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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

235 replies

Hotmad · 26/02/2014 09:48

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!

OP posts:

Mintyy · 26/02/2014 18:31

And HappyMummyofOne too! Judge away, it appears to be your favourite hobby .

WhereIsMyHat · 26/02/2014 18:33

Happymummyofone, I think an 'un' at the start of your username would be more apt. Just a thought

clam · 26/02/2014 18:50

I used to dream of having a cleaner, but could never quite justify the expense. And I wasn't quite sure what was stopping me from organising one.
Then, last year, I broke my leg and had to get in some help. I hated it. I mean, it was nice in a way not to have to worry about the state of the bathroom basins and floors, but I hated the stress of having to tidy up before she came (or rather, getting dh and dcs to do so) and having someone else in the house possibly judging us, and feeling nervous about spotting bits she hadn't done properly. Looking back I can't believe I was so weedy about it, but I was post-op and in a bit of a state all-round. Also, she could only come on a day that didn't really suit - a Tuesday, which was another pain. I wanted it all sorted on a Friday, ready for the weekend, which meant I was also attempting to do it myself then as well, which kind of lost the point.
So now I no longer have one, and am learning to live with the ensuing chaos.

truelymadlysleepy · 26/02/2014 18:56

I don't get the angst.
There are some fab cleaners out there, same as some fab Drs, teachers, supermarket assistants. It's a very useful job that some are happy to do & take pride in.
I'd be more shamed about a Podiatrist poking about with my yucky feet than my cleaner sorting out my mucky house.

HappyMummyOfOne · 26/02/2014 18:59

Why Whereis, because i believe people who are home all day dont need a cleaner

Didnt realise you had to agree to post om MN.

LadyBeagleEyes · 26/02/2014 19:05

I've never had a cleaner but would have one like a shot. I hate housework and am suffering from ill health at the moment so my house is a tip.
I've been a cleaner though, I charged £10 an hour.
It was easy money, and I didn't mind doing it at all.

singleandfabulous · 26/02/2014 19:09

Mine charges £17 an hour and I live in the Midlands (none-gentrified area). I work full time and don't have dcs. It's just one less thing to worry about and means my weekends are free for me to do other things.

ifyourehoppyandyouknowit · 26/02/2014 19:10

If you are home all day you really want have no need to buy clothes, since you could very well just knit or sew them yourself.

Seriously. Paying a cleaner, if you can afford it, is surelya good thing? Gives someone a job, probably one that has v convenient hours, is flexible and some people actually enjoy the it. Get that stick out of your arse happymumofone.

GingerMaman · 26/02/2014 19:11

If anyone can recommend a cleaner in east London, please let me know

LadyBeagleEyes · 26/02/2014 19:13

Oh and though i hate cleaning my own house, I was quite good at cleaning others. I think when it's your own place you see it getting messy again right away, but when you only do it at someone elses, you can leave it nice and clean and sparkly until you see it a week later.

Yonineedaminute · 26/02/2014 19:13

Why Whereis, because i believe people who are home all day dont need a cleaner

But there are lots of things that people spend money on that they don't 'Need' that are apparently perfectly acceptable. Why is a cleaner any different?

Somersetlady · 26/02/2014 19:21

happymumofone 30minutes a day including Sundays for total cleaning times would only equate to 3.5 hours a week - it wouldn't touch the sides in my house for a proper clean.

It's not like I or many others i am sure have a cleaner then sit on our arses for the rest of the week. Daily i would sweep floors and wipe around kitchen etc so thats probably 30mins on top of having the house professionally cleaned and pristine! It doesn't correlate that just because you have a cleaner your house is only tidy on the day the cleaner comes!

You are also wrong to assume that just because someone is a SAHP they have no income and are all lazy good for nothings living off their spouse.

What a strange narrow minded world in which you live.

BrunoBrookesDinedAlone · 26/02/2014 19:23

I don't have one.

I'd HATE to have one.

I'm too control freaky over my space. That's not to say it's mega clean, but it's ok and more importantly it's my stuff that I've sorted out or chosen to not sort out, thanks! Gerroff!

I'm also currently at home and so I can manage it fine despite two preschoolers and freelance work.

BUT I'd never judge anyone having a cleaner - as has been said, it's just choosing to spend your money on what floats your boat. Or scrubs your tub

curiousuze · 26/02/2014 19:25

I was only one in my NCT group not to have one! Still don't. I'd love one though.

ohmymimi · 26/02/2014 19:26

Don't have one, don't need one, don't care who has one.

RufusTheReindeer · 26/02/2014 19:31

I don't have a cleaner, only because I begrudge the money I would spend...it's mine, all mine!

Did have a cleaner a while back who did the bathrooms and a bit of the kitchen, because I though DH needed a break from the bathroom cleaning and I wasn't going to bloody well do it!!

Now DH has gone back to doing the bathrooms

Mintyy · 26/02/2014 19:31

How can you have a belief over whether someone should have a cleaner or not? I'm amazed it gives any of you headspace at all.

Mimishimi · 26/02/2014 19:36

Why do people call it a first world problem? Women in third world countries are very likely, even more likely, to have hired help. I think it makes more sense if you are working or are at home but have a lot of children.

Stinklebell · 26/02/2014 19:42

I don't quite understand why anyone would care whether someone else has a cleaner or not.

I work part time from home, my kids are both at school. I'd have a cleaner in a heartbeat if we could afford it, I hate cleaning. We don't need one, but why the fuck not? We don't need lots of things but that doesn't stop us spending money on them. Lazy? I can live with that

woodrunner · 26/02/2014 19:48

I don't have a cleaner because I don't see the point. They clean. It looks great. Two seconds later in troll DC trailing mud everywhere, then in strolls cat shedding fur and hay from the fields, then DH spreads out his newspapers and cuts himself a large slice of bread not even noticing the crumbs all over the floor and work surface. And then they all poo in the shiny toilets and spit toothpaste on taps and mirrors. Well that's what happens when I clean, so I don't see the point of paying someone else £45 a week to make my house look nice for three minutes.

Original poster

Hotmad · 26/02/2014 19:51

I would love a cleaner but simply cannot afford it at present, as I said round here it's like £12-£15 an hour so if I had 2 hours a week that would be £100-£130 a month, I'm on mat leave and partner is currently looking for work. I hate cleaning and to be honest I'm not Kim or Aggie by all means, maybe when DP gets a job I can stretch to one :)

OP posts:

Caitlin17 · 26/02/2014 19:54

I don't at the moment. I've had cleaners, nannies, window cleaners and gardeners in the past, occasionally all 4 at the same time. I only have a gardener now. Cleaning the house is the only exercise I get. I blitz it perhaps every 3 weeks. It doesn't take long and I'm not fussy. OH enjoys ironing.

Caitlin17 · 26/02/2014 19:56

I definitely needed one when son lived at home but not now.

pancakesfortea · 26/02/2014 19:58

We had one when the kids were tiny and we were both working. We made a very specific trade off of weekend meals out vs.cleaner. A few years later the kids were less work and we wanted that weekend pizza more so gave it up.

whatever5 · 26/02/2014 20:14

Why Whereis, because i believe people who are home all day dont need a cleaner

Few people are at home with their feet up though. Some people have jobs which they can do at home, some people have children to look after/play with etc. Anyway, nobody needs a cleaner whether they are a SAHM or not. People are entitled to spend their money on what they want.

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