S/O of What household chore do dread the most? thread. Do you have a cleaning person?

[tvguy]

My wife has declared deep house cleaning day, so posting this before starting to clean the bathrooms.

We are both 66, and have always cleaned out own house. The neighbors on our east side are in their 30's with a 4 year old, both work from home, and they have a house cleaner. The neighbors on the west side are in their 40's with a 17 year old and a 5 year old, both work, him from home, her in an office, they have a house cleaner. Neighbor across the street, she is 66 and retired, he is 72 and still working, they have a house cleaner.

Do you have a house cleaner and why do or don't you?

For us, I think the big issue is we don't want strangers cleaning in our house. The second is the cost. All three neighbors pay about $200 a month for two, four hour cleanings a month.
We normally wave housekeeping in hotels if we are staying more than one night just to keep a stranger out of our room. But we did a 3,600 mile road trip last year from California to Texas through Arizona, and New Mexico and a couple of the hotels we stayed in charge $25 extra for daily housekeeping for stays over one night, otherwise they only do housekeeping every other day for free. I think covid and a shortage of staff are the reason for that.

 

[TippyThomas]

No, I don't have a housekeeper. I live alone and have all the time in the world to clean if it's needed. I could never justify hiring one because it's so easy to keep up with it myself.

 

[tony67]

Someone cleans the house and its not me...so I guess I have a housecleaner.

 

[john7994]

We have had the same house cleaner for the last 15 years - one deep cleaning day - on an every other week basis.

 

[BellasMouseketeers]

When we first bought our house I started out trying to do it on my own. But quickly realized it wasn't getting done either often enough or well!

 

[SC Minnie]

We've never had a housecleaner. In the early years it was due to money- if we had extra we preferred to spend it elsewhere. Now there is just 2 of us at home. DH is retired and I still work (2 days WFH, 3 in the office). He does most of the housecleaning now because he has the time during the week.

 

[Kitty 34]

At 62 I got my cleaning lady. Being diagnosed three years earlier with my lung disease she really was and is very helpful in keeping our house clean (biweekly).

She doesn't do the laundry so thus my answer stays the same on the other thread.

 

[Magical2017]

I dread the bathroom. We rotate who cleans it but I live with DH and two teen boys. It is not a job I enjoy.

We do not have a housekeeper. We did years ago, back when it was $100 per cleaning. We quickly did the math on how much we would save each year. It was a nice chunk and over the past 18 years since we have had the housekeeper, I will say it was a wise choice for our family. If I had unlimited funds I would hire someone full time.

 

[mmbrad02]

We are both in our 40's with a 13 year old daughter. We both work full time outside the home. We have a cleaning person that comes every other week for four hours and she is paid $100 each time.

Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it to us? Absolutely.

We still do our own laundry from start to finish, that is not part of what she does. It frees us up for my DD's activities, my husband is very community involved, and we just stay busy.

We do still have to pick up and do some light cleaning in between visits. I loathe doing floors (we are almost completely hard wood/laminate) and ultimately that was probably why we got a cleaning person in the first place. We have had the same gal since my daughter was 2 years old.

We trade off the expenses for what we can save elsewhere. For example, we just repainted our entire house and my DH did the entire job himself iwth my DD and I assisting where we could and also she and I did a lot of scrubbing during the process (I also loathe dry wall dust!!). Things like that. But for day to day living we appreciate the help a cleaning person provides.

 

[tvguy]

Never thought about a housekeeper doing laundry. Laundry is part of our Sunday routine. Up at 6 am, first load of laundry, towels in the washer, at Walmart at 7 am and then the local grocery store chain, pick up a fancy coffee at Dutch Bros, home by 8 or 8:15 am. My hobby is my classic car and then I head back up to the local grocery store for the weekly Cars and Coffee gathering in the parking lot. Usually home by 10 am at the latest.
I would do laundry if my wife allowed me to touch the washer and dryer, but she does not without explicit written instructions. If all does well, our weekly chores....shopping, laundry, are done by noon. Every other Sunday our daughter comes over at noon for lunch and stays until about 5 pm, so the afternoon is family time.

