To want a cleaner that will pick my clothes up off the floor?

[Zamphina]

Dp and I work very long hours during the week. We’re out of the house 9-10 minimum. We eat dinner in the office. When we get home we’re exhausted and just want to sleep. So often the kitchen has our breakfast stuff. We’ve left clothes on the floor. There might be sunday’s dishes on the table. The laundry has been left out drying.

We earn an OK salary and have a tiny flat to save money, so a cleaner coming 2-3 times a week for two hours a time won’t be an issue.

But obviously I’m slightly embarrassed for someone to see my home in such a mess. Are there any cleaners who will sort all of this? Pick up the clothes, put them on to wash, load the dishwasher, and clean the bathroom etc?

And it's okay for her to prioritise other things like fun, a social life, fitness, hobbies etc. isn't it? She's young, she'll be spending her weekends on domestic duty for long enough.

The OP and her DP have every weekend to get on top of housework, which as she says it's a small flat, isn't going to take too long. They presumably prioritise other things

These jobs often require work at the weekend as well I agree though they will have some time at the weekend to tidy which is why I suggested a Monday cleaner.

However the OP was hoping for a cleaner twice a week which means that some of the week’s mess would still be there for the second visit. Personally, I think this is perfectly acceptable.

No it's not you're right.

A full-time working lone parent has a tonne more to do and numerous more responsibilities and things to organise and do than a childless couple working long days 5 days a week.

And doesn't get weekends off from any of that.

My cleaner in London was more of a house keeper. I'd put a clothes wash and the dishwasher on before leaving the house in the morning and she would hang out the washing and put away the dishes. She would change our bedding every fortnight, and once I had kids I paid her an extra hour to make a big batch cook meal. It was all stipulated before she was hired and I think
She wouldn't put clothes away/tidy things off the floor. I always put everything in the laundry basket before she came... actually never tried leaving it all out!
We've recently moved out of London and I don't think changing the beds, dishes and laundry etc is the norm.

I don’t see the issue , as long as you discuss with your cleaner wether they tidy as well as clean and don’t assume- some may charge more ( I don’t know , I can’t afford a cleaner lol but I certainly would if I could ! ) . But people saying you could easily tidy etc , well yeah you could but it’s your choice if you want to pay for somebody to do it. What’s the point of cleaning yourself then paying someone ? I’m sure they have seen lots worse ! They make a business from other peoples mess x

Why are you acting like putting clothes in a wash basket, putting dishes in the dishwasher and picking up after oneself are complicated erroneous tasks so it's completely understandable that OP doesn't bother?

They're really easy, simple things that take very little time for the combined effort of 2 adults to do.

They'll still have time to do everything else they want to do. Taking 5 seconds to walk to a basket and put the clothes in then every few days walk to the washing machine and take 30 seconds to put the clothes in and switch it on shouldn't be a struggle. It's not like they have to wash it in a tub with a stick then put it through a mangle.

Especially easy between two of them.

So disrespectful to expect another human being to pick your dirty underwear off the floor because you are too lazy to do it yourself. This is not a Third World country where self-important people like you can treat people like that. People like you are the sort of people who get a cleaner, pay them the minimum you can get away with then gradually heap more and more work on them until they break. Shame on people like you. Awful.

Don't understand all the lazy comments tbh. Anyways as others have said OP, you need a housekeeper if you want them to do more than just clean. I have a cleaner but if I could afford a housekeeper I'd get one by tomorrow.

People always answer this with "a cleaner cleans" but every cleaner I've ever had has spent the whole time tidying and barely done any cleaning 🤣

.

A cleaner will do this if you give them enough time to do it. Obviously if they have to tidy/move stuff before cleaning it'll be a longer job and that means you'll have to pay them more, but it's easy enough for them to do.
I put stuff away,did washing up before my cleaner got here most of the time but if I didnt , she would do it and I'd just pay her for the extra time required or tell her to leave something that wasnt essential to do.
My cleaner changed our bedding which was essential for me at the time as I have a neck/shoulder injury.
Just discuss with them beforehand. You're busy and if this is what you need to make life easier for you ,wheres the issue. A good cleaner will be flexible and I would steer clear of one that isn't.

