At what disposable income do you feel you can afford a weekly house cleaner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow--you people are crazy. This for us has been a marriage saver for years...once a week, about $60
(1bdr apt)...we've done this pretty much no matter what. Does it mean we've cut out going out to dinner or whatever? Yes, of course.

+1. We're very comfortable now, but I've had a biweekly housekeeper since grad school, when $60 for my tiny apartment was hard to come by.

When I got married, we switched to weekly. I feel like I'm purchasing way more happiness this way than in whatever else I could imagine using that money for. In fact, we probably enjoy being home more because we aren't constantly thinking of it as a big set of chores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I joke that my next raise will go towards having the cleaners come every week instead of every other week. We held out until we had two kids and I often wonder why we didn't get a cleaner sooner - it has been a game changer in terms of how much less stressed I feel over not having to find time to mop and dust.

You joke, but I actually got a new job with a raise motivated in large part by the desire to have weekly cleaners ... it was the first thing I added to our new budget. Weekly actually does make a big difference compared to biweekly. With weekly cleaners (who also fold and put away laundry) I basically don't have to worry about anything other than keeping kitchen and dining room surfaces cleaned and the dishes. If I do have extra cleaning time/energy on the weekends, I can use that for other one-off projects, like organizing closets, garden, etc. It's GREAT.

I also never see the fur bunnies from our two cats with weekly cleaners. With biweekly cleaners, I start to see it around the 10-day mark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If both parents work full time then it's necessary

For you, maybe. Not for everyone. I think its great to hire cleaners if you want to and can afford it, but a family cleaning up after themselves rather than paying someone else to do it is hardly necessary. Insisting that it is "necessary" and not a luxury just adds another thing we need to do to keep up with the joneses.

Who scrubs the bathtubs? That's more than "a family cleaning up after themselves." My family does keep the house picked up, but I've never seen my husband or children pick up a mop or scrub brush.

Why is scrubbing our gunk off the tub more than cleaning up after ourselves? Whose gunk is it, anyway? My kid cleans the bathroom once a month or so, when I assign him to. He's been doing that since he was about 6. He does an okay job. When I notice the toilet is dirty and I didn't make it that way I ask the last person who used it to please go clean their mess. I do quite a bit of the scrubbing, yes, but we've split up the housework so no one feels put upon. DH does all the shopping and laundry, for example, while I do the vacuuming and mopping. If you have never seen your kids pick up a mop or a scrub brush how do you think they'll learn? Do you want them to grow up to be people like your husband who doesn't do it, either?

I have zero objection to anyone having household help, no matter the reason or income. I just don't think it should be seen as a necessary part of life. Generally its a nice-to-have, not a need. Let me caveat that by saying staying married is great, and if a housekeeper helps your marriage in any way...awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If both parents work full time then it's necessary

For you, maybe. Not for everyone. I think its great to hire cleaners if you want to and can afford it, but a family cleaning up after themselves rather than paying someone else to do it is hardly necessary. Insisting that it is "necessary" and not a luxury just adds another thing we need to do to keep up with the joneses.

Who scrubs the bathtubs? That's more than "a family cleaning up after themselves." My family does keep the house picked up, but I've never seen my husband or children pick up a mop or scrub brush.

Why is scrubbing our gunk off the tub more than cleaning up after ourselves? Whose gunk is it, anyway? My kid cleans the bathroom once a month or so, when I assign him to. He's been doing that since he was about 6. He does an okay job. When I notice the toilet is dirty and I didn't make it that way I ask the last person who used it to please go clean their mess. I do quite a bit of the scrubbing, yes, but we've split up the housework so no one feels put upon. DH does all the shopping and laundry, for example, while I do the vacuuming and mopping. If you have never seen your kids pick up a mop or a scrub brush how do you think they'll learn? Do you want them to grow up to be people like your husband who doesn't do it, either?

I have zero objection to anyone having household help, no matter the reason or income. I just don't think it should be seen as a necessary part of life. Generally its a nice-to-have, not a need. Let me caveat that by saying staying married is great, and if a housekeeper helps your marriage in any way...awesome.

I do all the finances, laundry, shopping. Everything. I get to pay to live in a house cleaned by someone other than me. It is a need not only for my marriage but my sanity, just like my vibrator My firstborn, the only one out of the nest, learned to clean well at his summer job.

[Anonymous]

House gets grimy at 10 days. Weekly cleaner means never having that happen.

[Anonymous]

We make approx $200k and get a housecleaner once/month. We had every other week but had to recently push back to once/month. We must be filthy because I don't clean up between visits, other than picking up food off of the floor if it spills, wiping down counters when things spill, doing dishes, laundry, etc.

OP, something to ask yourself is that if, now, you prioritize cleaning over spending time w/your kids, is someone who isn't you going to be able to clean to meet your specifications?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks much for all your replies. I, too, feel that a cleaner home would bring down my stress level significantly. I am literally always thinking about a tidy home, no dog hair, clean sinks, etc. I think we'll cut down on eating out.

PS: I find it strange that a marriage should depend on this, but sadly, I'm afraid it's true.

I think that it sounds like to you, this is worth it! Go for it!

What do you mean by a "tidy home"? Like toys and crap put away? You guys need to do that on your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure about disposable - but we were at 275k HHI and I felt I couldn't justify. Just bumped to 650k HHI and am now doing it every week at 100/week. It's so amazing I am tempted to ask them if for twice a week they'd do 75. They charged 150 when it wasn't weekly, maybe you can negotiate down for weekly? That's what I did.

Yes. Just bumped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not about the jones, it is about marital harmony. Have had a bi-weekly cleaner my entire marriage. Would like to go to weekly but that is not in the budget.

Having a clean home takes a stress off of the table.

So true. There's nothing like coming home after work on a Tuesday (which is when our weekly house cleaners come) and having a nicely clean house! Nothing to quibble about!