Coming Clean!

[socca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmp470 I'm 43 and retired while the wife is a 39y/o stay at home mom. AND WE DECIDED TO GET A MAID SERVICE

Be sure to watch (or rewatch) Downton Abbey for some tips on properly interacting with your new maid. You will, of course, expect her to address you as "m'lord" and your wife as "m'lady".

[Ready]

I bought my first condo when I was 23 years old. I spent the first two months trying to keep it clean when I learned quickly how much I hate cleaning houses. I couldn't afford to eat out, take a vacation, or splurge on virtually anything. But I still hired a person to come in once every two weeks to clean my house.

Now, almost 30 years later, I still have a house cleaner come in once every two weeks. The cost is nominal, and the thought of scrubbing toilets and mopping floors is so awful that I really don't care what it costs. I've always been an LBYM person, but I have my limits.

Funny, I thought almost everyone had a house cleaner. This thread has made me realize otherwise.

[Amethyst]

Well, for one thing, the cost is not "nominal" for everybody. House cleaners are very expensive here. I suppose a small condo is not that much, but it's also not hard to keep a small condo clean, so...

Another reason we have never had a house cleaner (except that one bad time) is that they expect floors and surfaces to be practically bare. In other words, we could not live as we choose. We like our stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready I bought my first condo when I was 23 years old. I spent the first two months trying to keep it clean when I learned quickly how much I hate cleaning houses. I couldn't afford to eat out, take a vacation, or splurge on virtually anything. But I still hired a person to come in once every two weeks to clean my house. Now, almost 30 years later, I still have a house cleaner come in once every two weeks. The cost is nominal, and the thought of scrubbing toilets and mopping floors is so awful that I really don't care what it costs. I've always been an LBYM person, but I have my limits. Funny, I thought almost everyone had a house cleaner. This thread has made me realize otherwise.

[Aerides]

It's one of those things I've always thought i would like, but never could bring myself to do it. Not the least of my reservations is the cost, estimates around $85 for a visit every 2 weeks? That's not nominal to most people if that's an ongoing expense.

Plus I know myself well enough. I'd be the kind of person that cleans before they come, that would nag at DH to pick up and put stuff away in prep. Also the whole there's-a-stranger-in-my-house thing.

And when I've seen cleaning crews show up at other neighbors houses, when I'm out on a walk in the morning, often they seem to all be smoking as they get out of their cars. If someone showed up to clean my house and they smell remotely of smoke, that would not go well.

[lucky penny]

Thanks for coming clean, JMP!

I'm been contemplating doing this for a long time but haven't pulled the trigger. A friend told me decades ago that she hired a housecleaner when she first became a lawyer, which seemed extravagant to me at the time, but I often think maybe she was onto something. I can easily afford it & don't hate cleaning, but when I'm busy or just feeling lazy sometimes it doesn't get done for much too long.

Reasons I haven't done it: I have a small home so I COULD do it in a couple of hours, & my parsimonious relatives (including deceased ones) would be shocked & disapprove.

Terrible reasons, I know, but it's hard to escape that perspective. I'm gonna do it -- one day.

[Teacher Terry]

Yes you need to pick up before they come so they can clean and don’t waste their time moving stuff. Now that I am retired I do my own dusting and cleaning kitchen counters, etc, But having them do bathrooms and scrubbing all floors on their hands and knees is priceless. I only have them come once/month.

[aja8888]

We have a cleaning team come twice per month and it's been the same two ladies for 4 years. DW is HANICAPPED and can't do the heavy or intense stuff. I pick up the clutter and they do the rest.

We pay $140 a month and they do everything you can think of including washing the bedding and towels. Plus, they make the beds up. The two ladies are here for about 2.5 hours and we sometimes leave to go to breakfast while they are cleaning the place.

They clean a few homes in the area in our 55+ community and are highly recommended.

