How much do you pay your housekeepers?

[princessmom29]

I have never had a house cleaner either. I've always done it on my own while raising 2 children. They are both now grown and moved out but I am helping my daughter out with her almost 5 year old (preK 3 days a week) and 3 month old daily in my home, and I still do all the cleaning. We could afford a house cleaner but there's no way unless I became unable to do it on my own would I even consider paying anyone!

It is a LOT different when BOTH parents work 50+ hours outside the home. IF I were home all day my house would be spotless. It is when I am off during the summer, but the school year, not so much.

 

[mefordis]

I live in Ohio.

You seem like a nice person so I'll forgive you for being a Buckeye.

 

[SaraJayne]

It is a LOT different when BOTH parents work 50+ hours outside the home. IF I were home all day my house would be spotless. It is when I am off during the summer, but the school year, not so much.

Actually, it's quite the opposite. If both my spouse and I worked 50+ hours a week, our house would be spotless during the week, since there is no one there to mess it up.

 

[walkdmc]

OP, I live in the Philly 'burbs, in PA, I used to pay what you're paying. I hired a well-known cleaning company in my area (won "Best of Philly") a few years back and they charged $160 for cleaning, no changing of sheets or making beds. My house is about 3500 s.f. but they only had to clean about 3000 s.f.

I eventually let them go since I couldn't deal with the company's rules and the employees didn't understand English. They had a rule that I could not talk to the employees about things I wanted done, no notes, etc. They also sent me a disclaimer that they clean everyones blinds the same way and if your blinds break, they are not responsible....this was unsolicited since I never talked about blinds, ever. Then, when I heard them cleaning the blinds, they literally shoved them side to side so hard I could hear them knocking 2 floor down! I was sure they had complaints of broken blind slats after hearing that. No way, not for $160, TYVM but take your business elsewhere. Anyway, I found a private group and paid them $145 every week. I was very happy with their work but they moved and their replacements weren't as good. So, I started cleaning my own house, right around the time I lost my job so it all worked out. However, my house is pretty messy now and I predict if you are used to cleaners, it will be hard to do it alone.

I've heard of people hiring someone to just clean their kitchen and bathrooms. To save some money, you might want to look into that.

 

[Pumpkinmuffin]

It is a LOT different when BOTH parents work 50+ hours outside the home. IF I were home all day my house would be spotless. It is when I am off during the summer, but the school year, not so much.

Without trying to start an argument, why are you implying that I didn't work? While raising our 2 kids both my husband and I worked and kept our own house and did (still do!) our own yard work . I wasn't always a lady of leisure eating bon bon's LOL!

 

[NYEmomma]

I'll go at this from a different angle.

When my kids were pre-school age, we cleaned as part of our daily activities. If they were following me around I just involved them. For example: My oldest was afraid of the vacuum cleaner so when he was tiny I'd put him on the couch and surround him by his stuffed animals. It became a "must do" part of our routine. For dusting, we used old dark blue socks, put them on our hands and eat the dust, and then compare whose sock duster had the most dust on it. They loved changing the sheets, although it took a little longer because I usually had to make them IN the bed and then make a big show over looking for them.

I made them part of it at an early age, then as they lost interest they would find ways to stay busy in another room while I cleaned. It became more of a "do you want to help clean or have playtime by yourself?" thing. They knew what I was doing and accepted it as routine, so they were content to entertain themselves.

I'd encourage you to let your children be involved in the mundane daily chores. We're raising a whole generation of kids who don't know who to do the motions to the "this is the way we ...." song.

I love this!!

I have a very small, one-story house and can't do much in the way of cleaning when DD is asleep because it will wake her. No vacuuming, no cleaning the bathroom as it borders her bedroom & she can hear it all. No doing dishes either as she can hear the clanking sounds in her bedroom. About the only things I can accomplish when she is asleep is dusting & picking up things. It makes it hard to keep the house clean.

I need to be more creative in finding ways like you described to involve her in the process. I try to clean while she's awake but she doesn't play by herself very well still so she's always demanding that I play with her.

 

[wisconsinmom]

My cleaners come every 2 weeks and I pay $75 each time. They clean the bathroom, kitchen and floors (all hardwood). They also do the dining room table and dust in four rooms. I do not have them clean upstairs in our bedrooms.

