AIBU to wonder why everyone has cleaners these days!

[Storm4star]

Ok, please don’t take offence, I say this somewhat in jest. But my goodness how many of you have cleaners?? I have been utterly ripping the pee out of a male colleague at work because he and his wife have a cleaner but I hadn’t realised how common it’s become until I joined MN!

I personally struggle to justify spending my hard earned cash on things I could do myself (also do most of my own decorating and DIY). But have I missed something? Is a cleaner now the new must have?

I briefly had a cleaner for about a year and it was very nice. However, it seems somehow immoral to pay someone else to clean up your dirt.

Maybe it’s to do with the fact we come from working class upbringings but we were shocked when this guy said he had a cleaner.

But why waste your lives on this kind of weird chippiness? Your colleague is freeing up his leisure time, and providing employment to boot - what an evil git!

Bettie I know what you mean. I want a cleaner but find it a bit embarrassing if I'm there and someone else is cleaning my house, even though I'm paying.

As someone said above it makes sense for me as I can earn a lot more money in the time it would take me to clean.

"What rankles is me are the comments about ‘long hours /stressful jobs ‘ and the implicit assumption they work harder than others"

If someone starts a thread asking why people have cleaners, it seems a bit unfair to judge people for answering honestly!

@stopfuckingshoutingatme isn't the only person who has posted this sort of thing on here, so although I have quoted her comment, my reply is aimed at all the people who have judged others for stating this is why they have a cleaner, not just her.

Not true. Our job is professional, though public sector so not big business bucks! But yes, I could afford a cleaner if I wanted, as could all my colleagues. Maybe it’s to do with the fact we come from working class upbringings but we were shocked when this guy said he had a cleaner.

I find it odd that people you work with were "shocked" if you work in a professional job unless you are all quite young. If you have spare money after paying bills why would it be shocking to choose to spend it on a cleaner as appose to takeaways or alcohol a million other non-essential things. I work in a professional job in the public sector and plenty of people have cleaners particularly those with families.

Because I hate cleaning and we can afford it.
She only comes once a week so I do a lot of tidying and surface cleaning in between but I never have to do the big stuff.
If our income increases, I will employ someone much more so I don’t have to change beds, do laundry, blah blah blah. I just find it boring.

I hate cleaning, but love a clean and orderly house. My cleaner is so much more than a cleaner. I have told her we are adopting her and her family. She has transformed our lives. Her wonderful husband is currently building fitted cupboards for us which will store some of our clutter. I would budget to the nth degree to continue to have her.

I know what you mean. I want a cleaner but find it a bit embarrassing if I'm there and someone else is cleaning my house, even though I'm paying.

But that is because you are influenced by what people like OP think about employing a cleaner. The reality is that it is not a bad wage and there are certainly much worse jobs with less autonomy and salary. Not employing a cleaner is not going to help anyone apart from perhaps companies that employ people on crappy casual contracts.

findingmyfeet I had to be out of the house on the mornings the cleaner came! That too was part of the agreement. I only actually met her in person once.

I'm a cleaner, started last year and I am having to turn people away as I don't have enough hours in the day. The very 1st lady I cleaned for I now clean for her and her sister and brother.

I wish I had a cleaner myself because there is nothing worse finishing work on a Friday totally knackered and your own house is lying like a tip.

It’s all down to your personal priorities and what you like doing yourself. I used to have a cleaner when I was working and it stopped a lot of arguments about who did jobs that everyone hated. I am thinking about having one again even now because there are lots of things that I feel are more fulfilling than cleaning. I do enjoy some jobs around the house, and obviously I wouldn’t pay anyone to do those. Many women in my family were cleaners and took pride in their work and the state of their homes. I don’t feel the same way and don’t feel that I personally have to meet their standards - I am quite happy to delegate to a professional!

I have been utterly ripping the pee out of a male colleague at work because he and his wife have a cleaner but I hadn’t realised how common

I hope you realise how rude this is. Does he mock your life choices? Everyone is entitled to spend their money as they see fit. I wouldn't thank you for a vintage car or a Mulberry handbag but I would defend your choice to have one. Each to their own!

We didn't have a cleaner when we both worked full time and we had DC at home. I knew few people who did, just a couple of professional couples. I'd have love it but it was unaffordable, plus we didn't have numerous bathrooms!