Put your laundry basket near the bathroom door. When you get out of bed, grab the clothes from floor and plonk in basket on way to bathroom.
Also, i find coming down to dirty dishes makes me feel my lifes a mess and its all overwhelming, whereas to washup before bed is easier as nothing is dried on and crusty.
I think you should look at your habits, it sounds like youve just got into bad ones, and then discuss with potential cleaner what they are willing or not willing to deal with

Your comment is stupid. It's literally some people's job description to do this. So what makes the OP disrespectful and others who pay for that kind of service not disrespectful? The OP is willing to PAY for the service. Where did get the indication that she wanted to take advantage of the person and pay them the bare minimum?

When my husband started as a graduate trainee he was working 16 hour days as standard and weekends, that's what you used to have to do if you wanted to get ahead. If it wasnt for me doing the cleaning back then we'd live in squalor.Its more important and cost effective to focus on your career than worrying about what other folk think or the laundry,plus it'll be better for your relationship than arguing about whose turn it is to vacuum,believe me,been there done that.
Ignore others accusing you of laziness , they're just jealous they cannot afford a cleaner 3 times a week. Lord I miss my cleaner, good luck in finding a decent one.

Personally I think it pretty much boils down to good manners. A generally good rule in life is to treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Well, no. It takes the same amount of time to hang your clothes up or chuck them in the laundry basket as it does to chuck them on the floor.

My wonderful cleaner (how I miss her) would hang laundry out to dry if I asked her (I didn't very often) and she would change my bed linen each week but obviously had to have more time to do this.

I kept on top of things during the week as well, just a bit at a time.

I've never left clothes on the floor, just in a basket.

I think you need a housekeeper if you expect someone to pick things up all the time.

send the laundry out!

You can absolutely hire someone to tidy and clean for you. However some of this is just habit. Your clothes never hit the floor, they go straight in the laundry basket. The dishes go straight in the dish washer. The shoes go right on the shoe rack. Etc. My house had a lot more mess before we got a pup (6yrs ago) and anything left on floor was chewed. It's just a habit now that even my dd teenage friends follow when visiting; shoes put away, nothing left lying, no left over food in reach. Honestly it's just a habit you can form. But saying that, there is nothing stopping you hiring help.

So what if they are lazy? What’s the problem? They’re willing to pay a cleaner, giving a cleaner an income. Then being lazy doesn’t impact on anyone else’s life.

Although I don’t think working every day is lazy 🙄

9am-10pm

Not when you’re in a rush and getting changed in a different room from the laundry basket 🤦🏻‍♀️

I would maybe unpack why you feel it's disrespectful to tidy and do someone's laundry for cash? It's not about being someone's dream job. I find it interesting how so many people think there's something shameful about paying for your housework is seen as worse than paying a gardener. Or cleaning someone's home is more degrading than cleaning an office or a school or an oven?
Cleaning is not badly paid if you work for yourself. You can choose your hours and you can decide your own pay and what you will or won't do. I think it's a shame so many on here seem to consider it degrading work or something. Maybe you think you're being nice, but often people don't get a cleaner out of a misplaced sense of embarrassment or that 'women's work' shouldn't be outsourced, but often people can be living with extremely stressful lives and are not keeping on top of their housework and really don't need to be shamed about this. Being messy doesn't mean you're a bad person. My mental health is so much better when I have a cleaner, and thank fuck she's really kind about my difficulties.
I work hard too and I earn less money than my cleaner does and in a job that a lot of others seem to think would be degrading too, but I love it

My 16 year old daughter determined to earn her own money has taken on her first job (we actually tried to discourage this and wanted her to enjoy what’s left of childhood) she picks up extra shifts where ever she can so most days she leaves the house at 7 to get the train to sixth form doing a levels in law, criminology and history (not easy subjects) then will head straight to work until 10pm!! She makes her bed every single day and puts her clothes in the hamper EVERY….SINGLE….DAY!! Stop being fucking lazy end of story

People are being over the top judgy here. Contact some housekeepers/cleaners, explain the job honestly, they might say yes they might say no. Independent ones can make their own rules about the service they offer. Make sure to put your own knickers in the laundry basket (though it's weird everyone assumes you wouldn't). Be kind to them (I'm sure you would). Sorted. You sound very busy. Doing your own cleaning and tidying doesn't actually mean that you're a better person than everyone else. Leaving clothes on the floor doesn't make you morally defective of lazy wtf they're just your clothes, they're not bothering other people. I'm amazed at the harsh comments. I have my own small floordrobe going, I prioritise work and playing with my child when I'm not working.