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

[DebMcDonald]

I was forced to get rid of mine about a year and a half ago when my husband got laid off and we've never gotten them back again. Is it managable - yes, does my house look as good - no way, but the extra money in my pocket is worth it.

 

[princessmom29]

We work 40+ hours a week (he works closer to 50), we both are in school full time, and have 2 kids. We don't have a cleaning person. Finding a routine is key. We do a "pickup" everyday. Meaning putting thing back where they belong, vaccuming, sweeping, cleaning the toilet and keeping up on the laundry. Plus dishes. Takes about 15 minutes out of the day. Saturday mornings are our big clean day. Dusting, organizing, going through the pile on the counter that accumulates during the week, bedding washed, walls washed, floors mopped, etc. It takes about 1 hour out of the day. So...I spend about 2.5 hours a week cleaning...and I save a lot of money! My kids (ages 6 and 3) have chores, too. The older one is responsible for gathering all the laundry, for dusting the living room, and he sweeps and vaccums, too. The little one dusts, picks up toys, wipes down the walls and counters and tables.
A daily routine is key.

My house is 1600 SF. There is only me. DH, and DD7. WE do pick up, dishes, ect every day. I spend AT LEAST an hour a day on these things, plus 3 hours minimum on the weekends doing floors, toilets, sinks, baseboards, toy room cleanup ect. Plus time spent in between loading, unloading adn folding laundry. That is WITH DH and DD's help. I just don't see how anyone could get by on 2.5 hours a week for everything with a family. Mabye a single in a studio apartment! Loading the diswasher alone takes at least 15 min. If you add the handwash pots and pans that is up to 30 min a night. I try to do a load of laundy every other night. Load, unload and fold is 30 min, even if you do something in between.
I would LOVE to have a cleaning lady, and am seriouly considering biting the bullet and paying for it. I have literally NO time left. I work 40+ hours a week, and DH works 60+. By the time we get home, get dinner, do homework, do dishes, get some cleaning/ laundy done it is time for bed. DH leaves the house at about 5:30 am and pulls in about 8 pm just in time for bath and bed for DD. I am left to handle ity all during the week becuase he is just not there. I only get about 5-6 hours of sleep if I stay up to get everything done. I spent most of Saturday deep cleaning. Sunday is church and get ready for the week agian. I don't think it would be a waste of money to buy myself a little less exhaustion.

 

[momto2girls]

LOL! I always laugh when there are comments on this board that a topic isn't "budget" enough. We have a wide variety of incomes and budgets here, but that doesn't mean that everyone doesn't like to save money on things when they can.

I am a SAHM and I have cleaners come clean for me. My house is very large and I am not very efficient when I clean, so it would take me forever. Fortunately, paying for cleaners is not a hardship for us. It is worth it to my family because I would be super-stressed if I had to fit that into my schedule. If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

 

[Robinrs]

And to think I came to the budget board because the Comm Bd was too controversial...

 

[Cinderella94]

And to think I came to the budget board because the Comm Bd was too controversial...

 

[luvsJack]

My house is 1600 SF. There is only me. DH, and DD7. WE do pick up, dishes, ect every day. I spend AT LEAST an hour a day on these things, plus 3 hours minimum on the weekends doing floors, toilets, sinks, baseboards, toy room cleanup ect. Plus time spent in between loading, unloading adn folding laundry. That is WITH DH and DD's help. I just don't see how anyone could get by on 2.5 hours a week for everything with a family. Mabye a single in a studio apartment! Loading the diswasher alone takes at least 15 min. If you add the handwash pots and pans that is up to 30 min a night. I try to do a load of laundy every other night. Load, unload and fold is 30 min, even if you do something in between.
I would LOVE to have a cleaning lady, and am seriouly considering biting the bullet and paying for it. I have literally NO time left. I work 40+ hours a week, and DH works 60+. By the time we get home, get dinner, do homework, do dishes, get some cleaning/ laundy done it is time for bed. DH leaves the house at about 5:30 am and pulls in about 8 pm just in time for bath and bed for DD. I am left to handle ity all during the week becuase he is just not there. I only get about 5-6 hours of sleep if I stay up to get everything done. I spent most of Saturday deep cleaning. Sunday is church and get ready for the week agian. I don't think it would be a waste of money to buy myself a little less exhaustion.