For my family it is money well spent. Several years ago when my DH was laid off we dropped the cleaning service but after he'd been at his new job for 6+ months we added it back. Yes it is a luxury but for my family it is definitely worth it!

 

[Brit_Jude]

I have cleaners who come every two weeks and pay $85 per visit. Hubby and I both work full time, sometimes long hours, with business travel too. We spent one of the days at the weekend cleaning instead of enjoying our time off. I have a 3 story townhome, with 3 bathrooms and a small toilet, urgh cleaning 4 toilets . They clean bathrooms, vacum all carpets, dust all rooms, mop the hard surface floors. I prefer not to have someone change sheets and we do our own laundry. We are lucky enough to be able to afford it and budget for it. It also employs these two ladies who run their own business and in some small way helps the economy.

Is it a luxury, yes, is it worth it you bet!

 

[walkdmc]

I feel inspired by folks who have house cleaning routines and involve their kids in the process. Some of the info. on this thread is helpful and informative but I don't understand posters who have to express their opinions in a negative way. I surmise the OP came from a humble background but has a DH who makes waaaaay more than an average salary and housekeepers are the norm in her circle. It seems she's trying to strike a balance between frivilous spending and practicality.

I do think $165 is average for my neck of the woods, if you only have them every 3 weeks. My neighbors are spotless, 2 adults, no kids, 3500 s.f. house and they were paying $150/cleaning for a once-a-month service.

 

[herdtoDisney]

This past spring, I had a cleaning service come in for a few months it was great! Mine was biweekly and was $85. I thought that was good considering it's a big house, 5 bedrooms 2 bath (it was actually origionally a small split level that was enlarged). That was for stuff like vaccuming, mopping the downstairs and dusting ceiling fans and stuff. Things like everyday cleaning and decluttering, we still did.

At the time, I was working a lot of forced overtime and dh was too. Our kids are great helps but we all have busy schedules and I was getting stressed over stuff not getting done. I never actually met the lady, I left them a key. I was always at work. I have no idea what language she spoke LOL. When work got back to normal and school ended, I decided we could get along ourselves and I wanted to save the money for a newer van (still saving). But it helped through a rough time. I'm certainly no lady of leisure

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We don't have one any more, but we were paying $33 an hour to an agency. Before I ultimately cancelled, I did cut them down to 3 hours every other week so I wasn't spending more than $100. In that time, my bathrooms and kitchen and hardwood floors would get cleaned. I figured I didn't need to pay someone to vacuum, and they wouldn't vacuum under beds or anything anyway.

Around here I'd say it's 50/50. I know plenty of people that have cleaning service, and just about as many that don't- some are SAHM's, some are two-income parents, and some don't have any kids at all.

Our house is around 3600SF including a finished basement, and two of my close neighbors have the exact same model house as me. One pays $200 every other week, and includes sheets, laundry, etc but she has to provide everything- cleaning products, rags, vacuum, dusters, etc. The other pays $75 every other week to a non-English speaking person who brings all of her own stuff.

I HATE cleaning. I didn't even like all the picking up that had to be done the night before the cleaning person came. I did cancel because of the expense, but I'm sure we'll have another service in our future.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

I tell my DH we have kids so we can put them to work! My boys are 7, 5 and 4 and they've been an integral part of keeping our house clean ever since they became mobile. Granted, they're also an integral part of just about every mess that's created so it's probably a wash...

We're in NJ, too, and lots of folks around here do have cleaning services or independent cleaning ladies. We used a service for a brief time but I found that I spent so much time de-cluttering/cleaning before they came (I know, I know... ) that it defeated the purpose. DH and I both work full-time outside the home so it can be an effort to find the time to clean but it is what it is.

Give that little girl a Swiffer duster and let her go to town. It won't be perfect and only the lower half of the room will get clean but she'll have fun and she'll get better in time. Both of you toss damp rags on the floor and push them around the kitchen with your feet and see whose rag gets dirtier.

My 7 year old has become a pro at vacuuming, give my 5 year old a step stool, a rag and some Windex and the windows and mirrors will be gleaming in no time and my 4 year old is our official "picker upper" of toys and mover of chairs while the oldest vacuums.

