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View Poll Results: Did you fire the housekeeper or gardener upon retirement?
Yes 21 25.30%
No 62 74.70%
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Old 11-10-2019, 08:43 AM   #61
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When we retired we moved from a 4000 sqft house on two acres to 2400 sqft home with small yard close to the ocean. DW does most of the housework because she doesn't like the way I clean and most of the gardening because she enjoys it. I now wash my car and manage all of the technology. We both do many of the small projects around the house and for the cars because we have time, we enjoy, and you can learn anything on Youtube.... ;-)
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Old 11-10-2019, 10:45 AM   #62
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All you folks who say you will never hire anyone to do housework or yard work must be a lot younger and with better knees than DH and I are. As you get older there are trade offs. as we approach age 70 it is worth it to us to get someone to do the house and yard work while we save our knees for fun stuff like dancing and golf.
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Old 11-10-2019, 10:51 AM   #63
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I would never say never because you cannot predict your health. I am hoping to be like my mom and aunt. I am 65 but DH is only 60. He is doing basic car maintenance in retirement like oil changes and brakes because he has the time. Also it depends on the size of your yard and if it’s low maintenance.
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Old 11-10-2019, 02:49 PM   #64
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We have a cleaning service every six weeks, and I do weekly light cleaning. I like they way the scrub the woodwork, wipe the dog art off the windows and storm doors, etc. I don't do that, which is why I have them.

We moved to a maintenance free community a few years ago so DH couldn't even own a riding lawnmower as he no longer has any business on one but doesn't realize it. We pay <$200 a month for mowing, weed wacking and blowing, fertilizing, weed treatment, fall leaf removal, shrub and tree trimming, and snow removal. Worth every penny.
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Old 11-10-2019, 03:03 PM   #65
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We have a mowing service . It is too hot in Florida for outside work a lot of the year. Last year when I was sick I hired a cleaning person . She started out great but slowly got not so good so I resumed cleaning . I will hire another one if my health goes south or I get tired of cleaning .
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Old 11-10-2019, 06:07 PM   #66
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We fired the cleaning lady years ago before we retired. She didn’t clean. We never hired a new one. We do have a guy wash our outside windows, since I have a hard time doing second story window cleaning.
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Old 11-11-2019, 07:57 AM   #67
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We fired the cleaning lady years ago before we retired. She didn’t clean. We never hired a new one. We do have a guy wash our outside windows, since I have a hard time doing second story window cleaning.


Interestingly similar to me. When my late wife was ill, I hired a house cleaner for awhile. My sons were of the age where they peed everywhere but the toilet. I just found myself cleaning again after she just cleaned not only in the bathroom but many parts of the house.
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Old 11-15-2019, 11:05 AM   #68
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I've had the same cleaning lady for 25+ years (1/2 day, every other week). I'm just afraid she's going to retire! My retirement budget includes paying her.

I'm hoping to get rid of the lawn service before I retire, because the plan is to downsize to a place that doesn't need one.
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Old 11-15-2019, 02:08 PM   #69
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NO! We hired both!
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Old 11-15-2019, 03:36 PM   #70
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We have a bi-weekly housekeeper and a weekly gardener. Together they make up 3% of our budget. Upon retirement we plan to terminate them and do this work ourselves, because time will be plentiful and we just don’t know how long our nest egg will need to last. Other similar moves might be paid car washes, handyman work you can do yourself, etc. I’m curious how many people made this same cost cutting “time-for-money” tradeoff upon their retirement.
We had a landscaper and a lawn treatment company that we used for many years. I discontinued them to both save money and give myself something to do. Had to buy a lawn tractor but it’s already paid for itself.
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Old 11-15-2019, 04:05 PM   #71
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Both of the housekeepers I’ve had since I left California stole from me so I decided I’d just do it myself.
I also do all the outside maintenance, mow 5 acres, trim, weed, last weekend I blew all the leaves into piles and mulched them.
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Old 11-15-2019, 04:14 PM   #72
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I am physically unable to do much, so I want to spend my energy on things I enjoy. I have a house cleaner who charges $20 an hour and a somehow much more expensive lawn service. I simply can’t spend energy on those activities. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and a bad back. C’est la vie!
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Old 11-15-2019, 04:33 PM   #73
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I enjoy yard work ... fresh air and some exercise.
We have a house cleaner now. Not yet retired but, we have budgeted to keep the house cleaner.
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Old 11-15-2019, 04:58 PM   #74
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The cleaning lady is part of our retirement budget. We never did have a gardener, although I could see getting one when I am physically unable to keep it up.
Our cleaning person was part of our retirement budget, too, but after a few months I just couldn’t see paying that much for something I could do in 4 hours/month, so we let her go. It is in my future spending plans to hire someone to help with yard work in 15-20 years (or sooner, if needed for medical reasons (I’m 60, in decent shape, and enjoy most yard work)).
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Old 11-15-2019, 04:59 PM   #75
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Same here.

We retired so we would no longer have to work, not to substitute a an unpaid job for a paid one.
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Old 11-15-2019, 05:18 PM   #76
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We let go of our beloved housekeeper when I retired. She only cleaned every other week, but was crucial to keeping my stress levels down while I worked 60+ hrs a week.

I can no longer say, "Again- I'm not the maid!" a la Flo. At least keeping house is good exercise!

A year later, we hired a lawn guy b/c I hate yard work & DH is getting up in years and it was time for that. It's too darned hot & humid around here to subject him to that. We do trim the bushes & trees ourselves (for now).
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Old 11-15-2019, 05:20 PM   #77
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we've had housecleaning help for nearly as long as we've been married. started back in the 70's when my wife tore the ligaments in her knee during a park district ski trip. she was off work and her feet for several months. we hired a every-other-week housecleaner for her and liked it so much that we've had one ever since.

when we moved in to our present tree covered home in '88 we spent 4-consecutive weekends in september raking and filling 125-lawn bags and another 50-bags in the spring for the oaks that don't drop in the fall. the next year we hired a fall/spring cleanup crew which then morphed a few years later to include lawn cutting and weeding. fine by me...i'm not fond of those chores.

we were snowbirds for a few years and wanting to have the house looked lived in i hired a snow removal crew. we have ~3000 sf of drive which took the better part of an hour to clear. i don't know why i didn't think of doing that years ago. we've kept them on as well.

wouldn't do without any of them.
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Old 11-16-2019, 07:38 AM   #78
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The DH and I have had cleaning ladies in the past, but don't right now because we haven't found a reliable service. We do our own lawn, but hire a pro to mow our rental properties. If a repair comes up, we call a plumber, electrician, handyman, whatever needed.

We've worked hard and been blessed. It makes sense for us to provide paid work for others.
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Old 11-16-2019, 09:45 AM   #79
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Decision made for me

After retiring, I had plans to terminate the gardener service but felt bad as the man had been doing the job for years and didn’t cost me much.

However, as almost on cue, while balancing my check book I notice that the last check I wrote to him had been modified form $40 to $90... made severing the relationship easy. Called bank to advise and to change the amount to the written figure on check.

Amazing that after years of service that one would do such a thing for so little money. Just started cutting the lawn again and advised him his services were no longer required. Sad really...
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Old 11-16-2019, 01:59 PM   #80
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Originally Posted by Gumby View Post
The cleaning lady is part of our retirement budget. We never did have a gardener, although I could see getting one when I am physically unable to keep it up.
I agree . The cleaning lady will be the last to go!
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