how much are you willing to outsource?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mentor at work has three children and I really look up to her because (as far as i can tell) she does a good job of finding a work/life balance. I got a chance to casually ask her if she has any tips for working moms and she bluntly said "I throw money at every single problem I can. House cleaning, grocery & dry clean delivery, landscape contract, i don't make cookies i buy them, i don't go to class parties but i get pizzas delivered to them, i pay a concierge fee at the doctors to have preference, i pay 7.99 to have a button sewed on my jacket instead of taking 20 minutes to do it, I pay anyone anything to save time." It was so direct and matter of fact I was kind of stunned but Ive been thinking about it for a few hours and I can't help but thing she's right. How much of my life am I willing to outsource to make it so I have two things to do in life 1.) work 2.) raise my kids. Interesting food for thought. I personally think I am going to add a housecleaner (already have a landscaper).

We also outsource almost everything. This allows us to (1) go to work and (2) raise our kids. Makes life much easier not to have to clean the house, do the laundry, iron clothes, sew on buttons, make the kids' meals, change the sheets, mow the lawn, clean up the leaves, etc etc. Really, everything you can outsource, we do. But we make it to all of our kids' events, class parties, doctor appointments, etc. So when we are with them, it's family time, and when we are not, it's professional time. No real errand time.

[Anonymous]

We had a live-in housekeeper when I was little and all of us siblings can cook and clean. Fortunately we've all done well enough to pay for help, but we can do it if we have to. Plus, even though I have a cleaning service, my teenagers still have to make up their beds, do their own laundry, and wash the dishes after dinner every night. My priorities are my family and my work. If I can afford it (and I can), why should I spend my free time scrubbing a toilet when I could be doing something fun with my family or just relaxing?

[Anonymous]

I outsource nothing at all...but I think if it helps your household run and allows you to have more quality time with your family, it's brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I outsource what I can without guilt, every hour I save I spend with my kids...100% focused with them, which I think is priceless.

But I am posting to add a new idea to the discussion: IN SOURCE. That's right...I have started in-sourcing like crazy. Kids are 5 and 8 and I have implemented a weekly allowance and make them to all kinds of extra tasks. This means that 1) it is getting done (and not by me after a long work day) and 2) kids realize that magic fairies do not come and clean after them, clean the bathrooms, etc. They also have tasks that they have to do just because they live here (feed the dog, clean your room, etc.).

This has worked SO well for us, there is more of a team feeling in the house, kids are psyched to get a few dollars, we crank music after dinner and with everyone pitching in (including DH), it's done in 15-20 minutes, but it is now an everyday occurrence.

yeah!

I love your idea. My kids are still small but we will try this in a couple of years.
I wonder, for people who eat-out or get dinner delivered often, don't you get sick of the same kind of food every day? I would love to take a break from cooking time to time and try a new restaurant take-out but I can't do that everyday even if I was working full time and had enough money to do so.

[Anonymous]

Not much, really. Daycare I guess, if you call that outsourcing.

I would love to have a housekeeper, but our next door neighbor is one and we're a pretty tight hood and I know she would be upset if I hired someone other than her, but I feel really weird having the person I bbq with every Sunday come clean my house.

I don't change my own oil or anything to do with the cars, but we do all the lawn care, shoveling, raking, cooking (we eat out once every other week or so), and cleaning ourselves. We also do lots of house stuff DIY, though we did just pay someone to paint our upstairs since we didn't have the proper equipment to paint the stairwell without killing ourselves.

[Anonymous]

None. I feel that it's my responsibility as a stay at home parent to clean my own house and grocery shop and do some yard work and blah blah blah. I don't mind it at all. However if you choose to outsource that's your choice and nothing wrong with it. Some people don't mind the work and other people outsource it. I think you're either a worker or outsourcer. Not meant to offend. its just a statement. My parents are workers, did everything themselves. My inlaws on the other hand outsourced every possible thing they could. Both great families, just chose to operate differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At some point, with lots of out sourcing it may just be better to SAHM. I think you need to make 100k as in addition to what spouse makes to make working worthwhile.

I am a SAHM and hardly outsource anything (except I do lots of online shopping and take out once a week), but I am planning to go back to work as soon as I get my work permit- even if I spend my whole salary on childcare and household help- because in my family my staying at home has created a very unhealthy dynamic. But them I only have one child and plan to keep it that way. To each their own I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mentor at work has three children and I really look up to her because (as far as i can tell) she does a good job of finding a work/life balance. I got a chance to casually ask her if she has any tips for working moms and she bluntly said "I throw money at every single problem I can. House cleaning, grocery & dry clean delivery, landscape contract, i don't make cookies i buy them, i don't go to class parties but i get pizzas delivered to them, i pay a concierge fee at the doctors to have preference, i pay 7.99 to have a button sewed on my jacket instead of taking 20 minutes to do it, I pay anyone anything to save time." It was so direct and matter of fact I was kind of stunned but Ive been thinking about it for a few hours and I can't help but thing she's right. How much of my life am I willing to outsource to make it so I have two things to do in life 1.) work 2.) raise my kids. Interesting food for thought. I personally think I am going to add a housecleaner (already have a landscaper).

