Anyone get rid of their cleaning people/person ~ was it manageable?

[2disneyboys]

everyone's opinion on here will vary.... I don't have a cleaning lady and prob never will. (dh & I also work full time, have 2 kids involved in various sports not to mention homework, and we are active in our church) and we (not I) do our own cleaning. and as my DH and youngest son have severe asthma and allergies, a "lick and a shine" don't cut it for our house.. we "deep" clean nearly every week and somehow still have family time . HOWEVER.... I love having a weekly yard service... they come once a week and do the basic stuff... cut, edge, rake etc.. THAT saves us more time then anything...and it lets me spend more time doing the fun stuff in the yard as a family (gardening etc) So I would not miss a cleaning service, but I would really really miss my yard service!

If financially it does not hurt you to have a cleaning service and it makes you happy, then go for it... the answer is not if its wrong or right for everyone else, all it matters is if its "right" for you.

 

[mhsjax]

everyone's opinion on here will vary.... I don't have a cleaning lady and prob never will. (dh & I also work full time, have 2 kids involved in various sports not to mention homework, and we are active in our church) and we (not I) do our own cleaning. and as my DH and youngest son have severe asthma and allergies, a "lick and a shine" don't cut it for our house.. we "deep" clean nearly every week and somehow still have family time . HOWEVER.... I love having a weekly yard service... they come once a week and do the basic stuff... cut, edge, rake etc.. THAT saves us more time then anything...and it lets me spend more time doing the fun stuff in the yard as a family (gardening etc) So I would not miss a cleaning service, but I would really really miss my yard service!

If financially it does not hurt you to have a cleaning service and it makes you happy, then go for it... the answer is not if its wrong or right for everyone else, all it matters is if its "right" for you.

Yep that yard service helps. Some people hate cleaning services because they don't want anyone cleaning their house, I understand that.

I had one when I had 3 kids under the age of 4. DH was working 6 hour days gone 12 hours of those days and on shifts, so I couldn't exactly vacuum and make all that noise when he was sleeping, so it made sense for me to have someone come in while he was at work. She came every other week and I cleaned in between. I know longer have her, kids are much older and DH work schedule has calmed down. We do still have a yard service, but ours is almost an acre and frankly we hate yard work, and I can't stand the Florida heat. My next door neighbor is just the opposite, (crazy thing) she loves outside and will work all day in 98 degree heat, but had a cleaning service once a week.

 

[walkdmc]

I got rid of my cleaners in July, 7 months after I lost my job. I couldn't justify having them and not working, even though DH's salary is enough to cover the cost.

It has been hard to keep up with all the dust and vacuuming. If I'm doing laundry, I'm not wiping the baseboards, etc. I find it overwhelming and as a result, I'm cranky and my house doesn't look as good as when I had cleaners I can't wait to return to work, just so I can have a good reason to re-hire the cleaners, LOL!

If you can afford it, I wouldn't quit them. Plus, you're working FT, even more reason to have them.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Math class?
168 hours in a week.
55 for work.
10 for grad school.
10 for homeschooling (it doesn't take homeschooled kids as long to do their work, plus mine are old enough that a fair bit does not involve me)
49 for sleep

That leaves me 6.5 hours per day (average) for other things. Utilizing my time wisely allowed me to do all of that. In that 6.5 hours, I also prepared homemade meals (no processed foods), repaired plumbing, painted walls, gardened, and still found time to do some fun stuff with the kids along the way (not the world hunger part, of course ) Hard does not mean impossible.

A little bit of daily maintenance goes a very long way to reducing the need for the clean-a-thon that so many people seem to think is necessary. Time management is a beautiful thing.

I agree. Cleaning isn't supposed to be pleasant. I mean, I can see why people that work might need some help cleaning but a SAHM that has a cleaner come in? Really? To me, that's just spoiled and a waste of money. It also explains some of the posts on here that complain about Mousekeeping...people just aren't used to cleaning up their own messes anymore.

Putting my flame suit on but I'm sorry, I would rather put my money towards better things- not towards something that any responsible adult should be able to do for themselves.

 

[pearlieq]

Putting my flame suit on but I'm sorry, I would rather put my money towards better things- not towards something that any responsible adult should be able to do for themselves.

I didn't say I'm not able, I said I don't care to.

