Are You Allowing Others Into Your Home

[statsman]

I am amazed at how many LBYM people have cleaning persons (most said lady, but that is not appropriate)

Some of that may be because of physical limitations. I think this forum doesn't represent the norm for retirees. Most here have planned well for retirement, and for many, having the house cleaned or the yards maintained is part of the cost of retirement.

 

[CardsFan]

Some of that may be because of physical limitations. I think this forum doesn't represent the norm for retirees. Most here have planned well for retirement, and for many, having the house cleaned or the yards maintained is part of the cost of retirement.

Point taken. I just know if we had a cleaning person, DW would clean before they got there. No point.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Point taken. I just know if we had a cleaning person, DW would clean before they got there. No point.

I have often heard this comment, and my husband once accused me of this. I explained that I don't pay her to PICK UP the floor, I pay her to clean it. She cannot clean it if it's cluttered with stuff. So I pick up the books, socks, toys, etc before she comes. If for no other reason, I put my things away, because I can't FIND them if she puts them away. He considers this cleaning, but it's not.

 

[Dtail]

While they *may* be bringing flu viruses with them, they are also bringing disinfectants and cleaners. Might be a worthwhile trade-off.

Plus if the cleaning person doesn't come, then yours truly is cleaning the house with 3 bathrooms. Nah.....

 

[Gumby]

I have often heard this comment, and my husband once accused me of this. I explained that I don't pay her to PICK UP the floor, I pay her to clean it. She cannot clean it if it's cluttered with stuff. So I pick up the books, socks, toys, etc before she comes. If for no other reason, I put my things away, because I can't FIND them if she puts them away. He considers this cleaning, but it's not.

I pick up for the same reason. I pay her to clean and I'd like her to concentrate on that.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I pick up for the same reason. I pay her to clean and I'd like her to concentrate on that.

Right; if you pay for 2 hours of cleaning and they have to spend 15 minutes picking stuff up off the floor before they can vacuum, that's 15 minutes of their cleaning time they are spending NOT cleaning. Or, even if you consider it cleaning, I normally prefer to put my own things away, otherwise I can't find them later! I'd rather they spent their time wiping and dusting and vacuuming and such.

 

[Walt34]

Plus if the cleaning person doesn't come, then yours truly is cleaning the house with 3 bathrooms. Nah.....

A quote I remember from somewhere is "Never buy a house with more bathrooms than you want to clean". Unless of course you can afford to hire someone else to do it.

We just received an email today from the pest control company (had termites last year so we'll keep them on) and they suggest "exterior only" which seems perfectly reasonable to us so that's what we'll do.

Other than that we don't anticipate any other visitors at all. Of course if the furnace or A/C dies and I can't fix it we'll hire someone to come in.

 

[ncbill]

Nope.

We just returned from spending the day on planes crammed in with others so are self-quarantining at home for two weeks.

 

[audreyh1]

I have often heard this comment, and my husband once accused me of this. I explained that I don't pay her to PICK UP the floor, I pay her to clean it. She cannot clean it if it's cluttered with stuff. So I pick up the books, socks, toys, etc before she comes. If for no other reason, I put my things away, because I can't FIND them if she puts them away. He considers this cleaning, but it's not.

Yes, when we had a cleaning lady years ago she made it clear that things had to be picked up for her to clean. She was good. Loved coming home to a cleaned house.

 

[PatrickA5]

Had a painter scheduled for next week to do interior painting. I was OK with it, but DW freaked out about strangers being in the kitchen. I called and cancelled. She was probably right, like she always is.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Had a painter scheduled for next week to do interior painting. I was OK with it, but DW freaked out about strangers being in the kitchen. I called and cancelled. She was probably right, like she always is.

What an enlightened man you are....

 

[grasshopper]

We have a house sitter for a few days, only a little concerned.

 

[Badger]

There is no need for anyone to come into our home at this time. The only people that are even in our yard are the people that mow our yard and any delivery people (USPS, UPS, etc.).
When we need to talk to our family and friends there is the cell phone, and all forms of social media to assist with that.



Cheers!

 

[Dtail]

We have someone coming today to give a bid on some front of the house gutters plus check out the roof. No reason to come inside.
However, it appears our 2nd AC is now having issues, so that person would have to come inside if it needs to be replaced, as it is 14 years old.

 

[ckelly78z]

My daughter/SIL are the only ones allowed in, not that we are social butterflies anyway.