30 minutes to wash dishes? It takes me 10 minutes tops. And the load of clothes maybe 10 minutes to fold and a couple of minutes to put in washer, a couple to switch to dryer. Not 30. I work every day, work on my online classes every day and work out 3 times a week and am here with just me and dd almost all week. Cleaning does not take all of my time. I don't really get what ya'll are doing that takes so long.

Saturday deeper cleaning is done in no time with dd's help and we have the rest of the weekend to do what we want. I spend nowhere near 3 hours every weekend. Now grant you, I do not scrub down the walls and clean carpets every Saturday, but do it when it needs it. Baseboards get dusted but not "cleaned" every week what are you doing to them? I usually give them a swipe with the little brush on the vacuum. Doesn't take but a few minutes. You have one child, why is she not cleaning the toy room herself? I don't do dd's room.

If I could afford it, I don't think I would have a cleaning lady. I don't really like the idea of someone else in my home when I am not there and I would end up either cleaning before she comes or re-doing it after she leaves anyway.

If that is where you want to spend your money that is your choice, of course. I am just curious why it takes you so long to clean?

 

[princessmom29]

30 minutes to wash dishes? It takes me 10 minutes tops. And the load of clothes maybe 10 minutes to fold and a couple of minutes to put in washer, a couple to switch to dryer. Not 30. I work every day, work on my online classes every day and work out 3 times a week and am here with just me and dd almost all week. Cleaning does not take all of my time. I don't really get what ya'll are doing that takes so long.

Saturday deeper cleaning is done in no time with dd's help and we have the rest of the weekend to do what we want. I spend nowhere near 3 hours every weekend. Now grant you, I do not scrub down the walls and clean carpets every Saturday, but do it when it needs it. Baseboards get dusted but not "cleaned" every week what are you doing to them? I usually give them a swipe with the little brush on the vacuum. Doesn't take but a few minutes. You have one child, why is she not cleaning the toy room herself? I don't do dd's room.

If I could afford it, I don't think I would have a cleaning lady. I don't really like the idea of someone else in my home when I am not there and I would end up either cleaning before she comes or re-doing it after she leaves anyway.

If that is where you want to spend your money that is your choice, of course. I am just curious why it takes you so long to clean?

If you can do it, then more power to you, but it takes me more than 10 min to scrub the 2-3 pots plus a casserole dish that is typical of dinner dishes, dry them, and put them away, not to mention pre-rinsing all the other stuff for the dishwasher.
I scrub toilets, tubs, shower stalls, mirrors, sinks and counter tops, and sweep and mop the bathrooms, scrub the stove and sinks, sweep and mop the kitchen floor, wipe down baseboards,and window sills, vacum all the carpets, and spot clean with the steamer where needed. I also get all of the yard work when DH is working Saturdays, which has been every Saturday for the past 8 months with the exception of the one he took off for Disney. All this gets done every week. Deep clean tasks get rotated. These are things like hand scrubbing grout and resealing , steaming all the carpets, closet cleanouts, windows, washing down the exterior of the house, deep cleaning oven and dishwasher.There is usually at least one of these to be done. DD does help with the toy room, but at 7 she is not yet to the point where she does it all without any help. She also sets and clears the table, but I don't trust her to load the dishwasher yet. We average 4 loads of laundy a week, and much of it (DD's uniforms and DH's work clothes) needs ironing. It takes at least 30 min a load to wash fold, iron and put away.

 

[mhsjax]

30 minutes to wash dishes? It takes me 10 minutes tops. And the load of clothes maybe 10 minutes to fold and a couple of minutes to put in washer, a couple to switch to dryer. Not 30. I work every day, work on my online classes every day and work out 3 times a week and am here with just me and dd almost all week. Cleaning does not take all of my time. I don't really get what ya'll are doing that takes so long.

Saturday deeper cleaning is done in no time with dd's help and we have the rest of the weekend to do what we want. I spend nowhere near 3 hours every weekend. Now grant you, I do not scrub down the walls and clean carpets every Saturday, but do it when it needs it. Baseboards get dusted but not "cleaned" every week what are you doing to them? I usually give them a swipe with the little brush on the vacuum. Doesn't take but a few minutes. You have one child, why is she not cleaning the toy room herself? I don't do dd's room.

