s/o What % are you? How much do you outsource cleaning, yardwork, etc.?

[Anonymous]

I see advice all over DCUM recommending outsourced cleaning and yardwork to stressed out parents of 2-income households. It just got me wondering at what income level people are actually doing this. We're 93%, but don't outsource any of that... It just doesn't feel like we have enough extra dollars floating around to justify the expense.

[Anonymous]

Everybody spends their money differently. Maybe they outsource cleaning but have an old cheap car or don't buy new clothes or never go on vacation...

Th

[Anonymous]

94% although we had a couple recent years we were lower. We do it all ourselves and not well! I would love a bi-monthly housekeeper, but noting is "picked-up" enough to warrant the expense.

[Anonymous]

I'm at 88% I think? I outsource cleaning (every two weeks) and yard maintenance. Its what works for me. Everyone spends money differently.

[Anonymous]

98%. Outsource half of the yardwork and half of the cleaning - they come every two weeks instead of once a week.

We eat out for dinner about once a week, that's outsourcing.

[Anonymous]

85% (93% before DH went back to school this year) with a young toddler. We have a housecleaner every two weeks. We don't have a yard to maintain, since we rent. It is a luxury and would be the first thing to go if we needed to cut back.

[Anonymous]

99%. Have a weekly cleaning person for 1/2 day/week. Do our own yard work. Try to do other things around the house like painting but then after about a year of having it on the to do list we will sometimes hire someone to do it. Kids are older now but when they were young they were in day care, rather than a nanny.

[Anonymous]

We have a cleaning service (3 lovely ladies who are in and out in about an hour) every 3 weeks. Costs less than $100 per visit, and we don't have to spend most of a weekend on hands and knees.

Best money we ever spent.

[Anonymous]

PP here -- and we're solid 73%.

[Anonymous]

95% and we don't outsource anything except eating out once or twice a week.

[Anonymous]

99.5% and we have a housekeeper come every week ($100), although I kind of feel like every other week would probably be sufficient and might go back to that. We deliberatetly didn't upgrade to a house with a big yard because we both hate yardwork. I have to plant a few plants once in the spring and then weed two or three times a summer for an hour or so in our tiny front yard. One kid in daycare until DCPS preschool at three.

I work FT but have a really flexible job. If I had a less flexible job, we would probably have to outsource things like waiting for repairmen, etc. I don't understand how two-working parent families with inflexible jobs get this stuff done.

[Anonymous]

We are 93% and we don't outsource anything other than childcare during work

[Anonymous]

96% and we don't outsource anything unless you consider home daycare for the youngest of our 2 DC. We do all cleaning, all yardwork, rarely get a babysitter, all birthdays are home affairs with homemade cake, etc.

[Anonymous]

How do you know what percentage you all are at? That is just a strange stat to seek out and know off hand...

We outsource. It is one of the benefits of being a DIHH.

[Anonymous]

We're 84% and I haven't been able to convince DH to let me outsource anything (or help himself-- but that's another matter).

If he didn't have such issues with it, I'd prioritize fairly regular cleaning help. And no yard= no yard work! With DD in middle school, paid childcare help is needed only to resolve the occasional work schedule conflict.