Am I the only one who doesn't have a cleaner??

[Hotmad]

At my mum & baby group the other day consisting of new mums only, I found out they all had hired cleaners!! I don't have one as I can't afford to have one. I just said, I live in a pig sty at present :)
I looked up cleaners costs and locally (london) they charge about £12-£15 per hour, Is this a lot do you think? I might pay myself £10 per hour and do it myself!

Tits, our cleaner does a general Hoover and dust, but focuses on giving the kitchen, bathroom and downstairs loo a good weekly clean. Obviously between times we give things a cursory wipe or mop, but it's great to have a thorough weekly clean in those rooms.

I'm looking around now and all our mess is clutter

What would actually be helpful is DS3 having 1-2 days nursery or similar so I could clean, I actual like cleaning! I have every intention of doing in the evening but I'm so tired by the end of the day I don't do it so I plan for the weekends but then other stuff comes along!

We used to have a lady that was actually a volunteer with the community nursing team that supports us with DS1's health stuff. She was drafted in to babysit once a month to give me a break, I'd always come back to find my house sparkling in ways I could never get it. It always baffled me what she was doing that I wasn't.... Oh how I miss her

Oh a weekly bathroom/kitchen clean would be lovely..

I wonder how much they are around these parts?

I love the idea of paying yourself to do it! That thought might just motivate me to do some cleaning

Hiring a cleaner was the first thing I did after I went back to work. I hate cleaning. My cleaner is amazing. 10/hour, once a fortnight, worth every penny.

I was a SAHM for a few years after my second child was born, and I would have definitely had a cleaner if finances hadn't been so tight at the time.

When my 2 were little, they're 23 &18 now, I had a childminder who came to the house so I suppose she was a nanny really. She cleaned, ironed, played wonderful games with the children, took the youngest on bus and train trips while the oldest was at school.........and would only take £3 an hour! She was in her 60's and enjoyed it. We moved and had to leave her behind. I think she was an angel! We never even knew her first name! She was Mrs. & that's what we all called her. She should be made a saint!

I don't understand the kitchen clean. Surely you are cleaning the kitchen all the time, after every meal?? Yes, ok, it needs a weekly going-over-the-worktops with bleach; and the floor needs mopped at least weekly, but that doesn't take long; and in between spot-cleaning takes care of it.

Regarding the bathrooms, I don't think I'd like someone else doing that. Besides, it's easy to find the time to clean them: I normally clean when the DCs are in the bath (upstairs bathroom) or after I've had a shower (downstairs bathroom), or when I'm washing my hands in the sink, I'll give the sink and windowsill a good wipe when I'm at it.

Hoovering is a pain, but I see it as good exercise and I enjoy the satisfaction of nice clean floors. I hate doing the stairs so I just ask DH to do them.

Personally, for me, I couldn't justify it.

We cannot afford a cleaner and no, I do not spend on hairdressers, clothes, magazines, take aways.

Not having to clean would mean more time doing other things. I find cleaning therapeutic, ironing on the other hand.... I barely iron these days - dc1s polo shirt is hidden by her jumper, dc2s clothes are stretchy so no need to iron. I live in skinny jeans. It is bliss!

I have a cleaner who comes twice a week. She is worth every penny. The house is spotless when she leaves. And she does a far better job than DH and I could manage.

My husband and I work full time and want to spend our spare time doing family stuff.

I had a massive clear-out of clutter and unused stuff before I hired a cleaner started, which minimises the amount of tidying up that has to be done.

Its never appealed to me tbh.
I have friends who use cleaners and they spend the night before the cleaner comes, cleaning
I wouldn't like the commitment of having to put everything away so they could clean as I don't expect they tidy your things away too.
Now a maid, or house keeper that's a different matter, I'd have these in a rich life

We finally got one last month. Pregnant with DC4 and bad SPD so can hardly move, and the place was going to the dogs. DH works long hours and does what he can, but he's hardly motivated especially as he isn't the one sitting in it all day.

Wish we'd done it sooner. Not so much because it's lovely having the place sparkling clean every week (although it's amazing what that does to our moods - we're all far happier!) but because it motivates us both to keep the place tidier as we know they're going to come, so the place never gets truly dire any more. Plus now we have more spare time and feel in a happier/more productive mood due to the cleaner house, we've been able to declutter more. Since the cleaners started, we've actually, for the first time in years, made proper progress on doing the big decluttering jobs like sorting through old clothes, boxes etc. Instead of just playing catch-up when the DC let us (i.e. never)

I can't stand to be in the house when they're here as I feel incredibly guilty so it has finally motivated me to go out for a swim each week too (DC1/2 in school, DC3 in nursery on their cleaning day) which has done wonders for my fitness and SPD - I'd been procrastinating about it before. Win-win. Not sure what I'll do once baby is here, mind! Go out for a walk hopefully.

