Do you have a house cleaner?

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I hate housecleaning with a passion. So this year we decided to hire a house cleaner to come in once a week and do our housecleaning for you. We do our own laundry and she only does our breakfast dishes from that day or dinner dishes from the night before, but she does everything else. We aren't rich by any means but it really doesn't cost a lot and saves us a huge hassle. I don't know why we haven't thought of this sooner! It has really made both of our lives (we both work full time) a whole lot easier. Does anyone else do this? I have friends who constantly complain about having to do housework who make more money then we do. I never quite understood why they haven't caught on to hiring a house cleaner.

 

[U2_rocks!]

We've always had a house cleaner - from the time I was born my parents had one, and from the time DH and I got married we had one. Ours does everything - all the cleaning, laundry, ironing. I just hate housework, it will almost always be worth it to pay someone to do this for us. Our cleaning lady has been with us for 18 years, and my parents have had the same lady for over 30.

In my country a lot of women work, because we have high numbers of single mothers who need to, and high numbers of women without higher education - things like cleaning homes and hotels and looking after kids are what these women can do well, and that's the work they look for. If it wasn't for lazy people like me, some of those women wouldn't have jobs. So I think it's a good deal - they earn a living, and we get extra time to do other things.

Our lady only comes twice a week, so there are jobs to be done in between. My kids have certain tasks that they are expected to do, like tidy their rooms, unpack their lunch bags after school, carry their plates to the sink after dinner etc. Our oldest loves housework, and will mop and sweep at any opportunity. He recently learned to iron, and one day ironed a whole bunch of his shirts with glee! So the kids do get opportunities to contribute to the work around the house - we aren't waited on hand and foot. But it sure i nice to have the major chores done!

 

[Aisling]

I don't have a house cleaner, but I'll soon be having a woman come in twice a month to help me with the heavier cleaning. Many of my neighbors have house cleaners, and none of them are rich. It works out fine, giving someone a job, and getting help around the house. She's asking for $15/hr, and it'll probably be 3 to 4 hours each time to do windows, ceiling fans, seasonal stuff like replacing window screens with the glass storm windows, etc. The basic housework I do myself. If you don't like house work, that's why there are house cleaners!

 

[Darcy03231]

Yes, me! Seriously I had one who was fantastic! Unfortunately she had to give up her business due to allergies to dust, mold, pet hair, etc.. I tried several other services but really wasn't happy with them. I started doing it myself again, but am thinking of trying another service as I hate cleaning!

 

[PrincessPAC]

We have someone who comes in once a week (Fridays - it feels so good to come home to a clean house & know that I have the whole weekend in front of me! ) She cleans everything & does some of the laundry, but I usually have to do several loads during the weekends. Sometimes I can't figure out where she digs up all of those clothes!

She is really not that expensive - seems well worth the $ to me! She's been cleaning my house for 2 years, and she has been cleaning my mother's house since I was in middle school (17 years ago). So, she's come to know my cleaning (or lack thereof) styles.

She admits that she really doesn't need the extra income because her DH has a good job, but she just actually enjoys cleaning!

She also LOVES to decorate, which is good, considering Christmas is just around the corner!

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Glad to hear that we aren't the only ones. I can't emphasize enough how much this has helped us!

Another question: How much do you pay your housecleaner? We give ours $50 a week and she's here for about three hours.

 

[Pakey]

I've had several but I'm way too picky and no longer have one as I got tired of the frustration. As soon as I learn to relax, I may try again but I worry about expensive things being broken.

 

[Buckalew11]

A house cleaner than what??!

 

[PrincessPAC]

I give mine $85/week & she's usually here for about 5-6 hours, but I usually give her extra b/c she's good about bringing me things I forget about (vacuum bags & tub cleaner). I also let her have all of the stuff that my kids outgrow (clothes, cribs, toys, etc.) since her grandkids' ages seem to follow right behind mine.