If I could afford it, I don't think I would have a cleaning lady. I don't really like the idea of someone else in my home when I am not there and I would end up either cleaning before she comes or re-doing it after she leaves anyway.

If that is where you want to spend your money that is your choice, of course. I am just curious why it takes you so long to clean?

ok, I know this isn't directed at me but here goes.
It takes me longer, but I have 3 kids.plus a dog. They make a huge mess. One child is no where near the mess and work that 3 are.In fact one child is well not even worth mentioning, sorry been there done that. Again, I don't have a cleaning lady, I did once and it took her 3 hours to finish the entire house, she did the floor on her hands and knees.

Ok, I pick up and do laundry and vacuum when kids are at school. I also volunteer and run errands. They hit the door starting at 2:30, then homework help and all sorts of activities in 3 different directions, and most of them make dirt and more laundry, so I come home and cook dinner, I won't serve junk food. then clean up, even with the kids help by now it is pushing 8:30 Baths for the dirty kids, vacuum up sand and dirt brought in from dirty kids. At least 3 towel, they are nasty and we won't use them again, after all the dirt and sweat. Now they can do their nightly reading and finish homework. Sorry, after that I am done. I won't clean until 9 or 10 pm. The weekend, I have 4 sets of sheets to do, all at least queen size, so at least 3 loads, now factor in Cheerleading competitions that require you to be gone all day., sometime 3 soccer games and assorted laundry and dirt, Yep it takes WAY more than a few minutes here and 1 hour on the weekends. And I don't like to use what little free time I have to clean, but I do for now. I am not saying it can't be done, however to think that all I have to do is just dust a little and go over the floors with a duster and pickup is absurd. Way too many kids with way too many activities that cause a mess. And nope I wouldn't change it for anything, so this is my lot in life.

I sure hope that one day if I get a cleaning lady again, I won't be called lazy or spoiled. I would hate for it to become nasty and believe me it would.

 

[princessmom29]

ok, I know this isn't directed at me but here goes.
It takes me longer, but I have 3 kids.plus a dog. They make a huge mess. One child is no where near the mess and work that 3 are.In fact one child is well not even worth mentioning, sorry been there done that. Again, I don't have a cleaning lady, I did once and it took her 3 hours to finish the entire house, she did the floor on her hands and knees.

Ok, I pick up and do laundry and vacuum when kids are at school. I also volunteer and run errands. They hit the door starting at 2:30, then homework help and all sorts of activities in 3 different directions, and most of them make dirt and more laundry, so I come home and cook dinner, I won't serve junk food. then clean up, even with the kids help by now it is pushing 8:30 Baths for the dirty kids, vacuum up sand and dirt brought in from dirty kids. At least 3 towel, they are nasty and we won't use them again, after all the dirt and sweat. Now they can do their nightly reading and finish homework. Sorry, after that I am done. I won't clean until 9 or 10 pm. The weekend, I have 4 sets of sheets to do, all at least queen size, so at least 3 loads, now factor in Cheerleading competitions that require you to be gone all day., sometime 3 soccer games and assorted laundry and dirt, Yep it takes WAY more than a few minutes here and 1 hour on the weekends. And I don't like to use what little free time I have to clean, but I do for now. I am not saying it can't be done, however to think that all I have to do is just dust a little and go over the floors with a duster and pickup is absurd. Way too many kids with way too many activities that cause a mess. And nope I wouldn't change it for anything, so this is my lot in life.

I sure hope that one day if I get a cleaning lady again, I won't be called lazy or spoiled. I would hate for it to become nasty and believe me it would.

Well, I am the one with the one, hardly worth mentioning apparently, child and that actually sounds a lot like my life. DD dances 3 days a week for multiple hours, and we have a dog that adds to the mess. DD and her friends can do a number with all the in and out when they are over here playing.

 

[mhsjax]

Well, I am the one with the one, hardly worth mentioning apparently, child and that actually sounds a lot like my life. DD dances 3 days a week for multiple hours, and we have a dog that adds to the mess. DD and her friends can do a number with all the in and out when they are over here playing.

Hardly worth mentioning has nothing to do with her importance but everything to do with the mess that one child makes over 3 kids. So you do know about being gone and dealing with stuff also you are home so DD is home more, they make more of a mess when not in day care.

