Where to Find A PT Cook/Housekeeper: Can’t do It All With Kids

[Anonymous]

I have looked for this and also found it nearly impossible to find, even paying cash up to $40/hour.

In my experience, cleaning people have a template for how they want to work (charging per clean, rather than per hour) and I’ve never found anyone decent willing to deviate from that model. I think because honestly they half ass things after the first cleaning or two and they wanna charge $150 for a cleaning that only takes about 1.5 hours (because they aren’t actually really truly cleaning things. They just kinda move the dust around and move as quickly as possible).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

No thanks! I’d rather be happy than virtuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have looked for this and also found it nearly impossible to find, even paying cash up to $40/hour.

In my experience, cleaning people have a template for how they want to work (charging per clean, rather than per hour) and I’ve never found anyone decent willing to deviate from that model. I think because honestly they half ass things after the first cleaning or two and they wanna charge $150 for a cleaning that only takes about 1.5 hours (because they aren’t actually really truly cleaning things. They just kinda move the dust around and move as quickly as possible).

My cleaners stay 4 hours usually for $200. They come every week and do great work. Keep looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have looked for this and also found it nearly impossible to find, even paying cash up to $40/hour.

In my experience, cleaning people have a template for how they want to work (charging per clean, rather than per hour) and I’ve never found anyone decent willing to deviate from that model. I think because honestly they half ass things after the first cleaning or two and they wanna charge $150 for a cleaning that only takes about 1.5 hours (because they aren’t actually really truly cleaning things. They just kinda move the dust around and move as quickly as possible).

My cleaners stay 4 hours usually for $200. They come every week and do great work. Keep looking.

Are you guys talking about a cleaning lady? OP, you need a cleaning lady and a housekeeper -- don't try to combine the two. Weekly or bi-weekly cleaning ladies and/or cleaning services are easy to find. The housekeeper who does meal planning and/or prep, organizes the house, various other tasks, is much harder to find. But that person is probably not going to want to be your cleaning lady who like mops, scrubs bathrooms, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

If she can afford it, why not find the help she needs? I have a FT nanny that cleans our house and feeds the kids dinner since my kids are in FT school and she only has them 3.5 hours a day. We pay her 35 hours a week and she works 12-6:30 every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

If she can afford it, why not find the help she needs? I have a FT nanny that cleans our house and feeds the kids dinner since my kids are in FT school and she only has them 3.5 hours a day. We pay her 35 hours a week and she works 12-6:30 every day.

That’s kind of sad that your kids have dinner with the nanny every day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

Np. This isn't helpful. Great you don't need help but knocking down women isn't cool

+1

It's also not true. Most women struggle with this. They get by but they struggle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

If she can afford it, why not find the help she needs? I have a FT nanny that cleans our house and feeds the kids dinner since my kids are in FT school and she only has them 3.5 hours a day. We pay her 35 hours a week and she works 12-6:30 every day.

How much do you pay her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have looked for this and also found it nearly impossible to find, even paying cash up to $40/hour.

In my experience, cleaning people have a template for how they want to work (charging per clean, rather than per hour) and I’ve never found anyone decent willing to deviate from that model. I think because honestly they half ass things after the first cleaning or two and they wanna charge $150 for a cleaning that only takes about 1.5 hours (because they aren’t actually really truly cleaning things. They just kinda move the dust around and move as quickly as possible).

My cleaners stay 4 hours usually for $200. They come every week and do great work. Keep looking.

Are you guys talking about a cleaning lady? OP, you need a cleaning lady and a housekeeper -- don't try to combine the two. Weekly or bi-weekly cleaning ladies and/or cleaning services are easy to find. The housekeeper who does meal planning and/or prep, organizes the house, various other tasks, is much harder to find. But that person is probably not going to want to be your cleaning lady who like mops, scrubs bathrooms, etc.

OP here, noted! I have a weekly cleaning service already so sounds like I should keep them and have the housekeeper focus on straightening up and keeping things orgs Zoe’s and leave the deep cleaning for the service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

No thanks! I’d rather be happy than virtuous.

