Do you have a cleaning lady?

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

We do but only every other week. Have had the same lady for years and she is wonderful!!!

During the holidays or if we're having a party she will come on her off week.

 

[U2_rocks!]

We have a lady two afternoons a week. She's very efficient - she does all the cleaning, laundry and ironing. When the ironing load is light, she usually also has time to tidy up certain areas that tend to accumulate papers and kids' stuff. She'll neaten up the kids' closets maybe once a week and wash down the back patio maybe every other week. We've had her for 22 years and she just does what she knows (or sees) needs doing - we never have to give her instructions. She's worth every penny! And we've kept her even in rough times because if we were to let her go, she'd get another job and we probably wouldn't get her back when things improved. She is so good, we'd never risk that.

 

[MichelleVW]

I would love too, but can't afford the luxury right now. But I would love to have one. I don't mind doing the daily vacuuming, dishes etc, but I hate to "clean".

 

[diznygirl]

I used to think that!

But having to de-clutter so that someone else can do the heavy work assured that the cleaning actually got done.

We had a cleaning crew for several years. Currently, our house is on the market. It looks great & I'm finding it pretty easy to clean since the de-cluttering is always done.

Right. But who is picking up the clutter?

 

[brittsmum1998]

I have 3 women that come every other week. They are fantastic! I do make dd "straighten" up her room before they come and I never leave dishes in the sink for them. They have arranged things, nicks and such better than I ever thought . You should see how they have arranged my Disney blanket.

I love walking in the door to that clean smell and I swear my house shines.

 

[indimom]

I keep getting asked at work whether I have someone who comes and cleans my house. I don´t.
As a full-time working mom of 5 it would obviously be great to come home to a clean house once a week but I have never found the cost to be justifiable. I´ve always thought: "Wow, the cost per year, is that of a short family vacation." And then I also worry that I would end up cleaning the house anyway before the person who I would pay for doing it would arrive. Or that I wouldn´t be happy with how she does it.
Do you have domestic help? Do you have any of the problems I described above?

I wish....

 

[lakelandgal70]

No. It would drive me bonkers having someone in my house. Besides no one can clean my house as good as well me

 

[Pumbaa_]

we have for the last year and i love it! Comes once a week, vacuums, dusts, cleans bathrooms and floors. I have her doing extra days now for spring cleaning. Sheis doing one room at a time and OMG! My house sparkles

I don't clean well or often. My DH was doing all the housework. Brought someone in to make his life easier. We both love it!

 

[elainesj]

I;m completely spoiled. I've had someone every day for years. The main reason for daily help is to care for my elderly MIL who lives with us. But because my MIL doesn't need too much "care" - she just needs a companion for peace of mind - the person's main job is to clean.

She does everything I would do - all the decluttering, pickup, clean, dishes, laundry - you name it, she does it.

We don't make a whole lot - just a very avg dual income salary but it's been well worth the expense. Of course, without my MIL needing daily care, I doubt I would be able to convince dh to have someone in more than 1x a week.

I don't typically get home until 6 (or sometimes 8) and we have a lot of activities in the evening. It's really nice not to have to worry about housework at all. That way the times i'm home I can spend with my kids or doing other stuff.

I remember being a SAHM saying I would be so happy to work to pay someone else to do the housework. To my mind, even if i have to work min wage to pay someone else min wage - I would be doing stuff I like MUCH better than housekeeping LOL!!!

(Can you tell i dislike housekeeping?!)

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Right. But who is picking up the clutter?

Sounds strange but you really need to be organized, clutter free people.

Someone that also uses our cleaning lady says she doesn't dust very well....of course not you have piles of crap all over.

These are cleaning people not miracle workers.

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

No, it's just the three of us and my DH is military and gone alot anyway, so my DS and I do most of it. He's extremely clean for a teenage boy. The house always looks nice except I only dust and mop once a week. Vacuuming and everything else I do pretty much everday.

 

[JENOS]

We have a nanny for the three younger kids; she cooks, cleans, give baths,does laundry and is teaching DD13 to knit. I hired her just to watch the kids and told her the rest wasn’t necessary since I felt that the pay wouldn’t justify it. She said not to worry about it because she would be bored during naps and play time and needed something to do. She has gotten a small raise two months after she started working because of it and we will plan on increasing her wage in October when she completes her first year with us.