 

[mookie]

ok, I know this isn't directed at me but here goes.
It takes me longer, but I have 3 kids.plus a dog. They make a huge mess. One child is no where near the mess and work that 3 are.In fact one child is well not even worth mentioning, sorry been there done that. Again, I don't have a cleaning lady, I did once and it took her 3 hours to finish the entire house, she did the floor on her hands and knees.

Ok, I pick up and do laundry and vacuum when kids are at school. I also volunteer and run errands. They hit the door starting at 2:30, then homework help and all sorts of activities in 3 different directions, and most of them make dirt and more laundry, so I come home and cook dinner, I won't serve junk food. then clean up, even with the kids help by now it is pushing 8:30 Baths for the dirty kids, vacuum up sand and dirt brought in from dirty kids. At least 3 towel, they are nasty and we won't use them again, after all the dirt and sweat. Now they can do their nightly reading and finish homework. Sorry, after that I am done. I won't clean until 9 or 10 pm. The weekend, I have 4 sets of sheets to do, all at least queen size, so at least 3 loads, now factor in Cheerleading competitions that require you to be gone all day., sometime 3 soccer games and assorted laundry and dirt, Yep it takes WAY more than a few minutes here and 1 hour on the weekends. And I don't like to use what little free time I have to clean, but I do for now. I am not saying it can't be done, however to think that all I have to do is just dust a little and go over the floors with a duster and pickup is absurd. Way too many kids with way too many activities that cause a mess. And nope I wouldn't change it for anything, so this is my lot in life.

I sure hope that one day if I get a cleaning lady again, I won't be called lazy or spoiled. I would hate for it to become nasty and believe me it would.

Again....in my head!

I am by no means saying your dd is unimportant, either. But I am saying that I had NO IDEA how easy I had it with just one. And yes, it was easier. I didn't have a cleaning lady back then, either. But add two more kids in a short time span, plus all of the activities, dirt, etc that goes with them, and it does make it way harder to get things done in the short time you talk about. After they go to bed, I can fly around the house and get done in an hour what could take me all day without all the kids around, but yes, I'm spent, so I don't like doing that day in and day out. And I deserve "me time" too...dontchathink?

Which is why I choose the cleaning lady. I'm not saying I don't still have those late nights cleaning...I still do. But if I want to do what I can to make my life a bit easier on me, so my kids can have a happy mom rather than a frazzled one, I'm all for it.

 

[momtosam]

I had a cleaning person for a long time. We let her go to save money. It was "manageable" as the title of your thread says, but it was also "miserable." My job requires me to do work at home every night, which means I spent every weekend cleaning and going for groceries/errands. My DH and I agreed it was worth the $$ to have the cleaning lady back. What I did do, though, is explain to her that we are on a budget and could only afford $x.xx per visit. We worked out a deal for this amount that leaves out her cleaning a few rooms of the house. These few rooms are easy enough for me to keep up with. So maybe instead of quitting the cleaning lady altogether you might want to try to work out a deal.

 

[princessmom29]

Hardly worth mentioning has nothing to do with her importance but everything to do with the mess that one child makes over 3 kids. So you do know about being gone and dealing with stuff also you are home so DD is home more, they make more of a mess when not in day care.

I teach so we are SAH during the summer. I do MUCH better when I am not at work all day. I have no problem getting it all done when I am home all day with just the one child, especially since she is past the "needy" stage. The problem comes in when we leave the house at 6 am and don't get back until 6:30 pm, and THEN I have to get it all done. I imagine it would be harder with more children, but my point was that having only one child doesn't make it a cake walk. Sometimes circumstances make a difference.

 

[nicki.momof3]

If you can do it, then more power to you, but it takes me more than 10 min to scrub the 2-3 pots plus a casserole dish that is typical of dinner dishes, dry them, and put them away, not to mention pre-rinsing all the other stuff for the dishwasher.

I have to agree with you. I work full time and when I get home I make my family a homemade meal. It usually involves 2-3 pans / pots and something in the oven. Washing / drying / putting away the large stuff by hand and pre-rinsing the smaller stuff for the dishwasher takes more than 10 mintes if done well. I also frequentlly have a "little helper" (child under 5) helping so it take double as long.

If I was simply sticking a processed one pan meal into the over and serving on paper plates it would only take 10 minutes but that is not how I choose to feed my family.

