HHI 190k. Both spouses work full time with baby on the way. We also have a dog and a cat.

We have a team of 4 housekeepers come once every 3 weeks. I do a lot of cleaning in between because I'm a neat freak, but I love having the extra help for deep cleaning. We don't otherwise outsource (do our own yard work and home repairs to the extent possible). This is just a little luxury that has really made me stress out a lot less about constantly cleaning.

Anonymous wrote:I have a strong feeling about this -- if both parents work full time, there's no income where you shouldn't budget for someone to clean your house. Cut your cable, drive an old car, don't buy new clothes, shop for groceries on sale, whatever. But the cleaning help should be your top priority after food and medical care because it gives you the most valuable thing you can have -- time with your kids, which is always in short supply with two parents working full time.

Different story if you don't have kids or a job and want to clean yourself. I actually enjoy it, but not at the cost of scrubbing a toilet instead of reading to my kids.

You just nailed it. This is why, despite getting grief from jealous family members, I finally did it. We are not rich - far from it - but with two working parents I am tired of feeling like just keeping everything going gives me zero family time whatsoever. There are many more things we enjoying doing far more as a family than cleaning. Somehow I think our memories will not be made of all the fond times we spent scrubbing the kitchen and the toilets.

Anonymous wrote:HHI $250K, 2 WOH parents, 2 kids (preschooler and infant)

No cleaning service b/c I want the kids to be able to develop those skills. I grew up in a house with a live-in nanny/housekeeper. When I went to college, I had no idea how to do laundry or dishes, much less clean a house. I take care of the daily maintenance after the kids go to bed. We (DH, DD, and I) dedicate an hour or two each weekend to do a deeper clean. The areas of deep cleaning rotate every other week to keep the weekend chore list short.

Honest question - how is having a once-a-week housecleaner incompatible with learning how to clean up after yourself? You eat on dishes every day, yes? Do you think that people with a weekly cleaning service are leaving them to pile up for the housekeeper to wash? No, they are not. You wear clothes every day, yes? Do you think that people with a housekeeper leave them thrown all over the house for the housekeeper to pick up? No, they do not. I can think of lots of things we clean and straighten up every day, and we still do them and have our child do them, too. But at 5 my child is too young to clean bathrooms, the kitchen, run the vaccum or wash the laundry by himself. He helps as he can. He feeds the dog. He sets and clears the table for dinner. He collects all the bath towels/bath mats to be put in the washer each weekend. He wipes down the sink after he brushes his teeth. He hangs up his towel after his bath. These are things a 5yo can do. When he is old enough to pitch in in a meaningful way, perhaps we'll ditch the cleaner. But for the moment, having a cleaner takes things off MY plate and DH's plate so that I don't feel like we are working two full time jobs each. It doesn't mean we are teaching our child to be a helpless slob.

Reminds me of those Hong Kong housekeepers who sleep in cupboards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are friends with a single-child couple making $100k with a live-in nanny that also helps with cleaning and cooking. They living in an apartment and scrimp on everything else. It's how to make sense of the madness, I understand.

We have two kids and didn't have a cleaning lady until it became obvious that our new house was simply too large for us to clean on our own. We made high six figures when this happened.

They have a live-in in an apartment?

They sure did. It was a 3 bedroom apartment. We thought it was nuts. But they felt it was necessary. Both the husband and wife work.

Were they from another country? I know certain middle class people from other countries who feel entitled to household help.

I have a strong feeling about this -- if both parents work full time, there's no income where you shouldn't budget for someone to clean your house. Cut your cable, drive an old car, don't buy new clothes, shop for groceries on sale, whatever. But the cleaning help should be your top priority after food and medical care because it gives you the most valuable thing you can have -- time with your kids, which is always in short supply with two parents working full time.

Different story if you don't have kids or a job and want to clean yourself. I actually enjoy it, but not at the cost of scrubbing a toilet instead of reading to my kids.

$160k and we have a cleaning professionally once a month. I do some cleaning in the middle of the month myself to keep costs down. In a perfect world I'd have the house cleaned weekly, but I cannot afford that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are friends with a single-child couple making $100k with a live-in nanny that also helps with cleaning and cooking. They living in an apartment and scrimp on everything else. It's how to make sense of the madness, I understand.

We have two kids and didn't have a cleaning lady until it became obvious that our new house was simply too large for us to clean on our own. We made high six figures when this happened.

They have a live-in in an apartment?

They sure did. It was a 3 bedroom apartment. We thought it was nuts. But they felt it was necessary. Both the husband and wife work.

I don't think it's an income thing, but a priority thing. I had one when I was single and making $60k. Then I didn't for a while, and now that I have a kid, I have one again.

HHI 350k. I would give up a lot of things before I give up cleaning service. Between job, commute and trying to cook every night so we can eat healthy, I can't imagine using my weekends to clean the house. On the other hand I don't mind yard work as I enjoy being outdoors.

I had a cleaning lady when I made $75,000 a year and was single and childless. I worked killer hours though and had a three bedroom, three bath house.

troll score 1.

Gross that you don't have cleaners, no wonder Americans smell like wet dog

Anonymous wrote:HHI of about $200. Five kids. No cleaning lady. If I worked full time, I would probobly hire help. As a SAHM, I would feel ridiculous if I hired someone to clean.

are all your kids still at home?

Anonymous wrote:HHI $250K, 2 WOH parents, 2 kids (preschooler and infant)

No cleaning service b/c I want the kids to be able to develop those skills. I grew up in a house with a live-in nanny/housekeeper. When I went to college, I had no idea how to do laundry or dishes, much less clean a house. I take care of the daily maintenance after the kids go to bed. We (DH, DD, and I) dedicate an hour or two each weekend to do a deeper clean. The areas of deep cleaning rotate every other week to keep the weekend chore list short.

Plenty of cleaning left to learn when you have an every other week cleaning lady. If you take care of the daily maintenance after the kids go to bed, when will they be learning how to do laundry, dishes and clean the house?