[Amethyst]

The only estimate I got was $650 a month for basic cleaning. Our home Ian' t small but neither is it a mansion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides It's one of those things I've always thought i would like, but never could bring myself to do it. Not the least of my reservations is the cost, estimates around $85 for a visit every 2 weeks? That's not nominal to most people if that's an ongoing expense. Plus I know myself well enough. I'd be the kind of person that cleans before they come, that would nag at DH to pick up and put stuff away in prep. Also the whole there's-a-stranger-in-my-house thing. And when I've seen cleaning crews show up at other neighbors houses, when I'm out on a walk in the morning, often they seem to all be smoking as they get out of their cars. If someone showed up to clean my house and they smell remotely of smoke, that would not go well.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst The only estimate I got was $650 a month for basic cleaning. Our home Ian' t small but neither is it a mansion.

You can lease a new Mercedes for that amount!

[mamadogmamacat]

I've never used a house cleaning service. i do have one friend whose granddaughter did work for one for a time as a second job to earn extra money to help pay for a a nursing course at a local college that she started after quitting the housekeeping gig. And yes she reports most of her housekeeping colleagues did smoke a lot, but not while actually in the houses they cleaned. It was no fun for her riding in the vans with them.

I may have to get a maid service once I get to the point of being totally unable to bend or get down on the floor (or get up again). But for now I have to do a lot of both to care for my pets, so it seems a waste of money. Keeping clutter down to prep for their visits would be a hassle now, but probably wont if/when I start getting rid of stuff as I age anyway.

[NYEXPAT]

I pay $361.00/mth + benefits. She works 60 hours per week. Cleans,cooks changes diapers, goes to the market, serves me coffee in the afternoon, etc. On the plus side she is 22 and easy on the eyes!

[street]

Not a bad idea but my wife would say it would be more work to have one then to just do it herself. I don't do much cleaning but I do some. For many years I washed the floors and all outside work. Now I do the outside work and very little house cleaning.

[Amethyst]

For that amount, I should be able to buy one of those robots that pick up stuff and put it in bins, along with cleaning!

I can only imagine what the young moms in the $2mill houses up the street (you could put 4 of ours inside 1 of theirs) are paying their maid services. They sure aren't cleaning those giant houses themselves. Actually I should wander up there some time, attempt to get someone to come to the door,* and ask who they are using.

*People never answer the door any more; have you noticed that? I think they are too far away in some other part of the house to hear the bell!

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 You can lease a new Mercedes for that amount!

[Teacher Terry]

How big is your house and how often were they going to come?

[harllee]

When DH and I both worked full time (I worked alot --50-60 hours a week) we had a maid, a cook, some one to do the laundry, yard work, etc. It all cost a small fortune. Then we both retired at age 50. Since then we have substantially downsized. No more yard and a small house to keep up and we do all the work ourselves. We have found if we spend 30 minutes a day we keep up with all the cleaning and laundry and it is not so overwhelming. A 1500 square foot house is so much easier to clean than a 3000 square foot house.

[Free bird]

This is the Howells thread.

[harllee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Free bird This is the Howells thread.

Gulligen's Island??

[Free bird]

A brilliant microcosm of the America you find yourself. I'm in the Gilligan category. Labor.

[Free bird]

I did hire some Iraqis to install some flooring. Reasonably hard working guys. Pretty good quality. Attention to detail not great. But they appreaciate the opportunity to make some money. I showed them how to improve without offending them. I can't do that type of work anymore. I would if I could.

[Chuckanut]

I had a house cleaning service a few years back. They came every other Wednesday. One November they were scheduled to come the day before Thanksgiving. Great, since we were having friends over that year. Alas, the never showed up. :-(

I called and asked what happened and was told that other clients who were hosting Thanksgiving asked for a special cleaning on Wednesdays so they rescheduled me. They never called and asked me or told me if the change was OK. So what about me? To bad. I fired them. Ever since I do my own housecleaning. I bough a Roomba for the price of about 4 months cleaning and that has helped a lot.