'Clean your own house'

[LovelyTheresa]

This is just something that bugs me about this site. Every time there is a thread about the etiquette of employing a housecleaner, whatever the question is, someone invariably says 'clean your own house'. Why is that? It is so utterly bizarre, nobody would say 'do your own plumbing' 'do your own plastering' or even 'do your own garden' so why is it seen as so odd to have a cleaner!? I have a cleaner, everyone I know has a cleaner. It is only on this site that that is seen as out of the ordinary.

It is annoying I agree. I would never hire a cleaner or gardener personally, but as you say @LovelyTheresa people generally outsource for plumbing and electrics and building work et al.

Me and DH had a similar issue. Neither one of us does wallpapering. Just hate it/can't do it/don't want to... When we moved house some 20 years ago, we hired a company to wallpaper throughout our new house. Hall stairs and landing, lounge/diner, and the 4 bedrooms.

We got such shade thrown on us, and bitchy and sarcastic remarks for not doing it ourselves from about half a dozen people! It was particularly bad from a couple of people who seemed to redecorate their home (themselves!) every other fucking year! One woman (at my workplace,) even said 'what kind of a man can't put wallpaper up?' I said 'he just doesn't WANT to do it and neither do I!

About 6 months later, her husband had his computer/PC pack up, and my DH is an I.T. computer boffin, (and works in I.T.) The same woman came to me and said 'can your other half have a look at Steve's computer? It won't come on, and is just making a whirring noise.' (She wanted DH to look for free of course, as people do!'

I said 'really Shirley? What kind of a man can't fix his own computer?!' She just looked like 😐then ... Then she said 'can he do it then?' I said 'no he is far too busy right now. You need to take it to someone else.' Cheeky mare.

If I won the lottery I wouldn't tell a soul outside of DH.

But the first clue would be that my house would be sparkling clean.

I have a cleaner. I earn my own money and choose to spend it on employing a professional cleaner. Saves me time and energy.

My cleaner actually does have a cleaner! She says she doesn't have enough time to do her house and cba after a long week at work! She's fabulous and very in demand so i can't say I blame her really.

Everyone has the ability to mow their lawn or cook their own pizza or wash their own windows, groom their own dog, do their own nails, paint a room or clean their own car yet many people pay for some or all of these things to be done by others. . It's such a stupid reason.

You do exaggerate! It gets said very occasionally. By the way, you do realise that most households don't employ cleaners, surely?

I'm a cleaner. The only thing that misses me off is clients with really messy houses (think dirty laundry and dishes everywhere) who hire you for 2 hours a fortnight and expect the place to magically be transformed into a Palace.
If you are generally tidy but like the place scrubbed and polished, go for it!

I'd like a cleaner, being a cleaner I'm also fed up of it after doing it all day

Exactly this. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a cleaner if it makes life easier and it's affordable. It's no different to paying for other tasks that you could do yourself but choose not to.

I suppose that makes sense. I'm a teacher but my kids have teachers. I'm guessing doctors also have GPs.

I’m skint so I don’t pay for someone else to do anything I can do myself. So cleaning and gardening (aka mowing the grass and planting a few bedding plants) are easy to do myself but I also make a good go at various DIY projects, decorating, changing a headlight bulb etc. There’s a YouTube video for everything!

I think us older people came from an era you had to be seriously posh to afford a cleaner, and you did all your own DIY.

We (being in our mid 60s) do tend to raise eyebrows at the number of handymen/gardeners/lawn specialists/cleaners/specialist cleaners/oven cleaners/car cleaners turn up to our varying neighbours, most of whom have a healthy bored teenage family who should be quite capable of a few chores, and have no need of a money making scheme (as we did as teenagers).
But we're too frugal to pay anyone to do anything when we can do it ourselves!

I grew up on a council estate and now find myself with a cleaner, gardener and window cleaner. Even my mum had a cleaner later in life. We are providing employment for people. I treat them very well. Eg my cleaner was paid 70% wages throughout lockdown when she couldn’t come and I made sure that other clients also paid her. You could say that I didn’t retire to spend my days cleaning.

