That a cleaner won’t solve any problems?

[Autumntwilights]

We both work full time and keeping on top of stuff is hard.

I can’t see a cleaner solving any issues. It’s more tidying, laundry (dear god the laundry) getting organised for the week.

Am I missing anything?

so that the bedding is ironed

What?

I used to have one lady, sadly passed away now, where I'd strip and change her bed and wash her bedding one week and alternate weeks iron the bedding and put it away. When I started with her, her linen cupboard was filled with crumpled bedding shoved in any old how, within a few weeks I'd ironed and sorted it and it looked lovely. I really enjoy ironing but not one of my current clients wants me to do it. I do however tidy their linen cupboards, I can't help myself!

Outsource the laundry instead then.

My cleaner came for the first time today. I've had some health problems lately and I couldn't believe how much work she got through. She also hung out a load of washing and she will iron if I ask her to.

Get the cleaner! Do it now! It’s cheaper than couples therapy.
Once or twice a week you will walk into a clean, fresh house. Not mopping floors or hoovering or cleaning bathrooms or scrubbing g down the kitchen means you resent the tidying, laundry etc less
And go 50/50 on that stuff anyway.

@iwishiwasafish

I wish I had known earlier that there were housekeepers as well as cleaners.

We put off getting a cleaner for years because I knew it would just add stress because we would want to tidy beforehand.

Am now trying to persuade DH we need a housekeeper.

After a recent thread about housekeepers I realised this too! And further that a lot of what I did was classed as housekeeping.

I'm planning to offer more household management from next year, including offering to cook an evening meal for a client to come home to.

This morning I chucked out a load of dead flowers, then washed the vases and cut some more from the garden. Nice task to end the session.

@LittleBearPad

Cleaners are ace btw.

Thank you.

@Autumntwilights

Yes but it doesn’t take long. And I think that frantically tidying up before cleaner would add to, rather than remove, stress.

That's us. The tidying up the problem

Reading the thread,I think you need some therapy,not a cleaner.I mean this kindly.You sound highly stressed and you might want to look at why you are so stressed out.A lot of suggestions from people you reply that it would add to your stress....You dont have to be perfect,maybe thats the mantra you have to tell yourself.all the best.

I find having cleaner once a fortnight makes me stay on top of tidying. It never gets that bad in 2 weeks than it can't be sorted fairly easily. If she wasn't coming It would just slide.

Our cleaner strips the beds and puts them on to wash. For an added fee she takes them away and brings them back ironed but we don't use this.

You need a system that works for you. We each have a laundry basket for clean stuff to be put away as that's where our problem lies.

That was really rude, @Andwander

Some cleaners will gladly do tidying, mine does. She also does laundry and cooks sometimes if we weren't total pigs on that week and she finished early.

@Autumntwilights

That was really rude, *@Andwander*

I don’t think it was trying to be (or actually) rude.

Washing is a pain. I am in the habit if doing one every day, this week I hadn't put it away, I'd a massive pile yesterday.
A tip - hang the wet clothes on hangers to dry.
Do a wash every evening, hang it out, that evening put it away while next wash is on.
I love my tumble dryer for sheets, towels.
I couldn't let washing build it, it overwhelms me lost in a pile of clothes.

I'm planning to offer more household management from next year, including offering to cook an evening meal for a client to come home to.
If you want an idea, that's what my previous cleaner used to do. She teamed up with a friend, who was an excellent cook, and delivered home cooked meals daily to her clients' houses (batch cooked at her friend's home), I think at the end of her shift once she's finished with all cleaning for the day. It was more of a diaspora offering, she cooked our ethnic food, but god how good it was - never mind coming home to a delicious dinner on the stove.

Just do less washing. Seriously.

Unless you have 7 children, how are you filling a machine EVERY DAY? Are you one of those MN people who wash towels after one use and bedding twice a week?

"Get therapy" seems to be the default solution for everything on MN.

The fact is, 2 parents working full time with a family do not have the man hours to complete all the work required for an organised, tidy clean home.

Either they outsource some of that work, resign themselves to living in a certain level of chaos or attempt to keep on top of it all themselves by sacrificing any down time ; end result= tiredness, stress, burn out.

@Autumntwilights

That was really rude, *@Andwander*

That’s not rude. It is a helpful suggestion that you might want to redefine your problem. It might be a slight over reach. But honestly I think there is truth to it given you are able to help but see help as a problem.

I don't think @Andwander was being rude at all. In fact OP, your reaction to their comment makes me wonder if they have hit the nail on the head. Meant kindly.

I can't see that the op has kids?

We have a cleaner(2 adults no kids) and we do tidy before she comes do she can focus on cleaning.

But laundry as 2 adults just seems not much chore at all. Maybe we don't wash as much as sone mumsnet people. But putting on a bedding wash or towel wash is just a case of washer dryer being on for 4 hours un the background. Same for most other washes. (Bar shirts /jeans we have to hang up and not tumble)

But it's a 5-10 min chore at most.

Now if other half needed shirts ironed every day we may consider an ironing service, in London there are tons of laundry app services to use.

If I was desperately stressed with juggling children, a full time job and keeping on top of things, then believe me the last thing I need is therapy, if only because it is one more thing to cram into the week. I’m certainly not accustomed to being told I need therapy when chatting about housework.

Well yes perhaps a therapist would tell you to relax, change your mindset, view your mountain of laundry as an art installation and see the beauty in cobwebs.

Sorry to laugh, I'm sure the therapy comment was well intentioned.

On a serious note, would you consider or could you afford any of the practical suggestions on here for outsourcing some of the work in your home? You do sound stressed.

I’m not really - or I wasn’t, but now I am stressed because I think others think I am stressed.

The problem is that if you do try to talk about it on here you do get shut down pretty quickly with ‘get a cleaner’ and i am just not sure that would be helpful for us.

I'm sure a cleaner would be happy to do laundry services over 2 mornings.