the trade,'' she said.

Her mother was a cleaning veteran with some 26 years experience behind her mop and broom having worked as a housekeeper in local guest accommodations before starting her own cleaning service.

But she is now ready to retire after a long bout of illness.

During that time Miss Butterfield continued to help her mother who has about ten regular clients -- some who she sees every week and some who she may see once or twice a month.

Miss Butterfield has set up her own operation with a unique name.

"A lot of people said I must have seen the Oprah Winfrey show where a gentleman was talking about his rent-a-husband service when I came up with the name Rent-a-Wife Maid Services but I had it in my head for a while,'' she said.

And four months later she has 13 clients -- just through word of mouth -- and more people on a waiting list. Her business cards have been printed up along with advertising flyers which have begun to circulate though Hamilton businesses which is where she sees most of her customers coming from.

"People in the corporate world are too busy to come home and worry about things like cleaning the house and doing the laundry or cleaning their fridge out.

"That's where I come in. I do general house cleaning including the heavier house cleaning like windows.

"Then there are some women who don't mind cleaning the house but stay out of the kitchen and bathrooms so I will do them for them.

"I have a kitchen and bathroom special for $75 where I clean out the oven, the fridge, the deep freezer and all the cabinets, wash everything, put down contact paper on the shelves and put it all back. I got the idea to do this from a lady who called me just after Christmas and begged me to do it for her.

There are a lot of people out there who keep their places clean but do not have the time to do this sort of housework.'' Miss Butterfield also offers other services to her clients in a bid to keep their lives running smoothly.

"I will even go around town and pay bills for my clients if they need me to.

I will do everything a wife would do when it comes to maintaining the household.'' She did her research before setting up her business and found out other cleaning companies charged from $20 to $25 an hour.

She decided to offer a rate of $15 per hour.

Miss Butterfield said: "I try to keep my self at a medium and only charge $15 an hour.'' However if her clients are in need, she will make concessions. "There are some people, like single mothers, who are struggling with two or three jobs and have no time for housework so I give them a break.

"I try to work with my clients.'' With her mother's pending retirement, Miss Butterfield does not have to worry about competing against her and will even see her business benefit.

"When she goes home, I will take on her clients,'' she said.

She hopes eventually to offer a wash and press service.

The young businesswoman has run into some challenges however which threaten to hamper the growth of her business.

"Nowadays it is hard to find good help,'' she stated. "I've learned that it is hard to get good, honest, reliable people to work for you. I cannot seem to get the right staff. I do not want to hire anyone that I have to keep looking over my shoulder at. What my clients like about me is that I don't do things like use their phone or smoke on their premises.'' However former staff have not always behaved that way.

"It was horrible. In the week I first started I had one girl working with me who, every time I turned around, was sitting on the client's phone and smoking.

"Luckily the client was a friend of mine and after I dealt with the problem he understood.'' Ready to clean: Rent-a-Wife Maid Services operator Lakeisha Butterfield will clean your house and keep your household running smoothly -- but that's as far as it goes.