What services would make the most difference in the life of exhausted parents?

[Anonymous]

We employed a housekeeper. She does all the laundry, sheets, dishes and kitchen clean up, plus cleans the house (vacuums, dusts) daily. We also have a cleaning service come every 2 weeks.

She is a household employee but we she Sure Payroll to manage her taxes and it’s pretty easy. She makes 30/hour and when she started she only worked 20 hours a week but now she works 30.

She’ll also put away groceries I order online, manage people who need to come to the house for maintenance (I schedule them but she’s there to let them in, answer questions, etc), and in a pinch she’ll watch our kids for an hour or two.

[Anonymous]

^ I’ll add that I cannot believe more people don’t do this. Yes it’s not cheap at like 50K a year but it is the single thing that makes our lives easier. I would sooner have a smaller house and fewer vacations in exchange for this daily help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ I’ll add that I cannot believe more people don’t do this. Yes it’s not cheap at like 50K a year but it is the single thing that makes our lives easier. I would sooner have a smaller house and fewer vacations in exchange for this daily help.

You realize that a significant number of families don't even make 50k a year, never mind being able to spend 50k a year on a luxury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ I’ll add that I cannot believe more people don’t do this. Yes it’s not cheap at like 50K a year but it is the single thing that makes our lives easier. I would sooner have a smaller house and fewer vacations in exchange for this daily help.

You realize that a significant number of families don't even make 50k a year, never mind being able to spend 50k a year on a luxury?

Obviously. And yet plenty of people post on dcum about making 500K or more and struggling with the demands of work and parenthood. If hiring a housekeeper were as easy as ordering an expensive handbag or booking a fancy vacation, way more people would do it. But Americans are intimidated by the process of employing help and have a sense they should do it all themselves, which is silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey there,

I am curious to find out what parents are willing to splurge on in exchange for more sanity, me-time, in their life. I am looking to offer services that would make a difference in a parent’s life and would love to hear from parents! 😍

Someone trustworthy who can operate independently, to come into my (empty) house for one hour each day, and do general tidying/chores as needed, and monthly housekeeper chores as time allows. Things like cleaning up the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, taking out recycling; minor fridge cleaning etc. Stuff an actual housecleaner 2x month doesn't do - not cleaning but more the picking up and putting away part of the daily slog.

[Anonymous]

If anyone is seriously considering I am happy to explore this with you. I am a mom of 2 looking to make extra income - now that my children are in school, though I do have a part-time occupation, I often have free time in the early morning and some evenings - I can fit tasks sometimes on the whim, other times it would have to be planned ahead, especially interested in tasks that can be done remotely, running errands, someone mentioned for example folding clothes in my house etc….

[Anonymous]

Btw post above is by OP. But if anyone else is interested in offering services - please feel free to “reply” here. I do not mind 😊

[Anonymous]

When did American women become so lazy and helpless? My mother had five children and went back to work when the youngest was in first grade. All five of us helped with housework, yard work. Started dinner when we got home from school. She finished dinner when she got home and we did homework

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did American women become so lazy and helpless? My mother had five children and went back to work when the youngest was in first grade. All five of us helped with housework, yard work. Started dinner when we got home from school. She finished dinner when she got home and we did homework

What did your dad do all day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did American women become so lazy and helpless? My mother had five children and went back to work when the youngest was in first grade. All five of us helped with housework, yard work. Started dinner when we got home from school. She finished dinner when she got home and we did homework

HOW DID SHE DO THIS WHEN SCHOOLS ARE ONLY 6.5 HOURS IN THE DAY. My K has school from 815-230. And by law, cant be home by himself. Even if I felt like skating on that there are no crossing guards in order for him to walk home from school even though the county does not provide buses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anyone is seriously considering I am happy to explore this with you. I am a mom of 2 looking to make extra income - now that my children are in school, though I do have a part-time occupation, I often have free time in the early morning and some evenings - I can fit tasks sometimes on the whim, other times it would have to be planned ahead, especially interested in tasks that can be done remotely, running errands, someone mentioned for example folding clothes in my house etc….

Um, this sounds amazing…I am definitely interested. (And I live in a townhouse community so if you wanted to do a shared model among multiple families I could probably help you find others.) I recommend putting yourself out there on care.com - because it easily allows for conducting background checks. If it’s allowed come back and post the link to your profile here once it’s live. Because I would hire you—seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did American women become so lazy and helpless? My mother had five children and went back to work when the youngest was in first grade. All five of us helped with housework, yard work. Started dinner when we got home from school. She finished dinner when she got home and we did homework

What did your dad do all day?

He was MIA in Vietnam.

[Anonymous]

Op wants $50-150 per hr, is that correct, op? I thought I already saw your ad somewhere on this site.

[Anonymous]

DP - I would also do something like this but I would want to focus on the admin portion only. My kids are 11 and 13 and I need to carpool after school and make dinners myself!!! LOL

BUT -

I could:
- do all your vacation planning
- do any scheduling and planning for example calling for appointments, customer service follow ups, anything that you don't have the energy or time to do involving the phone or email
- prob errands like Amazon returns, dry cleaning, shopping for specifics
- my background is project management so I am more than happy to help with any project requiring time and planning

Would anyone be interested in such services - I prob would charge something like $50-100/hr and maybe even a fixed fee weekly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did American women become so lazy and helpless? My mother had five children and went back to work when the youngest was in first grade. All five of us helped with housework, yard work. Started dinner when we got home from school. She finished dinner when she got home and we did homework

She was lazy - she had her kids help her!!!!!! If you only had 1 or 2 kids this does not work. Oh by the way nowadays it's less school bus and more pick ups from school for kids. More after school activities. It's not lazy it's just so much work. Everyone needs help!