What is light housekeeping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Housekeepers do housekeeping.

There are plenty of nannies who prefer working with children who are in school. Those nannies either 1. work part-time, 2. do housekeeping as well or 3. work overnights/weekends.

Sure, if you have only a PT nanny job, you can take on any additional job you like: personal assistant, driver, landscape artist, dog walker, hair dresser, bookkeeper, house cleaner. Anything!

Now what's your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to me light is sweeping the floor after the kids ate or made a mess with projects, laundry, maybe the dishwasher. I think the vacuuming is borderline not light. I worked for one family who insisted on keeping the vacuum in the unfinished basement (so no reason for it to be there) which meant I had to schlep it up and down a flight of stairs. There's nothing light about that. If you need her to vacuum, keep it someplace convenient. I wouldn't consider vacuuming stairs to be handy...main floor only. Keeping kids rooms tidy, changing sheets, organizing drawers and closets are all light. You may find a nanny who loathes the dishwasher but doesn't mind cleaning the bathroom for example, so just talk to her about her thoughts and preferences and see how they match up with your needs.

This is not housekeeping. Nanny should always leave house as she found it (cleaning any mess the children make.) Housekeeping, however light, would be doing anything BEYOND that, leaving the house in some better condition than when she arrived, i.e. doing laundry, mopping the floors instead of just sweeping the kids crumbs, wet wiping all the counters instead of just brushing away the crumbs you made, making beds, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've always told our nannies that they don't need to do housekeeping other than the kids' laundry and helping tidy up after the kids. With the kids in school now, we are considering more of a hybrid nanny-housekeeper thing in order to provide more hours. When I see postings by folks offering to do "light housekeeping" what does that mean? Vacuuming, sweeping, wiping down counters, unloading dishwasher, but no scrubbing toilets or baths? Or does it mean something else?

Maybe get a housekeeper who doesn't mind the kids around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Housekeepers do housekeeping.

There are plenty of nannies who prefer working with children who are in school. Those nannies either 1. work part-time, 2. do housekeeping as well or 3. work overnights/weekends.

Sure, if you have only a PT nanny job, you can take on any additional job you like: personal assistant, driver, landscape artist, dog walker, hair dresser, bookkeeper, house cleaner. Anything!

Now what's your point?

The point was that many nannies list themselves as nanny/housekeepers, so that they can work full-time with one family rather than trying to cobble together multiple part-time positions. OP didn't ask about a nanny who says she's just a nanny, and who presumably is happy to work PT or only work with very young kids. OP asked about a nanny/housekeeper working with kids in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've always told our nannies that they don't need to do housekeeping other than the kids' laundry and helping tidy up after the kids. With the kids in school now, we are considering more of a hybrid nanny-housekeeper thing in order to provide more hours. When I see postings by folks offering to do "light housekeeping" what does that mean? Vacuuming, sweeping, wiping down counters, unloading dishwasher, but no scrubbing toilets or baths? Or does it mean something else?

Maybe get a housekeeper who doesn't mind the kids around.

A housekeeper won't drive the kids to activities or help with homework. A nanny/housekeeper will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've always told our nannies that they don't need to do housekeeping other than the kids' laundry and helping tidy up after the kids. With the kids in school now, we are considering more of a hybrid nanny-housekeeper thing in order to provide more hours. When I see postings by folks offering to do "light housekeeping" what does that mean? Vacuuming, sweeping, wiping down counters, unloading dishwasher, but no scrubbing toilets or baths? Or does it mean something else?

Maybe get a housekeeper who doesn't mind the kids around.

A housekeeper won't drive the kids to activities or help with homework. A nanny/housekeeper will.

My neighbor's housekeeper is happy to pitch in to help with the kids when needed. Obviously she isn't a professional nanny.

[Anonymous]

OP, the term "light housekeeping" is a gray area and can be up to different interpretations. It also can be quite subjective.

IMO: I would say light housekeeping would be taking out the trash, emptying the diaper genie, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, sweeping up crumbs, children's laundry and picking up toys, perhaps even sanitizing them as well.

Chores such as vacuuming a large portion of the home, dusting all the furniture, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms and ironing would not be in that category.

However it depends on each and every family/nanny.

I highly suggest naming each and every chore individually vs. just using the generic "light housekeeping" term upfront first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the term "light housekeeping" is a gray area and can be up to different interpretations. It also can be quite subjective.

IMO: I would say light housekeeping would be taking out the trash, emptying the diaper genie, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, sweeping up crumbs, children's laundry and picking up toys, perhaps even sanitizing them as well.

Chores such as vacuuming a large portion of the home, dusting all the furniture, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms and ironing would not be in that category.

However it depends on each and every family/nanny.

