Thinking of getting a cleaner...is this the right decision??

[TabithaTwitchet]

I am looking into getting a cleaner while I am on maternity leave, as I am so sick of the house looking scruffy while I am trapped on the sofa breastfeeding, and itching to get up and start hoovering the floors. I want to be able to spend time with DD1 when I am not tending to DD2's needs, not to be cleaning.

But, on another level I feel bad that I can't keep on top of the housework myself, and a bit ashamed of employing someone to do dirty work that I should be doing .

Also it is an expense, so we may have to cut down a bit in other areas. We can only afford 3 hours every other week - will this be enough time for a professional cleaner to make the house sparkle? (it is a modest 3-bedroom flat). How much would a cleaner get done in 3 hours?

I guess what I am really asking is, has anyone else agonised about getting a cleaner for whatever reason, and are you happy with your decision?

I'm agonising at the moment. I work from home and would feel horrid having someone in the house cleaning while I was there. I'd also be interseted to know how much a cleaner would get done in a few hours.

We live in a very large 2-bed flat. Started a month ago having a cleaner 2 hours once a week, and it has made a huge difference. Just takes away that low-level anxiety that I had all the time about having to clean when I'd rather be doing something else. And this is from a woman whose husband did most of the cleaning! He, needless to say, is thrilled that we have a cleaner now.

I would say if you can, get someone every week - two weeks means things do get very grubby. She does the floors, the bathroom and the kitchen and light dusting every week, and we clean as we go along, but it means that if we do leave things to get a bit grubbier than we'd like we know they won't be like that for more than a couple of days. It also leaves us time to do some of the deeper cleaning that never used to get done as we were always so busy trying to stay on top of the lighter stuff.

We also had a deep clean done (2 people for 4 hours) before the first session so she could start without an initial struggle to get on top of everything, and I expect we'll get a deep clean done twice a year, too.

We have a medium 3 bed house and our cleaner comes for 3hrs a week. I'd recommend you go for weekly if you can, as speculation says.

Oh, I'm a SAHM of one (pregnant too though), so don't feel guilty! I felt bad for a while and then decided it was no-one's business but mine what I spend my money and time on .

And it's so lovely to have things clean, especially when you're stuck bfing and have to look at them all the time

What a good idea, I remember being sat on the sofa surronded by stuff to be done and then feeling too shattered to tackle it all.

I have a cleaner for 3 hours per week. We have a 4 bed over 4 storeys. She does the ground and first floors every week and something else such as the top floor (our bedroom and bath so not much time required - we're clean) or a couple of windows or whatever. Tbh she could probably manage more in the time, but she does a really thorough job in the 3 hours.

I don't like cleaning, she doesn't seem to mind and gets paid for it (I think the money is helping to get her through college here) so I don't have a problem with it.

Oh god, absolutely don't feel guilty! DH is home two days a week with DD (one of the reasons why he does most of the housework - plus, I'm lazy and he's a bit OCD ). But really, whether you are at home or at work, there are always better things to do than housework. I have no objection to dishwasher-loading, surface-wiping, crumb-sweepting and sorting the washing, nor the satisfying emptying out of cupboards, spring-cleaning type of housework, but otherwise I'd rather be playing with DD or reading a book, frankly!

Don't agonize - just get started with a cleaner :)

I find it helps me to keep on top of all the other stuff that otherwise gets pushed back, whether paperwork, de cluttering, getting ahead with cooking for the freezer or whatever.

Don't forget that childcare can be a full time job too. Which would you rather outsource if you have a choice - getting the home clean or playing with the children?!

No agonising. Just do it. I'm on mat leave and have 3 month old and 2 yo. I couldn't do the cleaning, keep my sanity and give both children all the attention I want to without her. And feel i can invite people round too which helps my sanity too.

She comes for three hours a week and we have a three bedroom house. This keeps it clean and she also does things like the oven or windows every so often.

She is fab and even tidies too if I haven't got round to it. I would/ do make it a financial priority. I do without other things to have her.

Thanks for all the encouragement - going to phone up tonight! Feeling quite excited about it now (although still don't know how I will admit it to my mum and dad if I pay someone else to do my housework)

I don't know what I'd do without my cleaner - she's someone that makes our lives work. 5 bed house, 4 hours a week (£30), and she cleans from top to bottom, makes the beds too. If no one has been in the spare rooms, then she does ironing in the extra time. Sometimes she does ironing as an extra or babysitting too.

She likes cleaning and the flexibility of working for herself - dh and I both dislike cleaning, so its a win win