This is my "better things". Paying for cleaning service is not depriving me of something else I want.

I also imagine the person I employ appreciates having a job.

 

[brittsmum1998]

I enjoy having cleaners come in also and I don't work.

I have chronic conditions and frankly would rather save my energy for other more fun things w/ family.

That being said, I cancelled the cleaners for one month due to some remodeling in the living room. I usually have them come in every other week. i found that I couldn't clean the house as well, could be lazy, could be illness . I never had the "energy" to clean it as well as they did and really missed them coming. They started coming this past Tuesday, and is always the case, DH noticed right away and complimented (as usual) how good a job they do.

 

[mhsjax]

I agree. Cleaning isn't supposed to be pleasant. I mean, I can see why people that work might need some help cleaning but a SAHM that has a cleaner come in? Really? To me, that's just spoiled and a waste of money. It also explains some of the posts on here that complain about Mousekeeping...people just aren't used to cleaning up their own messes anymore.

Putting my flame suit on but I'm sorry, I would rather put my money towards better things- not towards something that any responsible adult should be able to do for themselves.

So why do you care how other people spend their money, I believe the question was is it manageable, she didn't ask about money and what you thought was a good way to spend it or if she was spoiled or responsible.

 

[Chelley00]

I agree with the everyone pitches in concept - we also do that. However, I think there a lot of factors (size of house and level of expected cleaning desired). There is no way my house could be cleaned in 15-20 minutes day 2-3 days a week even if all 5 of us did it. Washing the floors and scrubbing the showers takes that much time.

When I clean my house I expect it very clean - a half done, quick job is not acceptable.

It's not a half done job, I assure you. My house is very clean (I grew up with a Marine Corps dad and a nurse for a mother....white glove inspections!) But, if you have a cleaning lady come in for 3 hours every other week, you can do the same cleaning in smaller spurts during the week. One night I clean one bathroom. 20 minutes. The next night I might dust and DH will vacuum. I'm not killing myself on weekends to get things done, but I'm also not spending my entire evening cleaning my entire house. It's all in budgeting time.

 

[princesspeach]

I agree. Cleaning isn't supposed to be pleasant. I mean, I can see why people that work might need some help cleaning but a SAHM that has a cleaner come in? Really? To me, that's just spoiled and a waste of money. It also explains some of the posts on here that complain about Mousekeeping...people just aren't used to cleaning up their own messes anymore.

Putting my flame suit on but I'm sorry, I would rather put my money towards better things- not towards something that any responsible adult should be able to do for themselves.

If I could stay home and have a cleaning lady I would do it in a heart beat spoiled or not. Why do you care how people spend their money. That sounds like jealosy. Some people actually make enough money to afford cleaning people and other things. I love my cleaning lady and I only work part- time. I can easily afford it, and I am providing a job for someone else and thats a good thing. I can't wait to give her a nice christmas bonus. She is not near as fortunate as we are. I feel good about employing someone to do a job I hate. Not a waste of money for me.

 

[SDSorority]

Ok - so my husband has proposed we cancel our cleaning people. A few years ago I would have said no but recently I am open to the idea. We don't need to do it for financial reason at all but my husband likes to save money (I'm the spender) and he's making a case we can do it ourselves (which we can).

For those that have canceled their cleaning people/person - did you find it maneagable transitioning back into cleaning yourself? One of the benefits we had with cleaning people/person was that we got to spend more time as a family out and about doing things together (i.e. going to the park, swimming pool) so I am a bit worried that we won't have as much time to do those things. (Both my husband and I have full time jobs).

We got rid of ours. THANK GAWD I found the flylady. www.flylady.net She breaks things down into manageable bits. 15min a day, plus 1 hour a week and my house is spotless.

 

[luvsJack]

Hmmmmm. I don't have a cleaning lady. Can't afford it. wouldn't have one if I could. Do I care if someone else has one? No--spend your money how you want. The question was though--"was it manageable?"

I wanted to come in and put a few and say "no we are just living in a pig sty' decided not to. But, the question just kills me! Of course its managable! You do what you have to do! Families have been working and cleaning for years without someone hired to do it for them, I don't think that it has suddenly become something people cannot do!

