£500 to make your life easier

[Plasticchesse]

I’ve got the opportunity to go full time. I don’t really feel that I want to work full time but the plan would be to get the promotion then gradually step back to 4 days. I do want the promoted post.

I wonder about how I can use some of that money to make my life easier. A cleaner? Gardener. But how could I really take the stress out of life? Pay some one £15 an hour for 2 mornings to properly clean, launder etc?

I have a husband who works full time and secondary age kids.

so if you had £500 a month to ease your life what would you do?

What causes you most stress OP?

laundry causes me the most stress - my local launderette is fab. They have a van that does a weekly round - they pick up on Monday and return it on Friday - all washed, ironed and folded - all I have to do is put it away.

Cleaner twice a week
gardener once a fortnight
gusto and shopping delivered
washing to laundry place collection and ironed

I hate cleaning and cooking. I also hate the constant tidying and organisation of life. but you can’t really outsource that. I had a cleaner before but I felt they just had a quick wipe round and it wasn’t worth the money.

My kids hate meal boxes so that’s a no go. I wonder if I did loads of batch cooking but I never have in the last 15 years!

I’ve recently gone back to full time from 4 days, cleaner, service wash for bedding and towels and weekly Ocado containing atleast 2 ‘easy prep’ type meals arriving just after the cleaner has left.

My kids are younger - but if I had uniform maybe I’d want that dealing with.

You're both going to be full time. it's time DH stepped up and did equal shares. SO he needs to take on more workload and then use the £500 on things that makes both your lives easier. for me it would be a cleaner and a holiday fund

That’s a good point - uniform. I have one set of school, sports and club uniforms. So could buy more to beat the weekend rush or getting behind if they have matches.

He won’t. We have had this discussion as there have been various points when hours were upped, cleaners got too dear etc.Promises made and broken. I can’t cope with the stress of him letting me down and a step up at work. To be fair he can work 60 plus hours but never sees the flip side of that (me being solo for a week/weekend) or thinks to help out when he has less on (he works shifts).

I'd get a 'Mother's help' type person to do some laundry, a bit of batch cooking and some light cleaning. Someone who is happy to muck in and do what's needed.

I'd also love someone to come in two afternoons a month and do all my admin for me. There isn't that much, but I absolutely hate it! But I think that's out of budget.

Also, make sure your teens are pulling their weight with regards to doing their own laundry, cooking one night a week, helping with meal prep and cleaning. Make sure you're not such a good Mum that you're raising lazy feckers.

Thanks, where do you get a mother’s help? How much do they cost?