to NOT want a cleaner?

[OrkaLiely]

it seems to be very common on MN; paying another person to clean your house. Why can't the adults in the house do it between them? And once the kids are old enough to hold a duste,r teach them to help out as well.

I'd hate someone else in our house cleaning up our mess. It sends a bad message to children too. And no-one in this age of dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners is too busy to do it themselves.

I'm happy with DH as the chef. He loves cooking, I love eating it!

I'm not even going to try to justify mine. I hate cleaning, so have one, and have had for years. Kids don't get out of tidying up behind themselves - why assume that? They wouldn't see me cleaning anyway as I would do it when they were in school.

On outsourcing, I would like someone to plan my meals for the week. I like cooking, but planning meals for each night depending on what time we are getting in, what we havent had for a while that wont make my picky DH and even pickier toddler pull a face would be fantastic. Perhaps sit down with them and create an A, B and Z list of meals that he would eat weekly, monthly and never and just email me the plan for the week.

I have a cleaner because it stops the squabble that we used to have each week over who did what and how thoroughly.

Because in this house two adults work full-time and there are two teenage children who we prefer to focus on their school work, sport and other interests. Because we have four floors, six bedrooms, a lot of stairs and a lot of bathrooms. Because as well as a full day doing a demanding job I also get up at 6.15, do the dishwasher, make tea (including one for DH which I take upstairs for him) load and unload the washing machine, hang up, etc., drop one at school and one at the bus stop, then go straight to work. Get home at 6-6.30ish, cook, tidy, talk to the kids and might sit down by 8ish and have half an hour or so to myself until dh get home.

DH leaves the house at 7.30ish and gets home at about 8.30ish.

Our cleaner does the floors, hoovers, wipes down the kitchen, cleans the bathrooms, polishes tables and mirrors and does a tiny bit of ironing. It takes her five hours that I don't have and am happy to pay her for something I don't want to do. Makes note to text cleaner in a minute to ask her to iron for me this weekend. About every 9 months I get a cleaning company in to a top to bottom spring clean of all the corners that don't get reached inbetween.

We also pay someone else to wash the car, clean the windows, do the odd jobs, decorate, feed the cats when we are away, and .....every Christmas I have the trees delivered and put up ready for decorating and the bannisters and fireplaces dressed with holly too!!

The house cleaning overall comes to about £50pw. I am not giving up £500pw so that I have time to spend doing something I hate. It wouldn't even be worth staying at home for one day a week to do. Now, I would like an extra day off every week but I really wouldn't be spending it doin me cleanin. Wonders if boss would wear me reducing to four days a week to spend more time with the dc lunching, shopping and going to galleries

YANBU to not want a cleaner.
YABU if you think this makes you morally superior to people who do.

I can just see it......instead of cooking, cleaning, gardening [bleurgh!] dh and i could go the gym together and work up a sweat , then come home to a freshly cooked meal, house all tidy, then leap retire into our perfectly made bed.......isnt this life wonderful ? Unfair but wonderful

Oh yes forgot

Window cleaner
Internet shopping
Car washing/valet

YANBU to not want a cleaner. You choose how to spend your money and time.

YABU to say that everyone can do their own cleaning - many people have physical limitation that make certain areas of domestic difficult to impossible. YABU also to say that just because someone can means they should as people prioritise their money and time differently. It can also be very good employment for many people particularly in the current economy.

I have a window cleaner as neither I nor my DH are safe on ladders. He's a very nice bloke who'd lost his office job (and I always close my curtains to certain room to prevent him seeing the mess inside ). Currently considering finding someone just for the laundry as both DH and I find the hauling it up and putting it away very draining so we pull it off the drying rack or clean pile instead.

My in-laws, who are quite physically unable have a cleaner once a week. FIL always cleans the house first, but she makes the house really shine for them. It helped her save up for Uni.

Yes to the window cleaner

Also decorators. They come every year when we are on holiday! Do a couple of rooms and we come home to freshly decorated and nice rooms. That's good, as well. Also tree-cutting people.

But this cook idea is worth thinking about.

Le Queen slopes off to get cloth to wipe wine off the laptop screen .

..sounds reasonable (ish) .

Not sure my dh would part with the cash though when he knows he gets it free and that I don't hate it - and I'm not paying!

Personally I clean my own house and hand-deliver all my mail, even if I'm sending something to my friend in London. I see no reason to pay someone else to do it! It's lazy and anti-feminist.

i ahve a cleaner a cook and someone to do the ironing If I could afford it

I might just be a better actress than you LeQueen.

I work ,DP works long hours but we can't afford a cleaner .

Different world.

I have no interest in cleaning my own home. I have time to do it, but I prefer to spend that time lounging around on MN doing other things. We always had a cleaner when I was young and I wasn't expected to clean then either. When I asked my mother about it she said that she didn't particularly care about bringing me up to clean as it was likely that I would be able to have a cleaner too and if I couldn't afford a cleaner then it wouldn't be too difficult to learn to do it myself, it isn't rocket science. Obviously it costs us something to have a cleaner. What would be an acceptable way for us to spend this money OP? Is it just having a cleaner you object to or would you like to veto other discretionary spend items?

Is it ok to have a cleaner at work then OP? Or is that morally wrong? Does your DH have an office cleaner ? Does you children's school have cleaners or do your DCs clean the toilets in school ?
I've always had a cleaner weather I've been a sahm or full time working because I don't really like cleaning. I like to cook,garden and spend time with my family.

I can see what you mean, OP. I don't have a cleaner either, partly because I think DH and I should clean up after ourselves, partly because I can think of other, more worthy causes which I don't give money to because I think I can't afford it (so would feel guilty to spend money on a cleaner) and partly because I don't care that much if my house is not that clean. But I do think YABU to judge others. Everyone's situation is different.

i wouldn't want a normal clearner, just someone to do the oven.

I don't much like cleaning either tbh .

Shagging DH is about the only thing I dont outsource.
Cleaning - check.
Laundry and ironing - check.
Feeding chickens - check.
Gardening - check.
Food deliver - check.

I even get a nice unch of boys at the local garage to valet the car once a week.

Do I win a prize?

i have read a fair few of threads about cleaning, I like cleaning.

perhaps i should start my own little business cleaning other peoples homes :) no ironing or cleaning the oven though lol