I work 40 hours a week, spend a minimum of 20 hours per week on school, take care of dd by myself throughout the week--cooking, washing clothes, running her to activities, etc. And on Saturday morning we get up and spend a couple of hours getting the house **** and span. And then enjoy the rest of our weekend. (we don't clean the baseboards on a weekly basis but really don't see the need either) Its just a matter of what you WANT to do.

OP, if you do not WANT to do without a cleaning lady--keep her. If you WANT to do it yourself--get rid of her. But, "is it managable?" Seriously?

 

[mookie]

I agree. Cleaning isn't supposed to be pleasant. I mean, I can see why people that work might need some help cleaning but a SAHM that has a cleaner come in? Really? To me, that's just spoiled and a waste of money. It also explains some of the posts on here that complain about Mousekeeping...people just aren't used to cleaning up their own messes anymore.

Putting my flame suit on but I'm sorry, I would rather put my money towards better things- not towards something that any responsible adult should be able to do for themselves.

Glad you have your flame suit on, because this is just plain ridiculous. Are you saying because I am a SAHM that I don't work or that I am lazy because I have a cleaning lady? I have 3 kids under the age of 7. Just the daily tasks of taking care of them is enough. Feeding them, picking up after them, doing their laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, etc. Cleaning is something that tends to get put to the wayside not because I am LAZY, but because I have many other things to do. I'm not getting into the SAHM/Working Mom debate, but I will tell you that when I was working I managed over 600 volunteers on a daily basis, and that job was CAKE compared to taking care of our house and kids on a daily basis. Just because I am a SAHM and have a cleaning service come to do the major tasks that would take time away from my kids doesn't make me lazy, it makes me realize that my time to be spent as a SAHM was so that I could raise my kids....not put them in front of a TV while I deep cleaned the house all day. Your assumptions are not only offensive, but very judgemental in the case that you don't know what goes on in my life on a daily basis, so for you to say that I am not a responsible adult because I don't clean my shower is very close-minded.

 

[ocalla]

Keep the cleaning lady!!!

I would love to have one, but I am not sure how to go about finding one.

How did you find yours? And how did you go about trusting that person in your home? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[SaraJayne]

Glad you have your flame suit on, because this is just plain ridiculous. Are you saying because I am a SAHM that I don't work or that I am lazy because I have a cleaning lady? I have 3 kids under the age of 7. Just the daily tasks of taking care of them is enough. Feeding them, picking up after them, doing their laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, etc. Cleaning is something that tends to get put to the wayside not because I am LAZY, but because I have many other things to do. I'm not getting into the SAHM/Working Mom debate, but I will tell you that when I was working I managed over 600 volunteers on a daily basis, and that job was CAKE compared to taking care of our house and kids on a daily basis. Just because I am a SAHM and have a cleaning service come to do the major tasks that would take time away from my kids doesn't make me lazy, it makes me realize that my time to be spent as a SAHM was so that I could raise my kids....not put them in front of a TV while I deep cleaned the house all day. Your assumptions are not only offensive, but very judgemental in the case that you don't know what goes on in my life on a daily basis, so for you to say that I am not a responsible adult because I don't clean my shower is very close-minded.

In my opinion, yes, it does make you lazy, unless you are physically impaired in some way. Your opinion is obviously different.

Unless you live in a museum, it doesn't take an entire day to clean a house. And why in the world would you "deep clean" every single day?

Millions of men and women manage to work (some outside the home), raise children, volunteer, run errands, pay bills, grocery shop, etc while still keeping their houses in livable condition. Shocking, I know, but it happens every single day.

 

[mookie]

In my opinion, yes, it does make you lazy, unless you are physically impaired in some way. Your opinion is obviously different.

Unless you live in a museum, it doesn't take an entire day to clean a house. And why in the world would you "deep clean" every single day?

Millions of men and women manage to work (some outside the home), raise children, volunteer, run errands, pay bills, grocery shop, etc while still keeping their houses in livable condition. Shocking, I know, but it happens every single day.

Again, it's not a matter of being ABLE to do it. I am CHOOSING to do it because that time spent cleaning is less time for the kids. I CHOSE to stay home to spend time with them...not to deep clean my house. It's no different than a working person CHOOSING to spend their time at home doing other things except cleaning, also. And if I can afford it, SAHM or not....so be it. But to think for a SECOND that I sit around eating bon bons because I have a cleaning service is just ignorant.

