Shall I get a regular cleaner or just have a one-off when I'm desperate??

[GameGirly]

My cousin has recommended an agency she uses and they charge £220 per year then £6.50/hour for a cleaner, which is a relatively cheap hourly rate for London I believe. Or, for a £25 one-off fee plus the hourly rate I could just have someone come and give me a good spring clean. I don't really want to pay anyone to do my dirty work, but with a full-time job and evening involvement with 2 school committees and Brownies, my house often looks like a pit because by the time the kids are in bed and DH and I have eaten, I just want to sit. The only real reason I'm thinking about it at all is because I have volunteered to have all the parents over for supper in a fortnight and I'm embarassed about my filthy house! Opinions, anyone??

I would go for weekly cleaner, get them to change beds and iron also. I work full time and the times we have been without a cleaner I am stressed. I want to spend week ends playing with DD not cleaning. I want to give her my full attention. I have used agency similar rate to you, but second year I had to pay £100 'finders fee' also. Current cleaner recruited via post office adver and am paying £8.00 per hour in zone 4 of London, if that helps.

Thanks, Lasvegas. That does help. As you say, I want the weekends free to spend time with my family, not covering everything in Viakal! I just struggle with the idea that I'm having someone else do a job which I should really do myself. We're Zone 3 so £6.50 seems quite good, doesn't it - I'd soon re-coup the agency fee.

Might be worth having a spring clean first to see how you take to have a cleaner IYSWIM, then continue on from there if your comfortable with it and house is up to scratch when they start

Another vote for the regular cleaner but check that you can change if you are not happy with the job that they do as £220 seems like a high down payment.

Soooo nice having a clean house on a weekly basis, only problem is that she doesn't do all the extra jobs that you would get done on a spring clean, so might be worth having that occasionally.

Get the cleaner, if you work full time you definitely deserve it, I bet your DH isn't feeling embarassed about the dirty house so why should you ?

Get a regular cleaner!

My cleaner started on Monday and the house looked fab after she had finished. She left me a note asking if I could leave her an old towel out so that she can BUFF THE SHOWER CUBICLES!! I can guarantee that if I live to be 100 I would never think to buff shower cubicles.