2 hours cleaning- what to expect?

[milkysmum]

Hi. Dh and I work full time and have two small children. We are finding it more and more difficult to keep on top of the housework (I'm pretty rubbish at it to be honest!). Money is tight but we have decided to employ a cleaner for 2 hours a week ( this is all we can afford). I'm not sure though what is reasonable to expect to get done in this time? We have a small/ mid size terrace. Lounge , kitchen/ diner, 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. Laminate flooring to hall. Any suggestions on what wouldn't most useful use of this time, what's reasonable to expect etc... many thanks in advance

I know I know a really boring thread title but anyone??

Probably hoovering, cleaning bathrooms and kitchen and mopping hard floors. That'll probably be it for 2 hours I reckon!

I think what flying widow said sounds about right, I think this is what my sister gets done by her cleaner in about 2 hrs

Yep. I'd say a good clean of the kitchen and bathroom plus floors (vacuum and / or mop).

Or are there other jobs you'd rather she did? Eg I tend to find that my kitchen is never that dirty because I tidy up and wipe down after cooking in the evening. So I may be tempted to switch cleaning the kitchen for ironing DH's work shirts.

In 2 hours my cleaner used to do kitchen, bathroom, stairs (wood) and Hoover either upstairs or down. Sometimes I used to ask her to do something else instead eg wash out fridge, windows, change beds. It actually made a big difference to our house and minds!

If you want to confirm in your mind what seems reasonable in your house (as all our homes are different), then why not get dh to take the dc out somewhere for 2 hours, and see what you can get done, being strict with yourself not to get distracted ?

Thanks. Yes May be tempted to switch more routine jobs like bathroom- which I do manage! To the odd more deep clean thing's that I rarely do!

In 2 hours mine does;
Sweep & mop hall, downstairs loo, kitchen, utility & conservatory (plus sometimes dining room)
Vacuum lounge, playroom, stairs, landing, 4bedrooms, en-suite & main bathroom
Clean sinks and surfaces in kitchen & utility
Clean 3 x toilets, sinks & surfaces and the main bath (I wipe down ensuite shower daily)
Wipes (wet dusts) surfaces in conservatory, lounge, playroom, bedrooms, sometimes dining room

Sometimes she does cobwebs on the ceilings, sometimes she does skirting boards

How much do you manage in two hours?

If it were me (oh how i wish it was.....) i would probably get her to do the bathroom properly (mine took me half an hour the other day but it was over due) so clean bath sink toilet, windowsill window. Wipe round pipes and skirting. Bung towels/mats in wash. Hoover. Empty bin. Then i'd have her do a good job of one room and change the room each week , so you can do dusting and hoovering and she does a proper job on each room every few weeks.

Can't remember ever doing 2 hours solid cleaning

Well, quite milkysmum, that's why I suggested setting up the situation. What I find though is that I will get sidetracked into 'sorting' stuff, which a cleaner would just put into a pile and move on. You'd have to pretend you were a cleaner for two hours, to find out

Would just say ignore the bedrooms and concentrate on the rest of the house. In the past I have had miracle workers who have worked wonders in two hours. It is a great feeling to come home to a much tidier cleaner home that you left in the morning. My ex husband wasn't in agreement to us having a cleaner so I went ahead and had one anyway. He thought I had been to work , collected child AND done the housework for about a year? Obviously he didn't have a clue and hence the ex status!!

i wish i could justify getting a cleaner. if it was me i would get her to concentrate on the main living areas- living room, kitchen, and bathrooms plus hall/stairs.

i find if i get two hours for housework i am more likely to gut one room and have it spick amd span whilst the rest of the house gets neglected for a day or two so if someone kept it generally cleaned and tidied i could organise the rest- you can close doors on a messy bedroom but it's hard to relax on the couch or enjoy a meal when things around you arent quite perfect i find.