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Original poster

How do you afford a housekeeper?

107 replies

SouperNoodle · 27/03/2022 23:35

I guess this is aimed at families like mine that have a good income but are by no means raking in the cash.

DH and I spend our lives working. With his job and me raising the kids and the constant cleaning and tidying, we're just shattered and getting more and more frustrated that we don't have much down time.
I genuinely think that if we had a housekeeper then half our work would be outsourced so we'd get more time together/relaxing with the kids and life would be that bit easier.

So if you have one, how do you afford it? Roughly how much does it cost you?
Is it worth it?
I wouldn't want a live in housekeeper so I'm aware it would be a bit more expensive.

I honestly don't know where to start.
(Fuck the daily mail)

OP posts:

Original poster

SouperNoodle · 28/03/2022 00:13

@forcedfun

For storage chaos I have seen decluttering/organisation services and have been tempted by these and wonder if that is more something you could pay for a few times a year? (Not trying to talk you out of a housekeeper, my mum and granny both had a housekeeper and they were amazing there was always fresh baking and everything ran like clockwork)

I didn't even know these services existed! How does it work? Do you just tell them which things you'd like to keep and they chuck the rest? I'm not even sure what stuff I've got crammed away to be honest 😂

OP posts:

forcedfun · 28/03/2022 00:14

I'd work it out the other way- what can you sensibly afford, and then what can they do in that time.

Sswhinesthebest · 28/03/2022 00:16

I don’t think that income is enough. Your best bet is to find someone and define a role between you that gives some flexibility. Perhaps advertise locally. A mature older lady who wants a few hours extra income might be the best bet.

forcedfun · 28/03/2022 00:16

@SouperNoodle I am not too sure, but it is definitely what I need!

feministqueen · 28/03/2022 00:17

What exactly is it that you need help with @SouperNoodle ? I think once you write it down so you can see what it looks like you'll be streaks ahead.
No housekeeper here but we have a weekly cleaner for 3 hours per week and she changes the beds in that time. On top of this I have weekly gousto boxes or hello fresh!

Would you want your house keeper to do ? Tidying? Shopping? Bit of both?

Sofasogood1 · 28/03/2022 00:21

That woman from Sort Your Life Out will come to your house to sort everything - declutter, organise etc. Dilly Carter. www.dillycarter.co.uk/

I would definitely start there. Have a cleaner a couple of times a week that does laundry. Use recipe kits etc.

Unless your outgoings are small I'd say you can't afford to pay someone four days a week out of your own post tax take home pay. Different if you're on hundreds of thousands but not at your level.
In fact your new salary might not even cover it.

Original poster

SouperNoodle · 28/03/2022 00:23

@feministqueen

What exactly is it that you need help with *@SouperNoodle* ? I think once you write it down so you can see what it looks like you'll be streaks ahead. No housekeeper here but we have a weekly cleaner for 3 hours per week and she changes the beds in that time. On top of this I have weekly gousto boxes or hello fresh!

Would you want your house keeper to do ? Tidying? Shopping? Bit of both?

I don't think I'd want them to do the shopping but make sure we're topped up with the basics like milk and bread. All cleaning, tidying and most laundry preferably (I'd have to keep washing the famil6's underwear myself as don't think I could look someone in the eye knowing they handled my knickers 😂) Cooking would be a bonus but as I said in a pp, I wasn't sure if that was expecting too much. I've been meaning to try Gousto/Hello Fresh for a while but keep changing my mind as I've heard good and bad things.

OP posts:

Wintersbone · 28/03/2022 00:31

5 days x 3 hours per day at £15/Hr works for us. 5 days means she can properly keep on top of the washing. If we included cooking it would need to be 5 days x 4 hours.

viques · 28/03/2022 00:42

@Delphigirl

I have 4 kids, a full on full time job, a dh who works full time, a vast house and 2 dogs and I’ve always had a housekeeper 5 days a week, but only half days 5 hours/day). To occupy her for 4 full days she would have also to be cooking as well as doing all cleaning, all laundry and all beds. Do you really need to go from zero to 4 full days? I would be very surprised.

Half days, five hours a day? A ten hour day is a normal working day?

Doodar · 28/03/2022 01:11

When the kids were younger I had a cleaner come 3 days a week, 16 hours in total, just over £900 a month.
She also looked after the kids while I popped to the gym or the shops.

Overthebow · 28/03/2022 01:47

We have a similar income but don’t really class it as high and wouldn’t be able to afford a housekeeper but are considering a cleaner. We are in the south though.

How much disposable income do you have/how much can you afford to pay each month for a housekeeper? At a guess you’d need to pay £15 per hour.

