Two full time parents - what services do you buy in?

[Grannyannex]

Both work 45-60 hours a week. Kids. Need to buy in services to create balance/ reduce stress.

What services do you buy in and how’s often? What difference has it made?

Handyman who comes once every 2 months or so. We keep a running list. Some of the best money we’ve ever spent.

Combination of childminder/ after school club for childcare and school drop offs - babysitter for occasional nights out (one of the girls from son’s old nursery).
Groceries online and amazon prime.
Cleaner 3 hours a week.
Ironing goes out to a company once the pile gets big enough.
Window cleaner monthly.
Grass cutting service every two weeks
March through until October (will do a tidy up when asked).
As much shopping online as possible.
As much appointment making online as possible.
Luckily we have access to Vitality Healthcare through my hisband’s work - can have skype style calls with a chosen GP through the app at a time that suits you, so no worrying about slotting in doctor’s appointments when busy.

None.

Fortnightly cleaner
Window cleaner
Breakfast and after school club
Have started outsourcing pretty much all diy / decorating which I’d have done myself pre-kids.

I think I'd try to outsource some of those hours, unless it was a relatively short term thing. 45hrs/week is one thing, 60 from both parents sounds unsustainable to me.

None

Live-in au pair
Cleaner 4 hours a week
Someone comes to iron one hour a week
Daily dog walker Mon-Fri
Garden maintenance 4 hours a month

Childcare, cleaner 2 hours a week, supermarket delivery, window cleaner and gardener fortnightly.

Thinking of outsourcing ironing in the new year. Do feel guilty but it frees up family time when we are all together.

Nanny (one school aged child, one under)

Cleaner who also does laundry including, importantly putting it away which I hate

Tradesmen for many jobs that we could do ourselves but would take time to either do or properly research. Except when the time to arrange someone would outweigh the time doing it.

Ocado, Amazon Prime, ASOS, online deliveries generally

Made our small garden v low maintenance

We have cleaner once a week, a window cleaner once a month, supermarket delivery and amazon prime. And lots and lots of online shopping. Obvious childcare too. Would get a nanny if we can afford it.

Cleaner & then every so often book an extra spring clean/carpet cleaning etc.

Online food delivery & amazon prime.

Have a great childminder who is flexible & DC1 does a couple of after school clubs. Breakfast club if needed.

I also do hello fresh & simply cook every couple of months.

Debating about a gardener, not a big garden but I want it pretty but find it boring.

With those working hours, childcare will obviously be the main, most important and costliest one.

We work FT but fewer hours and use an after school club as nanny would be expensive and much more hassle, although would probably be better for the (primary aged) DC IMO. A nanny could bring them home, take them to activities etc (they can’t do clubs on top of after school childcare “club”).

window cleaner occasionally.
Take shirts to the local dry cleaners but not that often as our environments are pretty casual. I wear jersey that doesn’t crease!

Mum lives around the corner & MIL a short drive away - super helpful.

Gardener once a year to do a big tidy and then we try to keep on top of it,

what should i be paying a gardener per hour in London?

A nanny who also cooks and does children's laundry, and a once-a-week cleaner. I'm not sure what kind of hellhole we'd be living in otherwise!

oh & I bought a 2nd freezer for storing batch cooking.

I only work 30 hours a week but dp does full time hours.
We have a cleaner for 4 hours a week, a gardener who comes once a fortnight/monthly depending on what time of year it is, a windowcleaner once every 6 weeks, online food shopping and other various online delivery memberships, oven cleaning company twice a year, dps ironing sent out once a fortnight, decorators as and when needed, think that’s about it.
We could do it ourselves or at least I could take on more but I don’t want to!
A lot of that stuff to me is not really what I would myself label as outsourcing, things like the windowcleaner - who actually cleans their own windows outside?? Same with the oven.
Obviously we do wipe it all down inside but the glass in the door gets grease trapped and the guy who comes takes the entire thing out along with the racks and dips it all in a vat of presumably acid. I couldn’t get it as clean as he does.

Wraparound childcare
Cleaner 2x a week who also does ironing & changes beds
Gardener once a fortnight to mow lawn & do some basic tidying
A different gardener on an ad hoc basis to do pruning
A handyman with a spare key who does regular jobs as well as dealing with any crises like leaks
A WhatsApp group of 5 teenagers who all have access to a key so can step in for various things

Cleaner 2x per week. Once for thorough house clean and once for ironing / quick whizz round or any other extra jobs. Veg box and supermarket delivery, milkman and most other stuff is delivered. Gardener a few hours a week (big garden!) We don’t need much childcare now as dc are a bit older but use ad hoc services various babysitters, taxis and grandparents as required. A juggling act!!

Cleaner 4 hours a week. Gardener about 4 times a year but he’s more of a chopper/clearer than a gardener. I get all bedding service washed at laundrette (cleaner drops ot off for me). Supermarket delivery etc

We have just ditched our cleaner after 3 months of both of us working full time, getting the house tidy for her was just too much hassle and it felt like a lot of money for not actually that much (we’re not clean freaks).

So after school club and that’s it so far. We are trying to save ,y salary as much as possible.

Might try to do online shopping next year.

OH works approx 50h/week, but he’s away Monday-Friday, with a fair bit of travel added on. I work approx 30, but can be 40+, with some degree of flexibility, but this means evening catch up. At the mo, we just have a window cleaner and my mum does my ironing and some school pick ups, in exchange for me doing some admin and cooking for her.
I get up v early to get stuff done, but I’m wondering about getting some help with something else, possibly gardening, as I hate it and an occasional deep clean

We have a cleaner and after school club plus ironing service, supermarket and also veg box plus a local bakery delivery. I try and buy packaging free though so that's a lot of shopping in town.
We would love to have a regular babysitter but DS keeps breaking them (TBF he has SEN).

(We both work 4 days in fact but I really need down time frankly).

Nanny

Weekly cleaner

Window cleaner

Gardener through the summer.