No one mows or does any of their own yardwork

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both on billable hours so it just doesn’t make sense. I can pay someone $50 for something that takes 15 minutes, it would take me an hour. I bill 4x that so it’s not worth my time.

Do you make decisions in all areas of life based on this calculation? Grocery shopping? Taking your kids to soccer games? Reading a book?

NP and while I do my own yard, I understand PP’s point. Money is a renewable resource. Time is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both on billable hours so it just doesn’t make sense. I can pay someone $50 for something that takes 15 minutes, it would take me an hour. I bill 4x that so it’s not worth my time.

Do you make decisions in all areas of life based on this calculation? Grocery shopping? Taking your kids to soccer games? Reading a book?

DP. When both parents work you have to prioritize your time to spend time with family and for personal time (like reading a book). So chores and things you don't like to do are outsourced.

[Anonymous]

I am like a minute here, and that we have a yard service. If you want to mow your lawn, go ahead! In my neighborhood, I would say 90% have a yard service at about 10% mow their own lawns we do not live in close in Bethesda in a multi million dollar home. Our home is probably worth 850k-900k everyone in our neighborhood is a professional with two working parents. We chose to use a lawn service because my husband would get grumpy every weekend with the thought of having to mow the lawn. He really hated it. We did the cost benefit analysis of happy husband, happy home and got a lawn service.

We also have a cleaning service that comes every other week to clean the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We mow our lawn, rake and bag all our leaves, buy mulch and clean our beds, plant flowers in the spring and fall. We also clean our house, mop our floors, clean bathrooms. I can’t understand how people can afford $150/week for a cleaning service and $50/week mowing service. It’s sooo $$$ in this area.

Ouch, yes! Labor is super expensive in this area, but paying $$ for manual labor frees me to concentrate on whatever I am prioritizing.

As an immigrant, I think it is ridiculous that without affordable landscapers and gardners available, there still exists a iculture of huge lawns and yards in this country.

Interesting observation! It's true, we pay a lot for gardeners and they are very expensive because they need living wages and there's decent organization of the landscaping companies. I hate how much we have to pay. And like many on here I didn't purposefully buy a house with a big yard. Just was the total package and now I have this responsibility! So we cut back in other areas. But any of that is better than paying people pennies like they do in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yard work is unbearable in the DMV summer with the humidity and mosquitos. There is nothing worse than pulling weeds, sweating like a pig while being devoured by Asian tiger mosquitos.

And yet you allow someone else to bear it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's more of an indicator of dual-working households. Nobody has time to take care of their yard. I recently started gardening, since I am no longer working and am really enjoying it. When I was working full time, it was a chore, now it's a luxury.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both on billable hours so it just doesn’t make sense. I can pay someone $50 for something that takes 15 minutes, it would take me an hour. I bill 4x that so it’s not worth my time.

Congrats on your high paying jobs. Your comment reeks of insecurity. So embarrassing if anyone were to see Mr. Mrs. Billable Hours stepping foot on their lawn to even pick up a fallen leaf, you'd need to charge $200 an hour for that! I guess those high paying jobs don't allow you to even cut your own toenails, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both on billable hours so it just doesn’t make sense. I can pay someone $50 for something that takes 15 minutes, it would take me an hour. I bill 4x that so it’s not worth my time.

Do you make decisions in all areas of life based on this calculation? Grocery shopping? Taking your kids to soccer games? Reading a book?

Not PP but…probably? My DH works 70-90 hrs/week. I would much rather he used his time to have quality time with our kids than doing chores. I also work so we outsource all of this stuff except driving my kids places

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I maintain my yard, very well.

Live in north Arlington, 2m home.

I am not maintaining Yellowstone ranch or anything; but enjoy the exercise and my yard looks better than those with lawn services. Kids help too.

I do pay to have my Christmas decorations done; about 2500 a year.

I do not think it is low class; just something I do.

Christmas decorating costs $2500? Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both on billable hours so it just doesn’t make sense. I can pay someone $50 for something that takes 15 minutes, it would take me an hour. I bill 4x that so it’s not worth my time.

Do you make decisions in all areas of life based on this calculation? Grocery shopping? Taking your kids to soccer games? Reading a book?

DP. When both parents work you have to prioritize your time to spend time with family and for personal time (like reading a book). So chores and things you don't like to do are outsourced.

Well then that’s what Pp should have said. Pp instead stated that it was purely a math question, not a question of what they enjoy doing. I’ve billed at $800 per hour and still mowed my own lawn because it was something I enjoyed doing.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a function of suburban planned communities and mowing services that work on volume across several homes and use those huge no turn mowers and can work quickly? Our lawn service does most of the lawns on our block at the same time and it's quick and reasonably priced.

[Anonymous]

All of you suburbanites are losers. My 2750 sq foot rowhouse requires very little of this wasteful and petty "lawn care." Our back garden is made up of native plants, no grass, and a beautiful paver patio. It has loads of contrast and texture for the human eye. Many of you types, who I work with, shun me for having an "attached house." Well now it is my turn to shun you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you suburbanites are losers. My 2750 sq foot rowhouse requires very little of this wasteful and petty "lawn care." Our back garden is made up of native plants, no grass, and a beautiful paver patio. It has loads of contrast and texture for the human eye. Many of you types, who I work with, shun me for having an "attached house." Well now it is my turn to shun you.

Losers!? Haha

Also no one anywhere said people who live in townhouses are “shunned.” I grew up on Capitol Hill which has all townhouses! Why would I judge? I just personally wanted to provide a more suburban experience for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you suburbanites are losers. My 2750 sq foot rowhouse requires very little of this wasteful and petty "lawn care." Our back garden is made up of native plants, no grass, and a beautiful paver patio. It has loads of contrast and texture for the human eye. Many of you types, who I work with, shun me for having an "attached house." Well now it is my turn to shun you.

Enjoy the inevitable rowhouse mouse infestation that you can never get rid of.

[Anonymous]

i used to do my own lawn care.. then kids came and...
i want to say that even the SAHM have someone come clean their house.