My husband wants to employ a cleaner, I don’t, I think we should all clean our own mess up, including my DC.

You must move in wealthy circles if everyone you know has a cleaner, especially with the current cost of living crisis.

There's nothing wrong with it though. People who comment are probably envious.

You could say that about most threads on here about any topic.
Do you shower every day?
Do you change your bedding at least once a week..
Do you have your shopping delivered?
I could go on.
What one person does another wont.. we can't all live the same way.. we are not sheep.
Some people like cleaning.. l used to before l became disabled.
Not everyone works so they have time to clean.
I used to do my own DIY too.. from putting up wallpaper to laying tiles and putting flat pack together. ( my Dad taught me,) so l didn't employ a decorator or a joiner etc.. so why should everyone empty a cleaner ??
Get in the real world!!!🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
.

I would be annoyed if my cleaner left early. It depends on what you mean by a 'few minutes'. Five minutes, no problem. Fifteen minutes, that's taking the piss and I'll find someone else, but I won't 'clean my own house' because I want someone else to do it!

People said it on the thread about the cleaner who wore too much perfume, which was silly. The OP was within her rights to not like the cleaner's perfume and either ask her to stop wearing it or get another cleaner.

are you not being a tiny bit facetious?

Surely you understand that your circle must be quite unusual. If 'everyone you know' has a cleaner you must have quite a limited social circle. If everyone generally had a cleaner, nobody would BE a cleaner, and therefore everyone COULDN'T have a cleaner. I know very few people with cleaners. I wouldn't care if someone did nor suggest they should do it themselves, (because it's not up to me how someone spends their money) but surely the difference is that pretty much everyone COULD do their cleaning themselves, some people just don't want to?

Also it's a bit insulting to suggest the average person could just do their own plastering or plumbing - they are recognised professions that require a lot of training and specific qualifications and if an amateur just 'had a go' at installing a toilet or refitting a pipe things could go badly wrong. Whereas it's hard to fuck up dusting a skirting rail.

A more accurate equivalent (comparing something pretty much anyone could do but often prefer to outsource) would be 'why do people not say 'just look after your own children' or 'why buy a takeaway just cook yourself,' and, well, people do say those things! So your whole point is a bit moot really.

People query why others outsource tasks they could easily do themselves because they don't see the point. If you do see the point then ignore them.

edited only because I didn't mean to quote the OP in the reply, I hate it when I see it, and know it's unnecessary!

It's seen as frivolous. In general it's not a specialised career like plumbing is in the example you gave. Most people can clean to a good/acceptable level so it's seen as a privilege. People also take a lot of pride in being responsible for taking care of their home.

As it is if I increased my hours at work I absolutely would get a cleaner or outsource laundry. I don't see any issues with it but my own mum would see it as a waste of money. Each to their own. My auntie is the only person I know with a cleaner.

There's absolutely nothing to suggest resentment here, what a jump you've made.

I think our lives are very different these days and as there’s more families with both parents working, it makes sense there’s less time for household work including cleaning.

It also can be a piece of genuine advice! I wanted a cleaner, but also wanted one with insurance and references. So apart from £20/hr rates in my area and very limited availability (like 7.45 am on Tuesdays), there are multiple weird requirements such as "you have to book a 6-hour deep clean first (remember - it is 20 quid an hour!) to bring the house up to my standard and only then I will take on weekly 2 hour appointments". And then there are never-ending sick days and excuses and random people "covering". So yeah, if anyone would ask me about cleaner recommendations, I genuinely would advise to do without. Too much trouble!

You'd be surprised how many people can't clean a house. They can start cleaning. They can do a little here or a little there. But the whole house top to bottom, clean, shining, polished - that takes stamina, equipment, organisation, and no interruptions, and a lot of people have none of that.

You never know what goes on behind closed doors.

I know a woman who got a cleaner as soon as she and her BF moved in together.

She wanted to make the point that she wasn't the default cleaner, and if he valued a clean home (and he did, and so did she), then he either cleaned or he paid 50-50 for it to be cleaned.

Fair play to her, I say.