Once dinner is done it is very important that I also clean the table and all cooking surfaces with a cleaner (keeps the kitchen cleaner and everyone healthy).

 

[Planogirl]

Plus one kid can be messier than another kid. Our only son is very messy but it's up to him to deal with his room.

I've never had a housekeeper but good for you that do! We all value different things and having someone besides me clean my house is of no importance to me. It's also not in the budget but that is mainly because I don't think it's worth it.

By the way, I don't serve processed food (too much) or use paper plates. Plus I wash everything by hand.

 

[DVCLiz]

I just timed myself. I washed two pots - not very dirty - and a handful of other small items, rinsed them all and put them in the dish drainer to air dry. I unloaded the dishwasher - not very full since I've been using the clean dishes from it all weekend (lazy!) - and reloaded and started it. I put a few things away and wiped down two countertops.

It took me 22 minutes. I put a dirty pot in some soapy hot water to soak - if I'd scrubbed it I probably would have been closer to 30 minutes.

For the record, I am a single parent SAHM of a DD16 and I have household help twice a week - 3 hours two days a week. That's down from 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. I love my cleaning lady and I'd give up a lot before I'd let her go. I did cut her back this year because I didn't need as much done around the house. She does all my laundry, including ironing - if I did that myself and/or sent things to the laundry I could get by with one day a week.

Of course anyone can clean her own house - it's not rocket science. It's just a question of whether you want to do it yourself or spend the money to pay someone else to do it. I don't see why it should be a judgement call unless you are spending money you can't afford.

Anyway, tomorrow when the cleaning lady is here I'm going to fix a Diet Coke, prop my feet up and watch TV while she cleans. And I'm going to think about the poster who said I was lazy and not give a damn!

 

[mookie]

Anyway, tomorrow when the cleaning lady is here I'm going to fix a Diet Coke, prop my feet up and watch TV while she cleans. And I'm going to think about the poster who said I was lazy and not give a damn!

 

[luvsJack]

Seriously ya'll, I really do not care if you have a cleaning lady or not and I certainly do not think anyone is lazy (and most definitily not stupid) if they have one. Just not something I find important but whatever makes you happy, ya know?

I must say though, I was thinking of this thread earlier and couldn't help but laugh. Here we are all talking about lack of time and yet here we all are on the dis. . . hmmmmmm.

I must defend myself though. I don't serve junk either but neither am I out picking the veggies right before I cook them. Just a happy medium. A lot of crock pot meals--but homemade with lots of nutrition, bread with all meals and a yummy salad. And we don't use paper plates nor a dishwaher. I wash dishes as I go and by the time we get finished eating, I only have our plates, glasses and silverware (the number depends on whether its just me and dd or one of my sons and their wife has come over or dh is home). The food is in serving bowls which get covered and placed in the fridge--unless they are empty of course. Everyone in the house knows that the sink has hot soapy water in it, and to rake out their plate and put it in the water--so I don't have to retrieve any of the dishes, all are there and ready to be washed.

I only have one child at home now, but I also have two sons and at one time another young boy lived with us for a few years--so I have been there with three at one time. And you are right, it is more work there is no denying that; but that doesn't mean that only child is easy peasy either. I do a LOT of running around for activities and such too. And have found that preteen girls=LOADS of washing (which she has recently started doing herself).

And with so much school work of my own, I have learned to work very fast so that I have more time for that--which is what I should be doing right now!!

enjoy your cleaning lady tomorrow, DCVLiz!

 

[bunny]

To the OP, it is definitely manageable especially if your husband is willing to help you. The key is to remain organized and on a schedule.

For most people having a cleaning lady is a luxury not a neccesity. No matter how much people protest otherwise, millions of people working or staying at home manage just fine without one. It is just a matter of financial priorities.

Try it for a few months and if you hate it or find it too overwhelming hire your cleaning person back.

I do find it ridiculous though people who claim that can't clean when they don't have jobs outside of the home. Don't your children take naps? Can't you stay home from one lunch date? At least be honest about why you have a cleaning lady. Bottom line- you don't want to do it yourself and you can afford to pay someone else to do it.

 

[dixonismydog]

OP.....I say if you can afford it, keep the cleaning people and spend the extra time with your family! Life is short..........