We also have a lawn service that can cut quicker than I can take the mower out of the shed

 

[JLTraveling]

I've had one a few times for special occasions. My parents did the same thing when I was growing up. Interestingly, my dad's family had a wonderful woman who was part maid, part cook, part nanny--rather than growing up not knowing how to do anything, he learned from her. To this day, he won't let anyone else do his laundry, and he spends HOURS getting everything folded just so. My mom's mom, on the other hand, hired a cleaning lady exactly once--she pre-cleaned until the house was gleaming, made tea, and ended up having the lady sit down with her feet up! So Mom learned to do everything from her mother, who had too many things going on to spend a long time on any one thing. Mom taught me all sorts of time-saving tricks, but Dad insists that I just don't do things *right*.

Now Dad and I travel together in an RV. When we go down to the laundry room, I can blow through three dryers of my stuff and go back to the rig, and Dad shows up 30 minutes later with his one dryer full of clothes!

 

[m&m's mom]

Absolutely! My DH and I decided "Leticia, the Wonder Maid" was cheaper than marital therapy.
After 20 years together we stll cannot come up w/ any kind of equitable distrubution between us. It's just better to avoid the whole subject.
For years we had her weekly but I bragged so much about her, her sance card is pretty full. We now have her come every other week and that works out perfectly.
I loved weekly but the stress of DH trying to make the house perfect before she gets here was just too much.

 

[mom2aandj]

Right. But who is picking up the clutter?

I am, and knowing that my cleaning lady is coming every other week keeps me motivated to do it. Even if sometimes I'm scrambling to do it the night before she's coming! Without the cleaning lady coming, I'd be much more lax about putting stuff away, and then not only would the house be not clean, it would be cluttered!

 

[justhat]

Yes, we do, and after living the past 8 months without one, I much appreciate it! I actually really enjoy to clean and organize, my problem is that I am too picky. So if someone puts something away in the wrong spot, I waste my time rearranging. So then it takes me all day, everyday to get the bare essentials done (including chasing the 15 month old), and I'm exhausted and crabby when people touch stuff. Having someone come once a week to clean my bathrooms, wash the floors, change all the sheets (I HATE changing my daughter's top bunk!!), dust, etc., it just totally frees up my time to do the stuff I find important.

Oh, and it TOTALLY helps with clutter. Like right now, there's stuff kinda loose all around from the kids and I know I have to put it all away tonight for the cleaning woman tomorrow!

 

[deegack]

When I worked yes I got a cleaning service. It actually started when I was pregnant and on bedrest. Dh just couldn't do everything. Now that I sah I do it myself but when we pay off a few outstanding debt I will start lobbying for one again.

 

[GothTink]

Every Friday our cleaning lady comes and makes my day. It's so worth the money. I do tidy up before she gets here, just so she doesn't have to move much before cleaning, but it's so worth the price of not dusting!

 

[rchristiansen]

Yup! But it's not just a lady - we have a cleaning team. It's a husband, wife and their adult daughter. They come twice a month and we've had them for years.

My sanity is so worth the money - I don't consider it a luxury, but a necessity. We've had someone clean our house for 5 years now. Years, ago I thought I was a failure as a stay at home mom and part-time business owner when I couldn't keep up with it all. My DH suggested someone to clean the house. Best suggestion ever! I'm now a grad student and part time stay at home mom. I'd be lost without my cleaners

I was also surprised to find out that every one of my friends in Northern Virginia had a cleaning service - even the full time stay at home moms. Here in Wisconsin, not as much, but many are starting to see the light

Also, I like that I'm helping a family out in THEIR own small business - supports the local economy.

 

[mrsv98]

Having a cleaning lady 2x a month really keeps me straight. I HAVE to put things away on a regular basis if I expect Cecelia to do a good job. I'd rather her time in my house be spent washing the bathroom floor, than picking up towels off the bathroom floor. So the family picks up and puts away , Cecelia does the actual cleaning.

We do our own laundry, and our own dishes. That stuff is daily "maintence" in my mind. She does the dusting, vaccuuming, gives the kitchen floor a good mop and scrub... you know the deep cleaning. For the next 13 days we just try our best to maintain, and then pick up our clutter the night before!

I have to say as a busy family, we really do enjoy our house more now. I can have guests over with little notice and not feel embarrased like I used to. There are other things that families spend more money than we do, it's just a matter of choice.

Yes, this is exactly us! DH and I both work and DD is in a ton of artsy things so we are in and out a lot. When we are home, we want to play with the dogs, be together, not clean! Anna comes every other week and not only does it ensure the house gets a good cleaning, it also forces us to deal with piles/baskets of clothes/assorted junk.

It is well worth it to me!