Will getting a cleaner change my life?

[ScarletGranita]

Tell me about the difference a cleaner has made to your life.

I've resisted getting one for years for lots of possibly stupid reasons, including the fact that I felt guilty and lazy about employing someone (probably another woman) to clear up the mess of three/four able-bodied people.

But today I'm off work with a virus and instead of resting I've spent the morning cleaning and tidying up and I'm knackered and resentful.

I live with my DH, my teenage ds and my DFather. DH is not bad, could be better, could be worse, does his bit in cleaning terms but is untidy with his hobby stuff, paperwork etc. DS - well, his room is pretty standard-teenage-boy but he does have chores and he does them, more or less. DF is a tidy sort generally but 'doesn't notice dirt hahahaha' (love him but aaargh). The house is lovely but old and dusty and full of old furniture and knick-knacks and, oh yeah, we also have two cats who shed everywhere.

My standards are definitely not high in MN terms and I don't want a show home but I'm fed up with the place always looking a bit dismal.

DH and I work long hours and we could afford to pay a cleaner to come in for a couple of hours a week just to keep things ticking over. But I still can't get rid of this feeling that it's a bit crap and entitled and lazy to pay someone else to mop your kitchen floor.

Tell me I'm being an idiot and that getting a cleaner will improve my life beyond measure

She has a key.

We have a cleaner 3hrs every fortnight.
If enough time to clean bathroom & loos, kitchen, dust & hoover and mop etc. I would recommend it, I don’t think it’s lazy, it’s just that women work most of the day as do men, so there is nobody at home to push the hoover round and dust Etc. When I get home there is laundry to do, dinner to cook, packed lunches to make, homework to supervise etc etc. I could clean by serving a ready meal or takeaway every day because that frees up preparation and washing up time...

Get a cleaner for a month and see whether you notice the benefits.

I have a cleaner twice a week. Today I’ve been working from home and come out of my office to a spotless house, Empty bins, all beds changed and made and all my ironing done. What’s not to love?

If I could easily afford a cleaner I would love one and wouldn’t feel guilty about one bit.

Definitely a life changer as I’m crap at cleaning but get despondent when the house is grubby. Also an investment in that all my shower edges and stuff are all still pristine so house still looks brand new. Amazing given we live in it 😂😂

Mine has a key as I trust her and she’s self employed. I don’t think I’d give a key to the ones I had from a company as they were different all the time and I didn’t know them.

i have one for two hours, once a fortnight and she has changed my life :)

Mine comes every fortnight and I love it; it frees up every other weekend and if I don’t have time to clean on the intervening week I at least know it’s going to be done. It also forces me to tidy up up before she comes so mess doesn’t build up

It depends how good and reliable they are. A good one is an absolute god send but I've decided it;s easier to do it myself than to "manage" the last few I had.

Well of course your father doesn’t have to let the cleaner into his room if he doesn’t want to. He can clean it himself.

But it’s not reasonable of him to refuse the paid cleaner access and insist on having the unpaid cleaner ( you ).

I do worry that DH might decide that he doesn't have to lift a finger 'because that's the cleaner's job'!

In that case you need to tackle that issue up front. Otherwise you are swapping your cleaning hours for tidying hours and your husband is swapping tidying hours for free time. Which isn't very fair.

I resisted it for years too, feeling I'd be lazy if I got one as I was a SAHM. Then I went back to work in the summer, but only part time. In theory I do have time to clean but I wanted to do other stuff like sort the house out, declutter and I don't know - maybe have a bit of spare time to myself! It's the most wonderful thing! I go to work on a Thursday, come back and the place is sparkling. It means I have time and energy to do other things and just feel more in control of life.

I remember coming home the first day we had someone clean for us and I've never felt as happy as I did when I walked into a sparkling house. Every week I would have the same "lighter than air" feeing, not seeing dog hair on floors and everything just so.

We have a helper now, basically a housekeeper/nanny/cleaner rolled into one and I wouldn't be without her.
The days when I come home and all the laundry is pressed and hung, the dogs have been walked and the kids have been fed make me want to fall at her feet in gratitude.