she does not know what she is talking about. it takes less than 5 minutes to get the sewing kit, thread the needle, tie a knot, sew on button, tie another knot, snip, and put away the sewing kit. would not trust a thing out of her mouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mentor at work has three children and I really look up to her because (as far as i can tell) she does a good job of finding a work/life balance. I got a chance to casually ask her if she has any tips for working moms and she bluntly said "I throw money at every single problem I can. House cleaning, grocery & dry clean delivery, landscape contract, i don't make cookies i buy them, i don't go to class parties but i get pizzas delivered to them, i pay a concierge fee at the doctors to have preference, i pay 7.99 to have a button sewed on my jacket instead of taking 20 minutes to do it, I pay anyone anything to save time." It was so direct and matter of fact I was kind of stunned but Ive been thinking about it for a few hours and I can't help but thing she's right. How much of my life am I willing to outsource to make it so I have two things to do in life 1.) work 2.) raise my kids. Interesting food for thought. I personally think I am going to add a housecleaner (already have a landscaper).

she does not know what she is talking about. it takes less than 5 minutes to get the sewing kit, thread the needle, tie a knot, sew on button, tie another knot, snip, and put away the sewing kit. would not trust a thing out of her mouth.

That's my problem. Too many 5-10 minute tasks and they add up, as well as the cost to "shift gears" to each of them. Outsourcing them saves time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mentor at work has three children and I really look up to her because (as far as i can tell) she does a good job of finding a work/life balance. I got a chance to casually ask her if she has any tips for working moms and she bluntly said "I throw money at every single problem I can. House cleaning, grocery & dry clean delivery, landscape contract, i don't make cookies i buy them, i don't go to class parties but i get pizzas delivered to them, i pay a concierge fee at the doctors to have preference, i pay 7.99 to have a button sewed on my jacket instead of taking 20 minutes to do it, I pay anyone anything to save time." It was so direct and matter of fact I was kind of stunned but Ive been thinking about it for a few hours and I can't help but thing she's right. How much of my life am I willing to outsource to make it so I have two things to do in life 1.) work 2.) raise my kids. Interesting food for thought. I personally think I am going to add a housecleaner (already have a landscaper).

she does not know what she is talking about. it takes less than 5 minutes to get the sewing kit, thread the needle, tie a knot, sew on button, tie another knot, snip, and put away the sewing kit. would not trust a thing out of her mouth.

I am not proficient at sewing, so it would take me 20 mins and not 5 as you suggested. And, you assume she has a sewing kit somewhere in her house which very well may not be the case. I am like the mentor and will gladly pay someone to sew on a button. My housekeeper was a seamstress before she came to the US, so it's much easier to ask her to do it and she happily accepts the extra money I pay her to do it. Win-win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I outsource what I can without guilt, every hour I save I spend with my kids...100% focused with them, which I think is priceless.

But I am posting to add a new idea to the discussion: IN SOURCE. That's right...I have started in-sourcing like crazy. Kids are 5 and 8 and I have implemented a weekly allowance and make them to all kinds of extra tasks. This means that 1) it is getting done (and not by me after a long work day) and 2) kids realize that magic fairies do not come and clean after them, clean the bathrooms, etc. They also have tasks that they have to do just because they live here (feed the dog, clean your room, etc.).

This has worked SO well for us, there is more of a team feeling in the house, kids are psyched to get a few dollars, we crank music after dinner and with everyone pitching in (including DH), it's done in 15-20 minutes, but it is now an everyday occurrence.

yeah!

This is GREAT!!! Good for you.

[Anonymous]

Where do you all outsource laundry? Now THAT I would do in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting, when my kids were younger, I had a babysitter pick up all the time from nursery school to about 3rd grade. Then, I realized as my kids got older they did not want a babysitter or nanny picking them up. They wanted me, their mom, to do pick up. Thankfully, I have a flexible job that allows me to leave when I need to pick up my kids or go to their sports games at school. It extends the quality time when we are riding home together and I can hear about their day. I find myself stopping at Chipotle and Subway more for food but as long as we are together, I don't really mind. At the private school they attend, I notice most kids are picked up by their parents. I also think as children get older parents need to stick closer to them to make sure they are not getting into trouble or with the wrong crowd.

+ 1, along with the insourcing idea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you all outsource laundry? Now THAT I would do in a heartbeat.

Our weekly housekeeper does all the laundry when she comes. Nanny does the baby laundry. I do do laundry occasionally, but I LOVE not having to do it regularly!

If that's not an option actually every dry cleaner essentially does wash and fold at a rate per lb. You can take your laundry in and pick it up the next day. It's pretty expensive though.

[Anonymous]

I outsource as much as we can afford. We have a weekly cleaner, a lawn service, and we do eat out frequently. I would like to outsource more. I would like to have someone deal with the laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking. We can't afford that right now.