Hiring a house cleaner - is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Dh and I do not share a bathroom and the fact that I don't have to clean his is one of the sole reasons I don't consistently want to kill him. We both work full time, 2 kids. Definitely not neat freaks but every 2 wks, the night before the gals come, I run around the house picking up and making sure that everything has a home. They won't organize your clutter, just clean around it.

My gals do bathrooms, baseboards, mopping, vacuuming (hellow townhome stairs!), clean vents, corner cobwebbies, countertops, stove, makes the beds (i wash the sheets and leave them accessible) and will clean the fridge or oven upon request. Oh yeah, they dust those ceiling fan blades too!

Until you start having your bathroom cleaned every 2 wks, you won't notice how dirty the toilets and tubs do get within a 2 wk period. Do it. Worth every penny.

And before you ask - about 2400 sq ft, 3 br, 3 1/2 ba townhome - $85 every 2 wks - NoVa/Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, weekly cleaning is worth every cent. But I also tend to get stressed out if things are too messy/disorganized.

Like others have said, a cleaner doesn't do the day-to-day picking up toys, cleaning dishes, cleaning up after meals, etc. But what I appreciate about a weekly cleaner is that it frees me up to do those little clean up projects, tidying up, etc. and actually see PROGRESS. I don't have to spend my time ever doing hard core cleaning. I rarely have to vacuum (unless we are having people over and I want things spotless, but then I can do a very quick vacuum). I only mop after we have a party. And I never have to do a deeping scrubbing of anything.

I spend 10-15 minutes every day after the kids go to bed tidying and I think I keep my house in pretty good shape. Of course, cleaning up after meals takes a bit more time, but otherwise, I get to spend the time with my kids. Also, I find that it is easier to teach the kids to clean up after themselves when there is a clean house.

I do think it is worth it to spend a weekend first just organizing things. We also have a very organized playroom - tupperware galore where every toy has its place. Makes my life much much more sane.

[Anonymous]

We just stopped our housecleaning service (money may be getting tight soon)....It's been 6 weeks and I can't begin to say how much I miss them

[Anonymous]

We gave up on housekeepers because they never cleaned to my standard. I felt that for $100, I shouldn't have to tell them to dust the tops of window sashes. And I hated that they didn't lift furniture to vacuum or mop (this is fairly common if you hire through a service--which we did because we didn't want to hire anyone off the books).

The best thing we did for keeping the house clean: reduce the amount of stuff we have. Keep only what you use and can comfortably store. Give things away. Do not add closets or rent out storage. Do not buy things--clothes, food, shampoo, kitchen gadgets, whatever--just because they are on sale. What you end up doing is buying fewer, higher quality things that you will use in a reasonable amount of time. It is a bit of an uphill battle because DH's is a packrat, but it helps immensely with keeping things clear and clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We gave up on housekeepers because they never cleaned to my standard. I felt that for $100, I shouldn't have to tell them to dust the tops of window sashes. And I hated that they didn't lift furniture to vacuum or mop (this is fairly common if you hire through a service--which we did because we didn't want to hire anyone off the books).

The best thing we did for keeping the house clean: reduce the amount of stuff we have. Keep only what you use and can comfortably store. Give things away. Do not add closets or rent out storage. Do not buy things--clothes, food, shampoo, kitchen gadgets, whatever--just because they are on sale. What you end up doing is buying fewer, higher quality things that you will use in a reasonable amount of time. It is a bit of an uphill battle because DH's is a packrat, but it helps immensely with keeping things clear and clean.

So you just clean it yourself, to your standard? How many hours a week do you spend cleaning your house? My time is worth $100 an hour, I'm not about to spend even one hour of it scrubbing.

[Anonymous]

13:04 again - the lone dissenter in this. I think people are starting to get defensive about this and I don't mean to put people on the defensive. Believe me - if I had a ton of money, I would have a housekeeper coming every week. No question at all.

We work full-time, have two preschoolers, have a 1800sq ft house with 2 bathrooms (so not as big as others here). $210k HHI. We are very clean/neat people - you would probably think we had a cleaner if you came over. Everything is picked up at the end of the night.

Our neighbors were looking for a cleaning service and they were quoted around $150 for each visit, so that's what I'm basing the cost on (varies by location obviously). We're close-in, so maybe it's more than NOVA, who knows. Anyway, for what they do, I'd want them to come twice a month, so $300.

FOR ME PERSONALLY, what they would do is not worth $300 a month to me. I explained in an earlier post how much I actually do and when in terms of housekeeping, but really I'm not spending hours cleaning the house. We are big no clutter people and I do a little here and a little there. Kitchen/dining room is wiped down every day anyway, bathroom takes 15 minutes tops. All I hear is people complaining that they have to stay on top of their housekeepers as time goes on anyway and I don't want to feel like I'm paying all that money and not getting what I expect.

But anyway. Obviously everyone's priorities are different. I don't feel like with the small amount of time it takes me to keep the house clean that $300/month would be worth it. And as I said, I work full-time so I know what it's like to want to absolutely maximize time with the children, which I still feel like I do.

Someone asked how many dinners out I could get for the cost of a housekeeper - I don't know, 3 or 4? I guess if you include babysitting and drinks, maybe 2? I'd rather have an awesome date with my husband every other week than have someone clean the house every other week. You may feel differently.

