To get a cleaner

[chessica]

I don’t have the time or energy to clean, or at least I don’t feel that way. Both DH and I work full time, normal average paid jobs we aren’t well off by any means. He cleans more than me and takes care of most the laundry but both of us barely get time to, and although I think my standards are probably just high I’d like to feel as if our house was cleaner.

I am wondering if paying a cleaner (just for an hour or two every other week) is a huge cop out, given the house is so small… surely even the cleaner will think it’s a piece of cake and wonder why we couldn’t just do it ourselves? AIBU to even consider it or is it worth the cash.

Oops sorry to drip feed we’ve got a two bed two up two down

I'm a single mum and work full time and have a cleaner once a fortnight for 2 hours and it's a god send. The best money I spend.

A cleaner isn't going to judge you if you're paying them.

If it's going to make you more content, it's money well spent.

Ty! How much money do you pay and do they clean everything or just kitchens and bathrooms etc

You haven’t said if you have kids. I would be a bit more surprised if a childless couples in a two up two down needed a cleaner. Each to their own!

That aside we took the plunge to get one about 2 months ago and it has made such a difference to us! They do 1.5 hours every other week and it’s so nice not having to worry about the house being clean. It’s like a weight has been lifted.

Ours is £45 for 2 people for 1.5 hours. They bring all their own stuff. Not in London

I'm tempted to get a cleaner!

I have had a cleaner for years, since before we had children. You don't need to justify it to anyone - I have a cleaner because I want a clean house but don't like cleaning. It's such a weight off my mind knowing the basics will get done each week.

@chessica I pay £25 for 2 hours so an absolute bargain!! They clean the whole house, kitchen, bathroom, and then dust, skirting boards hoover etc. i usually only have the hoover, mop and lightly clean the kitchen and bathrooms in between cleans.

If you can afford it and you don't want to do it, just pay someone else to do it. People need the work.
I'm a single mum with a 4-bed house and a full time job. I pay £54 for 3 hours every two weeks. Knowing that everything will get a decent clean takes a load of my shoulders.

I live alone. I pay my sister to clean my.house weekly.

We have a cleaner, £25 for 2 hours every week. Life is too short. Outsource the shitty stuff

I'd stop drinking alcohol before giving up my cleaner! It's the best money I spend every week!

I am wondering if paying a cleaner (just for an hour or two every other week) is a huge cop out, given the house is so small

Just DH & I in a one bed flat and we have a weekly cleaner 😳😁
No need to justify it, if you can afford it do it. I pay £30 for 2 hours in London.

Best money I spend every week hands down.
They won’t judge you or give a crap as to why you aren’t doing it yourself. Having one encourages us to keep everything tidy during the rest of the week as she can’t clean if it’s not tidy.
£60 for 4 hours a week, she brings her own cleaning stuff and hoover and mop etc.
I wfh now and always get to see her too, she’s absolutely lovely and we bake a lot during the week so there’s always something to go with her cup of tea halfway through cleaning.
Life changing. Your cleaner will clean what you ask them to do. Mine does the whole house but mainly leaves my office as I’m usually in there although she does come in and hoover if I’m not on a call.

@PinkPlantCase Why would people without kids want to spend their free time cleaning? We've always had a cleaner before having DC even when we lived in a 2 bedroom flat. We had more of a social life then and guests more often.

OP I can't imagine a cleaner would want to come for 1 hour but a few hours every other week can't see why not. Maybe ask your neighbours if their cleaner has any availability.

Some people spend their disposable income on drink, clothes, holidays, whatever. If a cleaner makes life better for you and DH, go for it.

We've always had a cleaner since before we had children, and now they have all gone & we don't even work full time! It makes us tidy up & is a godsend. £60 for 4 hours every other week.

I pay £40 for 3 hours.

As for what the cleaner does - well that's up to you. For me the priority is the kitchen so that gets done thoroughly every week. Then she does the rest of the downstairs (lounge and playroom) and then what she has time for upstairs - depending on how long it's been since it was done, and who is at home that day. She has been with us several years and is fab, we have a good relationship and I can easily ask her whether she can do a specific thing.

If you want one get one, you both work hard.

Our cleaner charges 45 for three hours a week. We would rather forgo a takeaway if it came to it. Money well spent.

We had a cleaner when we had a tiny 1.5 bed central London flat. I don’t think there’s a law for how big your living space has to be to hire a cleaner.

I have one and I don’t understand why people are judgmental about it.
We had one when we were in a two up two down with no children. I didn’t want to spend my day off cleaning.

If you get a takeaway or buy a coffee no one judges why you aren’t cooking or making your own coffee.

We don’t get takeaways but we do have a cleaner.

Good grief, I’ve had a cleaner a one bedroom flat, and there’s nothing unusual about that, never mind a 2 bed house.

Cleaners by definition clean houses, so they are unlikely to judge you for wanting your house cleaned right? Else they wouldn’t have a job?

Do it! You work and you're supporting someone else to work and earn a living.