I highly suggest naming each and every chore individually vs. just using the generic "light housekeeping" term upfront first.

The bolded is standard nanny chores, not housekeeping. Anything related to the child is nannying. Things NOT related to the child are housekeeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the term "light housekeeping" is a gray area and can be up to different interpretations. It also can be quite subjective.

IMO: I would say light housekeeping would be taking out the trash, emptying the diaper genie, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, sweeping up crumbs, children's laundry and picking up toys, perhaps even sanitizing them as well.

Chores such as vacuuming a large portion of the home, dusting all the furniture, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms and ironing would not be in that category.

However it depends on each and every family/nanny.

I highly suggest naming each and every chore individually vs. just using the generic "light housekeeping" term upfront first.

The bolded is standard nanny chores, not housekeeping. Anything related to the child is nannying. Things NOT related to the child are housekeeping.

Yes and no. I had a family who wanted me to spend 3 hours per day ironing the kids' clothes, including diaper covers and onesies. There is no way that I consider ironing for kids to be part of a nanny's normal tasks, yet it's child-related. Nor do I consider it my job to do the deep cleaning on the kids' bathroom, but it's also an area that only the kids use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the term "light housekeeping" is a gray area and can be up to different interpretations. It also can be quite subjective.

IMO: I would say light housekeeping would be taking out the trash, emptying the diaper genie, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, sweeping up crumbs, children's laundry and picking up toys, perhaps even sanitizing them as well.

Chores such as vacuuming a large portion of the home, dusting all the furniture, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms and ironing would not be in that category.

However it depends on each and every family/nanny.

I highly suggest naming each and every chore individually vs. just using the generic "light housekeeping" term upfront first.

The bolded is standard nanny chores, not housekeeping. Anything related to the child is nannying. Things NOT related to the child are housekeeping.

This is your opinion, and only that. That is why the term light housekeeping means little and needs further definition. Many of my nanny jobs have been in condo buildings. Emptying the diaper genie would entail taking out and tying up the bag, bundling up the babies and myself, carrying both of them and the bag down 3 flights of stairs, down another flight of stairs outside, and down an alley to the dumpster. Needless to say, the parents handle this themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the term "light housekeeping" is a gray area and can be up to different interpretations. It also can be quite subjective.

IMO: I would say light housekeeping would be taking out the trash, emptying the diaper genie, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, sweeping up crumbs, children's laundry and picking up toys, perhaps even sanitizing them as well.

Chores such as vacuuming a large portion of the home, dusting all the furniture, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms and ironing would not be in that category.

However it depends on each and every family/nanny.

I highly suggest naming each and every chore individually vs. just using the generic "light housekeeping" term upfront first.

The bolded is standard nanny chores, not housekeeping. Anything related to the child is nannying. Things NOT related to the child are housekeeping.

This is your opinion, and only that. That is why the term light housekeeping means little and needs further definition. Many of my nanny jobs have been in condo buildings. Emptying the diaper genie would entail taking out and tying up the bag, bundling up the babies and myself, carrying both of them and the bag down 3 flights of stairs, down another flight of stairs outside, and down an alley to the dumpster. Needless to say, the parents handle this themselves.

Exactly. It depends on the situation. Nanny duties are things related to the care of the children which can be done with the children or can be done while the children are sleeping. Light housekeeping implies any child-related tasks which would take the nanny's attention away from the children for more than a few minutes, would be more in-depth (like hiking up and down 3+ flights of stairs during naptime). Light housekeeping can also include tasks not directly related to the children. Regular housekeeping covers everything. Heavy housekeeping is just the things that are done every month or so.

[Anonymous]

On my last nanny job, the housekeeper/cook lady prepared every meal for me. We also had a driver.

[Anonymous]

You can ask your nanny to do anything you want and they can accept or not. Our nanny does cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry and walks the dog while our kids are at school because that's what we all agreed to

[dismantlefurniture]

Do Movers help disassemble furniture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MB. I don't view anything related to the child - cleaning up after them, doing their laundry, cleaning their room, changing sheets etc. - as light housekeeping. This is a part of the nanny's job description.

Light housekeeping is housekeeping not related to the children. When we asked for it, we meant loading/unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming the living room and playroom and maybe taking the trash out. Perhaps occasional straightening out the room. No cleaning the kitchen because we always kept it clean, and if the nanny had to clean it up after the kids, then this is a part of nannying, not housekeeping. Cleaners do heavy cleaning.

Our nanny occasionally did everyone's laundry but we never asked nor expected it. I think it just kind of happened because the children's laundry was mixed up with the common load. That's not her job.

Laundry doesn't have legs do if it was mixed up with children's clothes itnis because you mixed it up intentionally!