And actually, we do go to marriage counseling. It's a $25/visit co-pay through the insurance, so actually it's cheaper than a housekeeper

[Anonymous]

TOTALLY worth it. Otherwise I would have killed DH and the kids long ago. I'm not a neat freak, but I have my limits.

A bonus: now I can get the kids pick the crap off their floors and otherwise organize their rooms because "otherwise the housekeeper won't be able to vacuum." They totally get this, and in fact the housekeeper has in the fact thrown their stuff from the floor into the trash, so they don't question me one bit.

[Anonymous]

^^ housekeeper has in the past ....

[Anonymous]

It is the single best thing I have ever done for my marriage. Also, it forces me to de-clutter and tidy everything the night before she comes -- I do it piece-meal here and there, but every two weeks, I spend hours tidying up and organizing, and then she comes, and the place sparkles, and oh the joy. The whole place is clean at once. She comes every other Thursday and I usually schedule any social events we want to hold at our place for the Friday afterward!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 13:41 (the sole dissenter - though let me be clear that I've never actually had a housekeeper) and I do want to add that if I had a ton of money, then of course I would get. We're not super tightly budgeted (HHI $210k) but for what I have described in my earlier post, I personally would NOT give up dinners out and new clothes. The stuff that adds stress to my life and my relationship with my husband (though the dinners out and new clothes help with that too!) is the daily stuff. Not the every other week or once a month stuff.

How many dinners out can you get for $200 a month?

One.

Totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The best thing we did for keeping the house clean: reduce the amount of stuff we have. Keep only what you use and can comfortably store. Give things away. Do not add closets or rent out storage. Do not buy things--clothes, food, shampoo, kitchen gadgets, whatever--just because they are on sale. What you end up doing is buying fewer, higher quality things that you will use in a reasonable amount of time. It is a bit of an uphill battle because DH's is a packrat, but it helps immensely with keeping things clear and clean.

This is THE BEST advice. People always come over and say how 'clean' our house is and we have never had a housecleaner. It's not even because we're super neat. I do the basics - laundry/vacuum/clean kitchen and bathrooms. That's it. I rarely do the more detailed dusting, etc.

I think what most people notice is that we're pretty minimal in furniture and there just isn't much stuff lying around. That makes a huge difference. Donate/Trash anything and everything that you are not using.

We love the Lupus Foundation because they come around once a month. I keep a bag ready of stuff to give away, and anytime DH or I come across something we're not using, we just put it in the bag. If you haven't used the item in a year, it's gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The best thing we did for keeping the house clean: reduce the amount of stuff we have. Keep only what you use and can comfortably store. Give things away. Do not add closets or rent out storage. Do not buy things--clothes, food, shampoo, kitchen gadgets, whatever--just because they are on sale. What you end up doing is buying fewer, higher quality things that you will use in a reasonable amount of time. It is a bit of an uphill battle because DH's is a packrat, but it helps immensely with keeping things clear and clean.

This is THE BEST advice. People always come over and say how 'clean' our house is and we have never had a housecleaner. It's not even because we're super neat. I do the basics - laundry/vacuum/clean kitchen and bathrooms. That's it. I rarely do the more detailed dusting, etc.

I think what most people notice is that we're pretty minimal in furniture and there just isn't much stuff lying around. That makes a huge difference. Donate/Trash anything and everything that you are not using.

We love the Lupus Foundation because they come around once a month. I keep a bag ready of stuff to give away, and anytime DH or I come across something we're not using, we just put it in the bag. If you haven't used the item in a year, it's gone.

Thank you very much for donating. I'm a lupus patient and really appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I'm 13:04 - the first dissenter and I thank the others for the comments about keeping the clutter to an absolute minimum. Seriously it makes everything a million times easier and faster to clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The best thing we did for keeping the house clean: reduce the amount of stuff we have. Keep only what you use and can comfortably store. Give things away. Do not add closets or rent out storage. Do not buy things--clothes, food, shampoo, kitchen gadgets, whatever--just because they are on sale. What you end up doing is buying fewer, higher quality things that you will use in a reasonable amount of time. It is a bit of an uphill battle because DH's is a packrat, but it helps immensely with keeping things clear and clean.

This is THE BEST advice. People always come over and say how 'clean' our house is and we have never had a housecleaner. It's not even because we're super neat. I do the basics - laundry/vacuum/clean kitchen and bathrooms. That's it. I rarely do the more detailed dusting, etc.

I think what most people notice is that we're pretty minimal in furniture and there just isn't much stuff lying around. That makes a huge difference. Donate/Trash anything and everything that you are not using.

We love the Lupus Foundation because they come around once a month. I keep a bag ready of stuff to give away, and anytime DH or I come across something we're not using, we just put it in the bag. If you haven't used the item in a year, it's gone.

Thank you very much for donating. I'm a lupus patient and really appreciate it.

Thanks for posting. Sending good wished your way, PP.

Totally off-topic, but I'll plug the Lupus Pick-up site anyway in case anyone else is looking to get rid of clutter:

http://www.lupuspickup.org/gd.ZipCodeRedirector/default.aspx

Seriously. They are great. They give you a date, you leave bags of things/furniture/whatever (they take almost anything) and they leave you a tax-deductible receipt. You can't beat the convenience. No posting ads on Craigslist, no schlepping to Goodwill.

[Anonymous]

Definitely worth it for us. And if nothing else, it forces me to organize the house at least every 2 weeks so it's in good enough shape to clean!