I've been on both sides, and I can see where someone who has never stayed home with kids would think that. I once did. But I will say it over and over again...working and not staying home was way easier than staying home with kids.

Now, since we are off-topic and have hijacked the post, I'll bring it back. Is it managable without a cleaning lady? Absolutely. But it's how you want to spend your time...and if you can afford it, go for it.

 

[declansdad]

Does anyone else find it ironic that there are so many people who pay for a cleaning service and they are discussing it on the Budget Board???

 

[mookie]

In my opinion, yes, it does make you lazy, unless you are physically impaired in some way. Your opinion is obviously different.

Unless you live in a museum, it doesn't take an entire day to clean a house. And why in the world would you "deep clean" every single day?

And for the record, why would I deep clean every day? I wouldn't. But when you have 3 kids who need your time throughout the day, you can't "deep clean" in a day w/o getting interrupted 600 times for various things, and that makes the job take twice as long. Which means that most times, when I didn't have a cleaning lady, it took longer for each room because of all of the needs of the kids would make me have to stop. This would mean that I would usually have to take a few rooms each day. Spread that out over a weeks time, and that time adds up significantly.

 

[mhsjax]

If you have 3 kids and a cleaning lady and you don't work, IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU LAZY. Been there done that. Mine are older now, so I don't have one, but when I do go back to work, or IF I do go back to work, yep I will have one.

Yes you can clean something everyday, bathrooms one day, vacuum the next, ect. My thing is this, when I had mine, she came every other week, and for the one day, everything was clean at the same time, the floors weren't in need of vacuum, the bathrooms were all done, the furniture was all dusted at the same time. I liked my WHOLE house very clean. Not just a few rooms being clean then the next day something else being clean. And, very important here, if you have kids I don't care what or how she cleans, you are still doing some cleaning before she comes back. To call someone lazy is rude. Maybe that person volunteers, or has other commitments. I have a friend that has 3 and stays home, but with her volunteering and PTO and her sports and her kids ports, she puts in more hours than most folks that work.

Who cares if someone has a cleaning service, it is their money and time, who are we to say that anyone is lazy or spoiled. That is rude and wrong. But then again maybe those that think that are just green with envy.

For what it is worth, I do have friends that deep clean everyday, it is just the way they live, again who are you to judge it. I guess your way is right and the only way, NOT.

 

[shortbun]

No way I would give up my cleaning team. They come once a week and I clean most surfaces once a week too. They save me four hours or more of cleaning and the cost is well worth it because we are pigs.

 

[bettymae1121]

My parents both worked full time and did all the house/yard work themselves (yard and house always looked great). So sure, it's possible to do and possible to do without it taking up all of your free time (my parents still had time to spend with us and each other, including activities). I once asked my mother why we didn't have a "maid" like some families on tv. My mother said "I don't need a maid, that's what I have you and your brothers for". Said tounge in cheek at the time, but it was true. Once we were old enough we had chores, and those chores were usually cleaning the house. On top of having our help so she didn't have as much to do, I also think it was just something she didn't want to spend money on. She (and my dad) had other things that were important to them that they spend money on instead.

DH and I have both said once we've finished remodeling the house, we're getting a cleaning service. I work from home and we have no kids, so I'll be honest...for us it's just lazyness. We both hate cleaning and both would rather spend time on other things. DH has even said he's thinking about a lawn service, but he's so picky about how the yard looks I doubt he'd actually do it. By the time we're done remodeling we'll be in a position that we can easily afford it, so why not? We work hard and need to spend our money on something, why not spend it on something that frees up our time to enjoy other things? This is what WE want to spend our money on. Different choices than our parents made, but no less valid, at least in my mind.

For us, it's lazyness but for others - even SAHPs - it could be, not a "need" perhaps but an important part of what allows them to be the type of parent they want to be. If they can afford it, why not? None of us need Disney trips, or need fancy personal cell phones, or need to eat out, or need a late model car with all the bells and whistles. But many of us, once we reach a point where we can afford those things, go and get them. Why? Because it's what we want to spend our money on. To me, that's a good enough reason right there. "I want it and I can afford it". One person wants an iPhone, another person wants a cleaning service. Both are "wants", both are things that other people may look at them and say "what a waste of money!".

I say...who cares?