Cisforcamel · 28/03/2022 05:36

We have a nanny/housekeeper for 20 hrs/week on £350/week gross. She does all the laundry, cooking, cleaning, some school runs and childcare (DC are older, so don’t need ‘entertaining’). My life would fall apart without her.

ittakes2 · 28/03/2022 06:08

Find a local mum looking for extra cash to come during school hours. I have a lady who comes 10-2pm. I have inattentive ADHD and she helps me with a range of things from cleaning to meal prep to helping me send returns back to the shop. She can’t come during school holidays but she is so good during term time I don’t mind.

RustyShackleford3 · 28/03/2022 06:14

I agree with PPs who have said 4 full days is an awful lot. You'd probably be pleasantly surprised at how much a good, experienced housekeeper can get through in a relatively short amount of time.

Maybe start with 2 mornings a week and get them doing the jobs that you hate the most. Go from there.

Elbie79 · 28/03/2022 06:22

Start by getting your cleaner twice a week. Once a fortnight for a house that size and DC that young is nothing. In that time they should be able to do beds and most washing as well as properly staying on top of the cleaning. See what a difference that makes and work out what still falls by the wayside.

As well as the declutterers also consider online PA for life admin stuff on an ad hoc basis.

EmmaH2022 · 28/03/2022 06:27

@ittakes2

How did you find this lady please?

A580Hojas · 28/03/2022 06:28

This is making me lol. We have a joint income of about 100k and haven't felt able to afford a cleaner for 3 hours a week (£45) for the last few years. Definitely not now with the energy and petrol price rises and inflation!

CarryonCovid · 28/03/2022 06:31

We had a nanny-housekeeper when the children were 3-13 (youngest). Paid about £100 pw for one full day (1×-8) and another morning's work.

Alonelonelylonersbadidea · 28/03/2022 08:51

As PPs have said it's a big ask.
Our income is around 180k and we don't feel we can afford a housekeeper. It seems an unnecessary expense. I'd rather put 2k in savings a month than have a housekeeper.

NightmareSlashDelightful · 28/03/2022 08:58

Cleaner once a fortnight isn’t enough. Why don’t you try upping the cleaner to twice a week and see how you get on? Cheaper than a housekeeper but might solve a lot of the issues.

BarbaraofSeville · 28/03/2022 09:23

Maybe you need an aupair and a cleaner, either two separate people or someone willing to do both - eg if your children are at school/nursery, they can do the cleaning before they pick DC up from school.

If you're clear about what you need, and the pay/terms and conditions are right, I'm sure you'd be able to find someone happy to do that sort of job.

Maybe a mother who's been a SAHM in the past and her DC are now grown up so she has all the right experience, now wants/needs to earn money, but isn't qualified/experienced for other jobs but wants something different to supermarket/factory work or whatever?

I think the decluttering would be best dealt with as a one off project in the coming months before you go back to work. No-one is going to be able to make decisions about what to keep/chuck without your input so maybe deal with that in the next few months, be ruthless, maybe hire a declutterer or get help from a friend/family member who's good at this sort of stuff and then resolve to keep on top of it. Which you'll have more time to do if you're buying in help for other aspects of housekeeping.

h wow surely no one can afford a 4day a week housekeeper on just £100k? If they can please tell me how! Which I guess is your point op

It would depend on their outgoings surely? Some people can spend thousands more than others on quite similar lifestyles. If they don't have a huge mortgage, car payments and above average bills/travel/leisure spending, they could afford it, plus it's likely that the OP will earn more than they need to pay whoever they employ if she's going back to a professional role.

Fretfulmum · 28/03/2022 09:58

Your income isn’t enough for a housekeeper and with high outgoings already. You mentioned decluttering and tidying of cupboards- you may be better off getting an organiser for this. There are many people who provide this service as a one off. Then you could get a regular cleaner who may do extra bits like ironing, tidying, bed making.
Write down a list of all the jobs you want regular help with and ones which you think are a one off.

Housekeepers generally will do “mental load” work and will have to know the workings of your family life inside out. I’m not sure you want this as per your previous posts?

SW1amp · 28/03/2022 10:02

We have a housekeeper who does 2 half days and one full day per week

We pay her £14/hour and she is self employed and works for other families

She is absolutely brilliant but it’s also a huge expense
And to be honest, it has definitely made us quite lazy around the house in terms of putting away washing at the weekends etc

I’m now on maternity leave and would like to be able to reduce her hours but don’t want to reduce her income, and she is very picky about who she will take on as a client..!

She does walk the dog though, so that’s one less thing I need to do in the day

SW1amp · 28/03/2022 10:06

And agree with finding a local mum. That’s what ours is…

She drops her kids at school around the corner from us and starts work, then finishes in time to collect one of them

She also helps with a bit of childcare

Dearmariacountmein · 28/03/2022 10:07

To be blunt 100k PA isn’t enough to afford a housekeeper.

Our household income is 110k in the west mids (so not massively pricey) no DC and we couldn’t afford a housekeeper without massively stripping back our lifestyle.

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