 

[barkley]

years ago when dh and i were still commuting and working, with 2 young kiddos mucking about we used a local janitorial buisness that came out maybe twice a month for the deep cleaning stuff. when they decided to eliminate private homes from their services we tried 'merry maids' ONCE . as the kiddos aged up and the repeated 'clean as you go' mantra became more ingrained as a habit for them housekeeping in general became less cumbersome.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Yes. Every two weeks. I started back in 2009 when DH was deployed, I had two little kids, a full-time job, and was pursuing my masters degree.

We did stop during Covid, and briefly while I was unemployed. But it was the FIRST thing we started again.

 

[easyas123]

We have a weekly housekeeper.
Once a week I get my bathrooms, kitchen and counters scrubbed and my floors swept & washed. Everything dusted. Best thing we've ever decided to do....it's just the 2 of us at home these days (plus the mutts) but I'd still do it if it was just me.
I also pay for the service for 2 of our employees as a 'off the books' kinda benefit/perk.

 

[barkley]

so...............those that have, do you clean or pick up before they come over?

 

[tvguy]

so...............those that have, do you clean or pick up before they come over?

THIS................was my mother in law. She had a house cleaner come every Wednesday. So every Tuesday after she got home from work, SHE cleaned house before the cleaning lady came.

 

[tvguy]

years ago when dh and i were still commuting and working, with 2 young kiddos mucking about we used a local janitorial buisness that came out maybe twice a month for the deep cleaning stuff. when they decided to eliminate private homes from their services we tried 'merry maids' ONCE . as the kiddos aged up and the repeated 'clean as you go' mantra became more ingrained as a habit for them housekeeping in general became less cumbersome.

Yeah, I had co-workers who had issues with cleaning companies. In particular using the wrong products to clean. My supervisor had a flat screen TV destroyed because the cleaning lady used something on the screen that removed the anti-glare coating and ruined the TV. The company finally did pay to replace the TV and this was back when a flat screen TV was over $2,000, not $500 like now.

 

[mjkacmom]

No, but I’m now a SAHM to kids in their 20’s, and only one lives here full time (I do not touch his room). I did have cleaning ladies for a few years, starting when I had a baby, 3 and 5 year old. It was $120 a cleaning way back then, 2 women, 2 hours, twice a month. Once #4 and #5 got to kindergarten (half day)it was on me. I do all if the cleaning, sometimes my husband carries the laundry down 3 flights. I do the shopping and most of the cooking. It’s pretty easy now, but back when I was in the trenches the days were LONG. Even on weekend’s I’m cleaning the table and countertops, emptying and loading the dishwasher. However, do not expect me to shovel show or trim hedges (we also have a landscaper). I used to have to clean for the cleaning ladies, I just couldn’t manage to find time to actually clean with a bunch of little kids home.

 

[buzzrelly]

We have a house cleaner who comes every other week for $120. She does the 3 bathrooms, mops all the wood floors, vacuums, dusts, etc. She does not do laundry.

We do pick-up before she comes which is good because my DH and DS tend to be very messy and it kind of forces them to put things away, at least every couple weeks. She also isn't getting paid to pick-up, she's getting paid to clean which she can't do with a bunch of their stuff around.

She is worth every penny since I was pretty much the only one doing it before we hired her, and I also work outside of the home 40-50 hours/week. My days off were spent cleaning and made me resentful. This was a good compromise.

 

[lovesmurfs]

so...............those that have, do you clean or pick up before they come over?

Absolutely. I don't want to pay to have them have to work around my stuff. It's usually just picking up clothes (I have a rocking chair that attracts them...) and straightening a bit.

 

[bbak30]

Yes I’ve had one for years. Both DH and I work outside of the home. Girls are 14 and 18. We struggle to keep up with laundry and dishes. And I HATE deep cleaning. Worth the money to us.