House cleaners: worth it
For a long time, I felt that I should be an infinitely more organized and productive person with no need for house cleaners. I also suspected that hiring a cleaner might indicate a lazy, bankrupt moral character and a certain disconnect from the realities of everyday existence. And since I had read "Nickel and Dimed", I knew that house cleaners who work for maid services can end up making insanely, exploitatively small amounts of money per hour, while the maid service collects most of your payment.
On the other hand, I had heard many academics advise that as soon as you can afford it, household help was completely worth it. And our house was getting messier and messier as we put in more and more time at work.
So we went for it. My husband found independent cleaners, a family that runs their own service. They come once a week, and the three of them finish our house in an hour. It is a wonderful thing.
First, there is no longer any need to argue about who last cleaned the toilet. This, in itself, is worth it. Second, now that the cleaners do the routine stuff, we have the chance to tackle the harder things– like figuring out how to fix a broken dresser, or get rid of the spare table that has been clogging up the living room. And third, it is immensely comforting to know that we have just a little help in battling the forces of chaos.
Financially, hiring cleaners will not be an option for everyone (after all, I don’t suppose the cleaners hire cleaners, right?). But if you are overwhelmed by your own house and can afford the cost, I encourage you to try it out.
Oooh… I finally got Hubby to agree to hire cleaners and I haven’t found the time to find a good outfit. I so wish you lived in my city and I could just steal your husband’s legwork!
Comment by Cloud — April 28, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
This was my department chair’s most valuable piece of advice when I was hired. Hire a cleaning service!
Comment by anon — April 28, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
Ooo baby, this sounds like heaven. I have been maintaining for years that I will eventually hire house cleaners. My husband thinks this is a ridiculous idea and won’t even discuss it. However, we still manage to get in some nasty fights over stupid shit like vacuuming. I don’t have time for that kind of crap in my life, and having someone come in to my house 2x per month sounds like an awesome solution. I think once we have kids, my husband might sing a different tune. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Comment by Candid Engineer — April 29, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
We’ve been meaning to do this for months, but I haven’t called the service yet. My main reluctance is to have some unknown person coming in my house in my absence… I know it’s stupid… we have to do it!
Comment by stepwise girl — May 4, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
You can even have interesting conversations with the cleaning help if you happen to be around when they come in. (Sorry if I muffed the html.)
If you’re worried about paying the small business more than the individual employee, it is possible for you yourself to employ. We did this for a while. Now we’re back to an agency, because it’s time-consuming and complicated when you do your taxes. In any case, compliments for doing it above the table. Otherwise, hello *real* exploitation.
And when I’m between help and do it myself for a year or so, I am *so* grateful to get help in whom I can trust again.
Comment by Alethea — May 11, 2008 @ 11:04 am
I went with a cleaning service and always got a different cleaner each time. I was never very happy with their service. It always seemed like a superficial clean and not a good clean. Once the shower wasn’t rinsed it still had a lot of soap scum on it and another time the toilet ring was completely disgusting. It just got to the point where I felt like it wasn’t worth the money for them to do a half ass job, but my husband is a post-doc and I’m still a student so I figured once a month we could divide the chores and do a good scrubbing with little time taken away from our lives.
Comment by Jennie — May 11, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
If you employ somebody, make sure your home insurance include work cover for domestic employees, otherwise you could end up having to pay out if they have an on the job injury (depending on the workers comp laws in your state/country, of course).
Comment by Lab Lemming — May 15, 2008 @ 12:16 am
how much?
Comment by amy — October 21, 2008 @ 7:03 am