To please ask…

[Allyouneedislunch]

…If you can afford a cleaner but don’t have one, why not? We can just about afford a cleaner a couple of hours a week but don’t. We both work full-time and the thought of coming home to a clean house is lovely. I think it’s because we have so much stuff, not hoarder style but more ornaments, candles, books etc. We don’t do clear surfaces.
Additionally, if you are a cleaner, do you have any no-nos when it comes to accepting a job?
TIA

Because there are 4 people living in this house and everyone pitches in. So it doesn't take long at all.

If you find things overwhelming it took me a long time to realise that just because I didn't have time to do everything doesn't mean I didn't have time to do something so I initially started setting timers for 15-20 minutes to see what I could get done and giving myself permission to stop when the timer went off regardless of where I was in the process.

Once I'd given myself permission to stop it took so much pressure off because instead of thinking "I need an hour to clean the kitchen but I've only got 20 minutes so there's no point even starting" I reframed it to "I have 20 minutes so I'll see what I can get done because that means I have less to do later" then 20 mins later I'd often be surprised at just how much I'd managed to get done.

Sometimes I'd be done before the timer went off because I'd been building up how long something was going to take and actually it was really straightforward once I actually did it; sometimes the timer would go off and I decided to finish off as it was only going to take a few more minutes to complete everything and sometimes I would be nowhere near done but because I allowed myself to drop everything and walk away it gave me the space to go away and do something else before coming back to continue when I was ready to do so.

Tbh you just need to find a system that works for you - A room a day works for me because we have a small, tidy flat with less rooms than there are days in the week, there's only a max of two people living here and DD is old enough to pitch in to keep it clean and tidy so it's not all on me. Also because I've had this system in place for years the daily upkeep is minimal so it really does only take 20 mins a day.

My sister on the other hand has DH and 3 young kids (all with very busy evening/weekend schedules) and pets in a 5 bed three floor townhouse. The room a day system wouldn't work for her as there's more rooms than days in the week and the kids are too young to really help so she has a different system so the kitchen/bathroom are kept clean and the laundry is done on a schedule but all of the other rooms just get cleaned/tidied as and when she or her DH has spare time/feel like it.

I can afford a cleaner but I think why would I pay for a stranger to come into my house and do something I do for nowt.

Once my DH based himself at home we stopped having a cleaner. DH hated having someone around and felt it constricted his movements (if he made a coffee he offered her one, if he was making a call he didn't want to be noisy etc.), I told him to not be so sensitive but to no avail.
As it was his choice he now does all the cleaning, which I feel awkward about but it's only fair I think.

I have had a cleaner for years, but am about to cut down because I have more time now I WFH and my DC are older. I don't really want to spend money on something I can now fit in myself. I also find it quite intrusive her coming every week. When DH and I both worked full time and commuted and the DC were little , there was a lot I would have given up ahead of the cleaner, but life is different now.

I like my privacy, I used to hate the cleaner coming round when I was a kid.

My hourly rate is less than a cleaner, I can do it myself and I'm also very fussy.

We've had cleaners for several years but recently decided that for the quality of the clean they do it was just not worth it anymore. We've used a few different locally recommended cleaners and just not found one who is reliable and works to a good standard.

I'd love to hire an excellent cleaner and if I hear a personal recommendation for one I'd jump at the chance of hiring them.

I’m put off by the quality of cleaning I’ve seen in other people’s homes and it seems lazy for the size of my property.

I think, given the size of the average British house, it's ridiculous to have a cleaner if you're able bodied. It also sends a poor message to children "a woman will come into our home to clean up after you."

I can think of lots of better ways to spend the money. And I don't like the thought of someone poking around my home.

The idea of paying someone else to come into my house and clean up my mess is just completely weird to me. (Obviously it's different for people who aren't able to do it themselves because of physical or serious time constraints.)