Yeah, keeping a house presentable does take time but it's one of those things that when you do it a little at a time it all gets done eventually. And then starts all over again...

As far as saving money, you could either go cold turkey and skip the cleaning service entirely or talk to them about scaling back to just bathrooms and kitchens and see how that works for you.

My personal feeling is that whether you have a cleaning service or not, it's still important to teach kids how to keep a house clean (or a lawn mowed or a driveway shoveled, etc.) as it's one of those life skills that will help them when they're on their own and before they can afford to hire a service of their own.

 

[hinodis]

My fabulous cleaning lady comes every 2 weeks. I pay her a flat rate of $100 per visit. She brings all the cleaning supplies and leaves them in my closet in her carry all for my touch ups when she is gone. She even brings her own rags and commercial grade vacuum. She puts bath and body works soaps in all my bathrooms with a scent to go with the season. She puts air fresheners in the bathrooms and leaves gifts for DD14 from B&B works. She will change bedding if I leave sheets on the bed. She does laundry, dishes, windows and cleans every room in my house. (2800 sq ft) She comes at 10am and stays until she is finished. Sometimes she finishes at 4, sometimes 5. I work 2 jobs from my home and I have a cleaning lady because I want one. I don't like cleaning and I can afford to hire someone to do it for me. The whole family loves the cleaning lady! My oldest son wants her at his house for a day for a Christmas present.

 

[StephMK]

If we were easily able to afford it, I would hire a housekeeper again so fast! We had a service for awhile when DD#2 was a baby. I get wanting to save more but I can't imagine giving up regular house cleaners, especially if DH was pushing to keep them!

I despise cleaning and don't do a great job, even when I do have time. I do vacuum & keep the kitchen & baths clean but I hate to dust & should do better going under furniture, etc. I'd rather spend it doing other things. I'd cut back on the food budget & use coupons to keep the housekeeper!

 

[akayek31]

I have two kids that are now teenagers. I cleaned my parents house growing up and it didn't hurt me so I figure I am not harming my kids by making them clean their rooms or the kitchen. Now if I can just get my son to do his own laundry I will have it made Besides they get to go to WDW with me so that is their payments

 

[ilovemk76]

I know, we do spend a lot of money! I am trying to find ways to cut down so we can see less money go out the door! 3k a year -- I would love to bank that!

That is why I like this board, so I can get support in doing this. Any advice and tips are very much appreciated!

Yes, we practice weekly sheet changing as well. But when the service comes, they do it for me that week. It comes with the fee so of course I take advantage of it.

I would definitely not get help from dh. He works very long hours at a demanding job and wants to see me keep the cleaning service. We can afford it but I personally want to start being more frugal and save more.

Let the 3 year old help. Get your DD her own supplies and she can help you. Most 3 year old love to help.

DH and I both work full time and have demanding jobs but we make a great cleaning team. It is so much more fun to clean together.

Think of it this way - if you invest that $3K each year then your DH can retire earlier.

 

[HM]

Let the 3 year old help. Get your DD her own supplies and she can help you. Most 3 year old love to help.

Totally forgot about this. My DD and my DS both loved 'to help' when they were that age. They actually were old enough to do some things for me too. It's when they get older that they no longer think it's fun and stop wanting to help that is hard.

 

[momto2girls]

You seem like a nice person so I'll forgive you for being a Buckeye.

I live right in the heart of Buckeye country too. It is a virtual sea of scarlet and gray here quite frequently.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

I watched house hunters international last nite. In *****et she has a two full time house helpers and they were paid very low. I guess if we had money I would hire help.

If you can afford it and want it, it is your money.

 

[IUTBAM]

My DD always enjoyed "helping me" when she was little (and I'm so blessed, because she's 18 now, and she still willingly helps out around the house without being asked), so I'm definitely of the mindset that you should get her involved with helping you. It's a good way to spend time together, and you can never start too early teaching children about responsibility and doing their share to help out.

You might also want to invest in a white noise machine or fan for your DD's room when she's napping. My DD was conditioned early on to fall asleep with all the regular household noises going on while she napped, or when she slept at night. I can see not wanting to run the vacuum when she's sleeping (that's above and beyond normal noise), but I would have gone crazy if I'd had to tiptoe around the house while she was sleeping. She can learn to sleep through it, which might makes things easier for you.