 

[athena53]

A couple of months ago I had someone come in and give me a quote for quartz countertops in my kitchen. I needed time to think about it (much higher than I expected) but after I did my taxes and saw the size of the refund coming (and the consequent reduciton in Estimated Payments I had to make this year) I decided to go ahead. I e-mailed her last week. No answer. Unfortunate. I bet the place is closed. She probably works on commission, too.

No postal deliveries- I got a PO Box last year after there were persistent problems with mail box thefts. I have Informed Delivery and haven't seen any interesting incoming mail so no need to check the box.

My one quandary is visits with my BF, who lives a little over an hour away. We skipped this past weekend- probably a good decision because I came back from a trip last week and transited 5 airports- but I REALLY need someone to hug. Not sure what this weekend will bring.

 

[iloveyoga]

No.

 

[statsman]

Other than our DD about a month ago, the only other person in our house in 2020 was pest control back in late January. They aren't scheduled for a revisit to spray until late April, so hopefully we'll be able to.

That said, it's going to be difficult to not have Easter dinner with our DD. It looks like we're already going to not get together to celebrate our birthdays in the next 7-10 days (DD's and mine).

 

[jim584672]

No way.

 

[harllee]

We told the housekeeper not to come (paid her anyway). So today the inhouse housekeeper (me) and assistant (DH) did some cleaning. The primary housekeeper (me) did Ok but the assistant (DH) asked for compassionate leave due to old age and arthritis. I guess I will have to grant the leave and do it all myself. Sigh. We are all having to make sacrifices. The place is small and it is just the 2 of so I should be OK if I spread it out over a few days.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We told the housekeeper not to come (paid her anyway). So today the inhouse housekeeper (me) and assistant (DH) did some cleaning. The primary housekeeper (me) did Ok but the assistant (DH) asked for compassionate leave due to old age and arthritis. I guess I will have to grant the leave and do it all myself. Sigh. We are all having to make sacrifices. The place is small and it is just the 2 of so I should be OK if I spread it out over a few days.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

We told the housekeeper not to come (paid her anyway). So today the inhouse housekeeper (me) and assistant (DH) did some cleaning. The primary housekeeper (me) did Ok but the assistant (DH) asked for compassionate leave due to old age and arthritis. I guess I will have to grant the leave and do it all myself. Sigh. We are all having to make sacrifices. The place is small and it is just the 2 of so I should be OK if I spread it out over a few days.

The second-string housekeeper (me) did spot vacuuming, emptied all the trash cans, wiped down the sinks and scrubbed the toilets on the regular cleaning day, but has not yet changed the sheets despite a few passive-aggressive mentions of this oversight by the employer. We'd fire me, but instead decided it would be more motivating to withhold my pay until it gets done.

 

[Midpack]

We've never had outside housekeeping. But the isolation orders have been good for us in that DW and I have the house as clean as ever and the yard in better shape than normal. It's not all bad news...

Yesterday when I did laundry (every Sunday), I wasn't in any hurry. Every other Sunday I was anxious to get started and done ASAP so we could move on to other activities.

In our neighborhood, people seem to be practicing friendly self distancing. Lots of friendly talk in the streets, with many more people outside than normal, but few if any are going into each others homes. The exception, kids seem to be playing with each other without any distances evident?

 

[MBAustin]

We're planning to have our housekeeping service come as usual Friday as of now. I'm a lousy housekeeper so we figure it's better to have them come in and clean everything thoroughly than to leave it to me. DH will stay behind closed doors in his office/mancave (which they only clean when we are out of town) and the dog and I will go for a walk while they are here. They sent us their protocols and we're comfortable with that.

Unfortunately, BestBuy emailed me Saturday night that they have cancelled all appliance installations. I ordered a replacement cooktop for the one that stopped working two weeks ago and it was to be delivered/installed on Friday. Now they say they will drop it at the front door but will not bring it inside. I have no idea how I will get it in the house or what to do with it for the weeks or months until I can get it installed. I'm going to try and call them mid-week to see if they will just hold it until installations are possible again. I'm having to be very creative with my cooking as I just have a small induction burner. Fortunately the oven and grill and slow cooker are working fine, but I may spring for an instant pot to give me a bit more flexibility in recipe choice.

 

[HarveyS]

BestBuy emailed me Saturday night that they have cancelled all appliance installations. I ordered a replacement cooktop for the one that stopped working two weeks ago and it was to be delivered/installed on Friday.

Here in Illinois skilled trades (plumbers, electricians) are defined as essential and can work thru the shut-down. If possible where you are, call a local skilled tradesperson and hire them. I'm sure they would appreciate the opportunity.