If you find a cleaner worth their weight in gold, you will never ever regret them.

Mine comes once a week for 1-2 hrs. She does the bathroom, kitchen and washes the floors in half the house. The rest we do once a monthish because it just doesnt get as dirty.

The mental load is diminished. We all tidy up on monday night so its ready for when she comes on tuesday.

But it’s not reasonable of him to refuse the paid cleaner access and insist on having the unpaid cleaner ( you

I don't clean my father's bedroom! He has a bedroom and a sitting room and I don't clean either of them (might push the hoover into the sitting room now and again). But if you mean access to the house generally then yes I agree.

I will have a chat with DH and DF tonight. I love the idea of that 'lighter than air' feeling I'm not particularly houseproud really but general clutter and semi-grubbiness does get me down after a while and it only seems to be me that really gives a toss about it!

I have a cleaner for 1-2 hours every week. For me, it was linked with my depression - the sight of dusty surfaces and a grimy bathroom made me feel like shit, but the thought of having to clean would preoccupy me for days at a time, until it became such a huge deal that I couldn't even make a start. I live alone, so it's not like I create a huge amount of mess, but there's still nobody else to tidy it up.

Just knowing that somebody else is taking care of that side of things is an enormous burden lifted from my mind. It's made an immeasurable difference to my mental health.

But even if you don't have issues like mine, you don't need an excuse to pay someone to do household chores that are too much for you to do on your own. I think the guilt about hiring a cleaner is a gender thing, without a doubt. It's like we feel deep down that we're failing in our domestic duties or something. A lot of men seem to get like this about hiring someone to do DIY or fix their car - they feel like the manly thing to do would be to take care of it themselves.

On a word yes!

If I was on a tight tight budget, she is the last 'luxury' I would dispose of.

To come home to spotlessly clean house and all the ironing done and put away is a wonderful feeling.
It's not just the mopping of floors though. She will see things in your house that you just don't after a while. As we become accustomed to not seeing clutter. My cleaning even moved out seating and it is MUCH better her way.
She even comes in when we are on hols and dies all the beds, washes the bed linen, folds it and puts it away.
I can't tell you the calm it brings to our home.

Do it!!!

Having a cleaner gives me back time AND a clean house.

Working full-time, I don't want to spend half of my weekend cleaning the house, I'd rather spend it with my children, DS3 and DD2.

Our cleaner is great; she cleans as well as changing all the beds, and does the big jobs such as oven, fridge, windows once a month. It means I don't even have to think about cleaning (other than putting her weekly £30 for 3 hours out).

My cleaner started this afternoon and I love her already. She did 3 hours and in that time cleaned the kitchen, the bathrooms, wiped everything down, cleaned and mopped all the floors. The house hasn't looked this clean since we moved it. Absolutely worth the money she cost, it's would have taken me twice as long to do everything she did (and I never have that much free time)

£20 a week here. Had one as soon as we could afford it when it was just me and DH as we were working hard and had better things to do with our free time. Now with two DC and two cats I would need to be in financial trouble (ie not working at all) to give it up. I’d rather work two hours to pay for it, frankly!

I look at it as buying time which is the most valuable thing anyone can have. Time with my family is worth way more than £24 a week

Currently, we have 6 wonderful hours a week. My cleaner is fab, and has worked for us for nearly 10 years now - until last year 3 hours a week which makes the house gleam, but since last year when both of our FT jobs got even more manic and both of us take it in turn to be away for work, she now does 3 hours of deep cleaning/ organising / tidying/ laundry / beds as well.

two adults here and a weekly cleaner that does four hours a week. She cleans top to bottom, changes the bed, puts the sheets in the wash and does the ironing. The only housework left for us to do is our washing and the cooking. Marvellous, worth every penny not to waste my time off work on the house. I don't feel in the slightest bit guilty, I don't like housework, my cleaner does and she is earning a living. Win win!

My cleaner has definitely changed my life for the better! Four hours a week cleaning and ironing on my two long days out of the house. She comes around lunchtime so DDog gets company too. Other days I teach music from home, and it's amazing to know that I'm not embarrassed in front of students parents by my slovenly ways!