She's REALLY good & I should probably be paying her more???? She sat the price, but maybe I should increase the rate for her? I know I won't lose her to someone else - she's even admitted to turning people down b/c she feels so close to our family. But, I'm sure she wouldn't be disappointed with a few extra dollars!

 

[RadioNate]

when I worked FT we did. Now that we moved we can't afford one. I'd love to get it back into the budget! My house really needs a good cleaning!

 

[freckles and boo]

My husband would probably have a big problem with it considering his parents' housekeeper stole from them and abused their generosity. I would also have a tough time trusting a stranger in my home. However, I would still LOVE to have someone to dust the blinds, clean the windows, and clean the wood floors once a month or so. I really hate those particular chores.

 

[MELSMICE]

We had one for quite a while & then decided as our DD's got older we could all share the chores. Fast forward about 3 years & the house cleaners are returning tomorrow!!!

We could not keep up with it & it has just gotten to be too much. DH & I both own our own businesses, which takes up more time every year. When I do have extra time the last thing I want to do is clean. I'm lucky I have enough time to vacumm every week.

I can't wait to come home to a fresh smelling house tomorrow!!! It's a husband & wife team & they do great!

 

[DISUNC]

Every house cleaner we had started off great...then fizzled out.

I wound up cleaning better than them (Felix here).

 

[Minnie_me]

Man, I wish. It seems like all of our friends do. But I'm a teacher, and DH is a social worker, and we just don't have the $$$.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I've never had one. Well, when I was growing up, we had one for a short period of time (maybe a year?) come in once or twice a week. She'd always arrange my dresser top for me.

Dh and I both work full time, but don't have enough extra money right now for one, depending on how much they get paid. What do you pay yours? Maybe it wouldn't be as expensive as I think. It sure would help us out a lot.

 

[DVCLiz]

I do have great household help. It was totally worth it when I was working full-time, and I have kept my cleaning lady now that I'm home. I still don't like to clean house!!!

For those of you who are saying you can't afford it, see if you can find a high school or college student who might want to earn a little extra spending money. If you think you could probably swing 10 or 15 dollars a week or every two weeks, you could pay her for an hour or an hour and a half to do one or two basic things you want to get help with. Even an hour a week to do the bathrooms would be helpful!!!

An elderly friend pays his high school neighbor to come in once a week and do the basics in his kitchen and bathroom. She also starts a load of laundry for him.

I think this might be a cheaper way than a full fledged cleaning lady - anyway, it's worth a try!!!

 

[PrincessPAC]

Dh and I both work full time, but don't have enough extra money right now for one, depending on how much they get paid. What do you pay yours? Maybe it wouldn't be as expensive as I think. It sure would help us out a lot.

We started out with having her come once every 2-3 weeks, but after DH got a raise, we switched to every week. Even when she just came 2 or 3 times a month, it was such a big help. There were so many "little" things I didn't have to worry about doing anymore.

Up until just a couple of years ago, there's no way we could have afforded her to come at all. She's been a lifesaver, though.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes - me.. LOL If I haven't cleaned it myself, as far as I'm concerned it's not "clean"..

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We've had the same housecleaner for almost 4 years. I love her. She does whatever we need done, sometimes catches us up on laundry, sometimes extra focus on a certain room, etc on top of the regular bathrooms, dusting, mopping, etc.

Right now I am a full time student, work 15-20 hours a week, and volunteer 6 hours a week and have my youngest home with me the rest of the time (and the other 2 when school is out). But we also had her when I was a SAHM (and often just as busy). Dh is awesome when it comes to housework, but he works full-time (often from home, which means he leaves a trail behind him throughout the day, lol). We seem to be able to maintain the house to being neat and tidy. But the deeper cleaning gets ignored if left to us.

$50 2x a month just saves so many fights. When people comment on it, we say it is cheaper than marriage counseling.

 

[louey]

Thankfully I love to clean I have always loved to clean, when I was younger my mom never had to ask me to clean. She worked nights as a waitress and I would stay up late and clean so when she woke up she didn't have to worry. My two sisters on the other hand were a bit on the sloppy side and looked at me like I had a third eye.