Can I outsource meal prep for baby + light housekeeping?

[Anonymous]

Baby is in daycare and we have someone come to do a deep clean 2x a month. I'm looking for more regular help - like the types of things a nanny might do around the house minus the childcare (I am happy with daycare and don't want to fix what's not broken). Is this a thing? Ideally would have someone come ~2x a week to do laundry, unload the dishwasher, maybe run the vacuum and, what I really want, is someone to cook for my 1 yr old so when we get home from daycare with like 30 minutes before bedtime I can give her something already prepped. Do people do this? If I can find someone I like/trust, what would the going rate be? I have no clue.

[Anonymous]

Like, a mother’s helper?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like, a mother’s helper?

Ah, I guess, though since we both work and baby is in daycare we wouldn't be home while they're working.

[Anonymous]

You can still have mother’s helper. They usually help out with chores and do light cooking. They don’t take care of the kids, typically.

[Anonymous]

You can put out an ad for whatever you want, but I’ll warn you from experience that finding a reliable person for part time hours particularly at the end of the day is quite expensive. If you don’t pay enough per hour or provide enough hours, she might drop you the minute she finds full time work or one that better adds on to a half day shift she has.

You might be better off letting your regular house cleaning service go and using that gap to boost the hours of the new hire.

[Anonymous]

I think you're talking about a housekeeper.

[Anonymous]

How old is the baby? Can’t you meal prep once or twice a week and put it in the fridge or freezer to heat up when you get home? I would have a cleaner come once a week and include the laundry in that, then meal prep myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old is the baby? Can’t you meal prep once or twice a week and put it in the fridge or freezer to heat up when you get home? I would have a cleaner come once a week and include the laundry in that, then meal prep myself.

1. I mean, yes, but I am trying to save time on that.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on going rate for this?

[Anonymous]

I think this isn’t going to be as helpful as you imagine. I get the problem but honestly Uber eats + housekeeping service is going to be the more effective route.

[Anonymous]

What type of cooking do you have in mind? Heat and serve or actual cooking? Will effect who you can get and what it will pay.

As a college student I would have been thrilled to do the tasks you mentioned plus heat and serve food 2x a week. But not cook a dinner from scratch.

[Anonymous]

baby will be eating your dinner just smaller before you know it. Seems like a waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What type of cooking do you have in mind? Heat and serve or actual cooking? Will effect who you can get and what it will pay.

As a college student I would have been thrilled to do the tasks you mentioned plus heat and serve food 2x a week. But not cook a dinner from scratch.

Ideally I’d want someone who meal prep the kind of food what we typically do - like baked meatballs, pasta and veggies, shredded chicken and veggies, pretty simple stuff. And leave it for us to heat and eat. So some cooking but nothing fancy.

We live very close to a college and I was thinking it might be good for a student. Hours would he completely flexible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:baby will be eating your dinner just smaller before you know it. Seems like a waste.

Because we’re crunched for time in the evening, we don’t cook for ourselves until she’s gone to bed.

[Anonymous]

Op we have something like this and you can totally find it. We have someone MWF. She does the dishes/kitchen, our laundry including the sheets, makes the beds, picks up the living areas and vacuums, and wipes down the bathrooms. She also cooks for us 2x per week. (Honestly, I think her true talent is cooking- she’s a VERY good cook). Search on care.com for housekeepers and narrow your search to people who also have cooking in their profile. This kind of help should be much easier to find than after school care- my lady, for example, drops her kids at school and comes over for a few hours. If you don’t need childcare during those key after-school hours, a lot of people are looking to make money while their kids are in school. You’ll easily find someone for $20/hr. Try to find someone in your neighborhood- it will make it a lot easier on you and them. You can drop your housecleaner down to 1x per month for deep cleaning.