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Cleaning Lady pros/cons
For context: DH practically has OCD and I'm a unrepentant slob (just with regards to clothes and paper stuff, not anything that could rot - like food or whatever).
So, though I prefer a 'lived in' apartment, I'm less dedicated to my sloppyness than DH is to his cleanliness. Plus, I don't freak out when the apartment is clean, but DH's mood is adversely affected by mess (his mom and brother said this developed in college - I wonder what kind of hazing his fraternity had!!). So, I've worked on being less messy out of respect for him.
But at the end of the day, he and I are both incredibly busy and barely ever home. If you've seen majorwife's weekly cleaning list... we're lucky to get that stuff done in a month.
DH wants to get a cleaning lady. Apparently there's a company that cleans a number of apartments in our building. It comes out to about $10/week. This wouldn't be a huge expense for us, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea.
I don't know if it's the other people touching my stuff thing or the concern that this will mean I'll have to clean more (growing up I had to pick up before the cleaning ladies came).
I don't know. I just feel icky about it, but maybe I'm just being difficult.
What are the pros/cons to having a cleaning person come?
Re: Cleaning Lady pros/cons
I would be overjoyed if we could hire someone to do this for us. We both hate it and there are so many other things I would rather do with my time. I would be very careful about screening, of course, but I would love to have a cleaning person--I wouldn't feel at all compelled to clean up for the cleaner, either!
Cons: I got nuthin'.
Haha, I guess I sound like the one with OCD, huh? 'Don't. touch. my. stuff.'
DH thanks you.
i have been lobbying for cleaning lady for months. H has moral issues -- don't get me started -- but mostly he refuses to do it because he's cheap as hell.
but even HE wouldn't be able to pas sup $10 a week. it's a steal. do it! or at least try it out once or twice. if you feel too weird about it, you never have to do it again. but for $10, hell... and when you're done, can you have her come to my place?! TIA.
Pros. ?Clean place. ?You didn't have to do it.
Cons. Um, none? ?I'm as cheap as they come, and I'd gladly give up $10 for cleaning.?
Ha ha Marquis. My mom made us clean up for the housekeeper also. It was sooooo annoying. I don't think most cleaning personnel expect your house to be clean when they get there, so I wouldn't worry about that. I think we just have wierd parents.
We just hired someone and I absolutely love it. I have no hang ups about it. I can't think of any drawbacks, unless you happened to get someone who wasn't trustworthy. Otherwise, I think it's the greatest professional service ever. I noticed I was able to get more done this weekend because I didn't have to worry about cleaning. And it just feels good to be in a clean home. I also justify it by the fact that this particular gal doesn't have as much work as she used to when the economy was better, so I feel as though it's a good use of our money in that regard also.
Oh go for it! I loved when I had a cleaning lady for about 8 years. Unfortunatlely when I moved 6 years ago it was too far for her to continue working for me. I have wanted one again ever since.
Now my cheap DH won't go for it but I keep pressuring him. If I could find one for $10 a week though he wouldn't have a choice!
I do have one real con.
Would you feel comfortable paying someone so little? ?If it were me, I'd want to pay a living wage for however long the person was there.?
OMG, my mom made us do that, too! Of course, that was because our cleaning lady - while AWESOME at cleaning - would put our crap in the most random places. As in, my hairbrush would move from the bathroom counter to my nightstand's second drawer.
I say go for it. If you hate it, you can always cancel.
I can't imagine that in Manhattan, you could even find illegal residents to clean for that. I'm assuming it's some sort of thing where the building is subsidizing or people go in together or something. Or else really tiny apartments that only take half an hour to clean.
BTW, I was making a play on words here, which probably wasn't clear, i.e. $10 is such a steal, the housekeepers are going to have to steal in order to charge such a low wage. Ha! Just thought I would clarify.
I always thought I would hate having someone clean our house, until we hired our friend (as referenced in guilt post on other board) to do it.
It's awesome. It took no time for me to get over the guilt about how dirty/cluttered/lazy we might seem. The guy needs work, and I'm happy to give it to him. Although we pay him $20/hour...which is probably more than the going rate, but I have a vested interest in seeing his adorable child move to America so I can spoil him
PRO: clean apt, you dont have to do toilets
CONS: none
DO IT! Great price too!
And yes you do need to clean for the cleaning lady... not CLEAN really, but pick up. You dont want her to spend all her time picking up your clothes/dishes/etc instead of doing the toilets/floors/etc. And if you dont pick up, she will have to pick up first to get to the cleaning, kwim?
We love having one (bi weekly). It keeps us tidier too, actually (and we are the same pairing as you - DH is way neater than I)
Also, I'm glad to know I'm not the only "dirty wife." I'm not dirty, but definitely a clutter-monger.
My husband can't stand if I leave my shoes in the front hall, I figure, I'm going to put them back on soon right? Why bring them all the way upstairs to the closet?
Same. Even though I'm the one with back problems (hence, no leaning over and scrubbing) and he's always working, he still will tell me he'll find time to scrub, since it will save us $50 or whatever. He claims it's because the biglaw thing is temporary, and he doens't want to waste the money he's working these long hours for. I think it's worth the minor dent it makes in savings to maintain our sanity. Esp given he's the one who goes nuts with a messy house!
<shaking head>
Men don't make sense sometimes.
Just got home from class! Sorry for the confusion - I put '$10/week' because I was thinking purely in terms of budgeting. DH said it was '$30 every 3 weeks' but who budgets in 3 week increments?? Also, our apartment is 400 square feet, so I think for someone who knows what they're doing it won't take too long to clean the floors and bathroom and to dust a little.
I'd definitely have to clean, though, because I don't like when people put stuff away (you'd be amazed at how much stuff you can lose in 400 sq ft), and I'd be worried about ipods and/or jewelry fall into the toilet... I guess a little time and reading the responses have made me realize that.
I guess we could maybe try it out on a trial basis.
mxolisi, don't let your husband move to Japan. ?You have to leave your shoes out front (although they have closets for them there at least). ?Seriously, it was part of our lease agreement that we wouldn't wear shoes inside. ?It actually cuts down on a lot of dirt although, I need to wear my orthotics pretty much at all times, so I violated the rule pretty regularly. ?Only with clean shoes, though!
I'm such a messy person. ?H is mostly the same at least. ?He gets a little miffed at me not cleaning, not that he would ever clean, but we've worked through that for the most part. ?I mean, I wasn't working, so it really was my responsibility, but I hate it, and I don't want to feel like a maid, so I would rebel occasionally.