Do you have a housekeeper/cleaner?

[sheehs1]

Had someone clean once a week while we were both working. At that time it was $60 for one day. She came at 7:30 in the morning and left around 4:00 and did everything that needed attention. Marie was part of the family...and passed away from cancer in 2005. Since then, I've done the cleaning for a variety of reasons.
- I've gotten quotes from others that range from $100 to $150 for 4 hours of work.
- I'm not formally working outside of the house, and with the children now gone it really does not take a lot to keep things up.
- $100/week = a net of $5200 a year. Over 10 years this is $52,000. Over 20 years it's $104,000) I'd like to keep that for myself or use it to rent a beach house once a year...etc. or for whatever...
- The "return" for 1 day a week cleaning isn't much for our household. With 2 schnauzers and a cat I vacumn ad dust at least 3 times a week anyway...so why pay someone to do it once.
Have considered getting someone maybe once a month...to give it a more thorough cleaning...especially upstairs...which is rarely used with the children gone. Just haven't done it...as it doesn't seem to be a priority.

[Amethyst]

We get maid-service ads all the time. The copy is so ridiculous - one customer testimonial said he loved coming home to find the carpet "vacuumed in a precise pattern."

We don't see any point in paying someone else to run a vacuum cleaner - what with a self-propelled vacuum, it is the easiest chore in the house! [unless one has a disability, that is]. All the chores we hate are extra (clean the fridge: $50 and UP).

Amethyst

[vicente solano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh That's a lot of cleaning! .

My gift to my wife in exchange for my doing nothing. In my opinion, housekeeping is a very tiresome and ungrateful job, and I don´t see why she has to do of it if I don´t, despite my not having to go out to work.

Most of the help´s time is spent cooking, which neither of us like on a daily basis.

[Lazarus]

Yes, my wife.

[toofrugalformycat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby I am the housekeeper. I think my mother might kill me if I hired someone.

I didn't know I had a child!

[freebird5825]

The nice thing about having a periodic top-to-bottom cleaning done is it gives you a baseline from which to maintain a cleaner house in between the full treatment.
I have problems with my hands (tendinitis), so cleaning the entire house is just not a physical possibility. What takes my housecleaner 4 hours to do would take me 3x the amount of time because I have to stop once my hands start to hurt. That takes all of 20 minutes.
However, I can do the little bit it takes to keep the place looking nice.
A side benefit is I am helping a young lady earn some extra money to do things with her 2 young boys that she normally could not afford.
Priceless!

[bubba]

We have never used a housekeeper/cleaner except for once or twice in the past for "spring cleaning" type chores. We are cheap, we don't like strangers in the house, and dh sees after his aunt and every house cleaner he gets in for her rips her off, so we don't trust anyone. We've never used a lawn service either. Some day we will be unable to see to our own chores and we'll revisit the issue then, but for now, we are perfectly healthy and able to take care of cleaning up after ourselves.

We are picky so we do clean every weekend. I hate the time used, but it's part of life.

[Nova]

We had a cleaning lady who came one day each week while DH and I were working and the kids were at home. She cleaned the house and did the laundry. When the kids left for college, we gave up the housekeeper...hey, we gave up a lot of things for those college years, but the kids graduated with no debt. DH and I divided household responsibilities way back then and the arrangement continues to work for us.

[Orchidflower]

Do it myself for 2 reasons: I'm cheap in some areas (and this being one), and I hate people coming into my house like that (been robbed = now paranoid).
And with tile and wood floors comes such easy cleanup...love them!

[FreeAtLast]

I have a housekeeper once a week on Friday mornings. My 18 year old son still lives home while finishing High School and she does much to put things in order each week.

I still work PT so I feel that it is still worth it. I had her more often when I was working FT. I rather work PT writing computer programs than clean my house.

I pay $20/hour. She has been with me along time. She also can do any sewing that I need.

[saluki9]

We have ours come every third week. When we got married my wife informed me she doesn't do bathrooms, and that it is non-negotiable. It didn't take me long to figure out that I'm not spending my weekends doing them either.

Two women come for about an hour and a half. Costs us $75.00

[FreqFlyer]

Two people come about once a month and spend 2 hours ($65). We live in a very old drafty house which gets dusty and I hate cleaning the shower.

I got in the habit of using a cleaning service in right after college. I was renting a house with 2 other friends. You can imagine how dirty a place like this gets (with all the friends coming-and-going). It seems like an extravagance but when you split the cost 3 ways it was WORTH IT. We didn't fight over who did more or less of the mess/chores.

[Westernskies]

Twice a month (we're both still w*rking) It's really nice to come home to a clean house, and worth the $$.
No security or privacy concerns, the lady that owns the company has had a key to our house for 7 years now, mostly the same crew, no turnover...y, si son legales.

[Sarah in SC]

My house looks somewhere between Aaron's and Khan's. Apparently no one cleans.

And there is no way I could convince someone that it would be reasonable, at any price, to clean a house where 5 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 hopelessly messy people live.

I feel bad for DH, as he at least grew up in a clean house with no pets. I've always been a slob.

Squalor is not too bad, once you get used to it. Spray some pine cleaner every once in a while and it helps keep down the visiting times from houseguests.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC My house looks somewhere between Aaron's and Khan's. Apparently no one cleans. And there is no way I could convince someone that it would be reasonable, at any price, to clean a house where 5 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 hopelessly messy people live. I feel bad for DH, as he at least grew up in a clean house with no pets. I've always been a slob. Squalor is not too bad, once you get used to it. Spray some pine cleaner every once in a while and it helps keep down the visiting times from houseguests.

Another helpful hint: Don't turn on very many lights, or bright lights. Not only will you save on your electricity bill, but also you are less likely to see the dust and dirt.

When I had my house on the market, I had to turn on all the lights for showings and use higher wattage bulbs because apparently most buyers want a house to be light and airy. This entailed a lot of preliminary cleaning of what I had thought was a reasonably clean house. I had NO IDEA....

Squalor is best when you can't see it. You'd never know it was there.

[Sarah in SC]

W2R, my mom used to swear by lowing the wattage on bulbs before parties, because she figured why clean before the party when you were definitely going to have to clean all over again afterward? Candles are also a good choice for making it seem more dim.

Now you know why we will never sell our house as long as we are a) alive or b) actually living in it.

[Nords]

When we were new parents (and dual active-duty military) we were too sleep-deprived to keep up with more than the bare basics of cleaning. A housecleaner was well worth the price.

We kept that habit up until our kid was nine years old and I ER'd. At that point we resented the intrusion (especially when spouse was working Navy Reserve midwatches) and it dawned upon us that our latest housecleaner was a drama queen. We gently (and generously) paid her off and then changed the locks.

We put a lot of effort into not getting things dirty in the first place. A whole-house water conditioner avoids lime/mineral deposits. Most of spouse's tchotchkes are behind glass. We squeegee the shower walls after every use. We dust with a Swiffer to pick it up instead of redistributing it. We don't have a lot of rugs in the house.

The best housecleaner we've ever had has been our Scooba. Every tile in the house gets a pass at least once a month, and the kitchen gets his attention weekly.

[walkinwood]

We had a house cleaning service when we were both working, but gave it up when we ER'd.

It is a wonderful luxury if you can afford it.