So it's more than just somebody else running a vacuum round our house cos we're lazy innit. The knock-on effects have been immensely beneficial in so many ways. It's not been cheap, and we've had to cutback elsewhere, but in terms of value for money/quality of life improvement, it's probably one of the best investments we've ever made.

titsalima if that's a serious question then i would hate to see your:

Sinks
Toilets
Baths
Showers
Internal cupboards
Inside of the fridge
Under the furniture where the Roomba doesnt get to
Under the sofa cushions/fobs
Skirting boards and behind radiators
Inside of the toaster
Under items on worktops etc
Floors that need mopping
Sheets/bedding
Inside of cooker
Stairs
Mirrors
Windows

Thats just a short list of what my cleaner does off the top of my head i am sure there is more! Its on a rotation basis so fridge one week cooker the next. There is not a single thing left out on the sides or floors or chairs etc when she arrives so no tidying to be done.

It takes 6 hours to get around the house and clean properly and as i run my own business and choose to have dogs and horses at home dirt is generally freeflowing and time is precious! I also had back surgery so going at the house properly in one go causes me discomfort.

Even after she has gone i would do odd extra little bits that caught my eye reading this back I am now wondering if i am slightly OCD

I think it basically comes down to how much you like or detest cleaning and how your time is best spent. There is no point in cleaning yourself if you are able to earn multiples of what you would oay a cleaner surely?

I don't have one because I work P/T and toddler DS is at an age where I can get things done with him/around him and DH pulls his weight, and also I have a small house. Hoover a couple of times a week, wipe surfaces with babywipes when needed (every other day or so) give kitchen a once over every night and bathroom a once over while DS is in the bath. I used to do all my cleaning in one go, but found I was putting it off until it was desperate. Now I just kind of clean as I go and do a little bit every day.

IF I had a bigger house I would pay someone to come in and clean the bathrooms and do all the hoovering though. Or maybe get a roomba, but I suspect it would stress out my cat.

No. I do have a DH who's more of a tidying person than me, though.

I don't have one and don't know anyone who does.

I like cleaning. But we live in a new build. It doesn't get too dirty as I run around everyday and it doesn't take long. Wash or two. Wash floors. I clean upstairs floors on my hands and knees and wipes skirtings at the same time.

Dh does bins/recycling/cleans pots

I iron while baby plays on his gym and peel veg for dinner
I batch cook a fair bit so that reduces daily mess. We don't have a dishwasher.

Once I am back to work I don't foresee it being harder as we won't be in the house as much.

I couldn't spend the money on it though I could afford it. I would prefer to overpay in my mortgage dreams of living mortgage free and backpacking around India.. Sigh

I do have a dishwasher too. In fact it broke two weeks ago and I'm so bloody dependent on it that the new one was bought and delivered within two days. I hate washing up.

It was a serious question! I do all those things you mentioned but it's usually when I'm passing them or a 5-10 minute thing while I'm waiting for water to boil on the hob or waiting similar. Don't worry my children have a variety of health problems that demand a super clean house! :)

I don't despise cleaning at all, I love cleaning but mainly other peoples houses
I guess a cleaner isn't for me after all.

I have one but it's DS so don't know if that counts . Although he does a v good job and obviously I pay him (he's a 6th former so wanted a way to get a bit of extra money, and weekend jobs seem to be non-existent nowadays...).

Actually he was away over the half term so I had to do the cleaning myself - it was horrible!

i don't have children and i have a cleaner. once a week, two hours, £16. it is the best money i've ever spent - our free time is worth that. we both work full time but not extremely high salaries

The best present I was given when I had my baby was a cleaner for two hours a week for the first three months, paid for by my parents. . It was the most thoughtful gift and I would be tempted to offer it if I have a DIL who has a baby (very tactfully offered of course after reading all the MIL threads on Mumsnet ).

Willie - that reminds me, we used to have a cleaner and sent all our ironing out before we had children - blissful days.

What I would really like now is a gardener.

titsalima phew you had me worried there for a moment.

I also sometimes think when at other peoples houses 'you could really do with a cleaner' so shoot me now especially when notice grimey bathrooms etc and I have one neighbour whose house i would never eat anything in as it's so unhygienic. cats are allowed on the worktops. Enough said.

I guess we all differ as to how much we see dirt and how much it bothers it, i know some people like my DH would hardly notice if the sink hadnt been cleaned for a week and had dirt and toothpaste on it even if he was using it everyday!

I also out my kitchen bin lids (one refuse one recycling) through the dishwasher every week after reading somewhere they are the grubbiest things in the house!

Despite the fact that we both work full time, we don't have a cleaner and I keep telling myself that we don't need one as we have a small house and all of us including DD who is 7 do a little bit.

I think that in other peoples houses too, I have to sit on my hands to stop me having a little clean in someone else's house

Tits mine moves the furniture and vacuums behind/under. Dusts, wipes skirtings, clean mirrors, scrubs the bathroom and kitchen, washes the insides of the windows - all kinds of stuff.