Both my DCs have large houses, busy jobs and commutes. They have cleaners. The floors and bathrooms are cleaned every week, furniture polished. One also pays for ironing. One uses a company which is more expensive, but there's a high demand in that area. DCs had an ordinary upbringing BTW.

I find it odd that people you work with were "shocked" if you work in a professional job unless you are all quite young. If you have spare money after paying bills why would it be shocking to choose to spend it on a cleaner as appose to takeaways or alcohol a million other non-essential things. I work in a professional job in the public sector and plenty of people have cleaners particularly those with families.

Maybe it is an age thing but at the other end of the scale. Most of us in my office are in our 40’s and 50’s, either childless or with grown children or teens, whereas this guy is in his 30s. When my children were growing up I didn’t have a cleaner, but likely less people did then anyway. I think i’m just a bit old school and am equally shocked when grown men can’t do a bit of DIY because they don’t know how. It just all makes me feel like future generations are going to be pretty helpless if they find themselves in the scenario where they can’t pay for all these things yet have no clue how to do them themselves.

If cleaners were paid such that they had a decent annual income , paid their NI contributions and had 4 weeks holidays and sick pay

I'm in France - my cleaner gets her taxes and social contributions paid, health care, holidays and sick pay. Because if you hire one officially, the amounts paid for domestic help are tax deductible. I think it's quite brilliant.

I remember Jenny Eclair saying she still had a cleaner even when she was on JSA. For some it is a priority.

You do come across as very rude to your colleague - I genuinely want to know what you are saying to him that you think is so funny? "Ha ha! You have a cleaner!"

I think i’m just a bit old school and am equally shocked when grown men can’t do a bit of DIY because they don’t know how. It just all makes me feel like future generations are going to be pretty helpless if they find themselves in the scenario where they can’t pay for all these things yet have no clue how to do them themselves.

Well I'm in my 50s and know plenty of people my age who employ a cleaner so I don't think your attitude is anything to do with being "old school" I hardly think employing a cleaner leads to people being "helpless" and unable to do things themselves. It is not rocket science and generally, even if you do employ a cleaner you will still have to do some cleaning yourself.
Being "shocked" that grown men can't do DIY but not similarly shocked if women can't do it makes you sound more sexist than old school, I'm afraid. Ability to do DIY is not encoded into the Y chromosome.

I don't understand why people spend their money on headbands for babies, wall decals that say "in this house we do Disney" and things with glitter on them. I assume it's because they want to. I wouldn't 'rip the pee' out of them because I'm not a twat.

I have a cleaner because I'm disabled, a single mother of two (one of whole is also disabled) and work full time in a really stressful and draining job. I spend what time and energy I have on doing nice things with my kids and with my partner when I see him, and the rest of the time I'm mostly in bed. It's worth the expenditure because I literally do t have the energy to clean but don't want to live in a midden. Is that ok with you or do I need more reasons?

I had a feeling someone would try and call me sexist for that. I wasn’t giving my view that only men should do DIY, but yes it is more expected from men. For the record I have an adult son and daughter. Both can do DIY, both can do cleaning. As it should be.

future generations are going to be pretty helpless if they find themselves in the scenario where they can’t pay for all these things yet have no clue how to do them themselves.

1. Books
2. YouTube
3. It’s not that difficult to work out how to clean things
4. I think you are confusing having a cleaner with living in Downton Abbey. People with cleaners still have to do cleaning.

In my post I didn’t ask anyone to “justify” why they have a cleaner. People’s defensive attitudes have led them to do so. I expressed surprise that so many people had them now. I’m not going to apologise for the fact that my friends don’t have cleaners, and therefore I am not part of a circle where “everyone has a cleaner”.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Why would people not cope with having to do these things (which aren't exactly rocket science).

If you're at a time in you life when you can budget for a cleaner, then go for it. It doesn't mean you'll be buried under a pile of filth if you can't afford it one day.

I was brought up by parents who did absolutely everything for me and didn't prepare me for living alone - I manage fine.

Quite a few people here have said they have a cleaner because they’re “no good at it” as you said yourself, it’s not rocket science so why is it so hard?

I had a feeling someone would try and call me sexist for that.

You were giving your view that men should do DIY though because you were "shocked" that some couldn't and suggested future generations might be helpless because of it. You didn't suggest that women would be helpless if they couldn't do DIY.

Op you asked why people had cleaners and then said you could do your own cleaning so struggled to justify it yourself.

Nice job wriggling out of it though.