Oh man I love this comment SO MUCH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between work and kids I’m drowning at home and would like to hire someone 20 hours a week to cook meals and clean/keep the house tidy.

Any suggestions where I can look or post for this kind of role? I haven’t had luck with care..com since the pandemic for other roles.

Then you aren't trying as most women manage very well every damn day. Stop whining and complaining and get organized like the rest of us!

No thanks! I’d rather be happy than virtuous.

Oh man I love this comment SO MUCH.

Haha me too! There are so many comments in these forums along the lines of "suck it up and be miserable like everyone else!"

[Anonymous]

Op i was looking at this is what i have ended up at which works really well for me

I have a bi weekly cleaning service

I also have a housekeeper who comes in 3 days a week for 3 hours. She does the top up work, laundry, meal prep and general tidying + anything else i ask her to do. It really makes a huge difference to my life.

I found her on care.com. I did email a lot of people btw and it was hard but it is possible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, you just have to keep asking around/posting, and be realistic about the amount you need to pay and the quality of candidates for a part-time job.

We paid $35 an hour and couldn’t get anyone to come 5 days per week for 4-5 hrs - they wanted to come 2 or 3 days for full days. We ended up going through a few folks who quit for a full time job before I gave up looking for someone. And it’s not just me - My friends who want something similar either ended up getting full time help, or gave up and don’t have help.

I’m assuming that means that the market for folks who do this part time work requires more than we were willing to pay, but I gave up at that point.

I'm an NP who can't afford more than a biweekly cleaner but the bold seems like it would still help a lot! Having my home tidied every other day and food prepped would still be nice!

I have someone who comes two afternoons a week -- she does all kids' laundry, towels, and some random other loads (inclduing folding and putting away). She fully prepares our dinner those two nights. She unloads the dishwasher those two days and declutters. She does seasonal stuff like rotate out kid's closets, organize play room. Occasionally she will run an errand or two. Two days is absolutely better than zero. She could only do two afternoons because the rest of the hours in her week were already accounted for with similar gigs. We found her through a friend that already used her as a housekeeper, and she (the housekeeper) was looking for another family to get her to 40 hours a week. We pay $125 for each afternoon -- she stays about 4 hours. Money VERY well spent.

We have something similar. 3x week for 4-5 hours.
I pay $40/hr

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, you just have to keep asking around/posting, and be realistic about the amount you need to pay and the quality of candidates for a part-time job.

We paid $35 an hour and couldn’t get anyone to come 5 days per week for 4-5 hrs - they wanted to come 2 or 3 days for full days. We ended up going through a few folks who quit for a full time job before I gave up looking for someone. And it’s not just me - My friends who want something similar either ended up getting full time help, or gave up and don’t have help.

I’m assuming that means that the market for folks who do this part time work requires more than we were willing to pay, but I gave up at that point.

I'm an NP who can't afford more than a biweekly cleaner but the bold seems like it would still help a lot! Having my home tidied every other day and food prepped would still be nice!

I have someone who comes two afternoons a week -- she does all kids' laundry, towels, and some random other loads (inclduing folding and putting away). She fully prepares our dinner those two nights. She unloads the dishwasher those two days and declutters. She does seasonal stuff like rotate out kid's closets, organize play room. Occasionally she will run an errand or two. Two days is absolutely better than zero. She could only do two afternoons because the rest of the hours in her week were already accounted for with similar gigs. We found her through a friend that already used her as a housekeeper, and she (the housekeeper) was looking for another family to get her to 40 hours a week. We pay $125 for each afternoon -- she stays about 4 hours. Money VERY well spent.

We have something similar. 3x week for 4-5 hours.
I pay $40/hr

OP here, do you pay on the books? I’m fed and need to pay on the books. I’m wondering how much this will shrink the pool of potential employees.

[Anonymous]

I'm retiring next year as a teacher (I'll be 52) and the 2-3 days per week sounds like a great retirement job for me.