I really really do want a cleaner. But then, I don't think I want one.
Then, domestic goddess failure that I am perhaps a cleaning lady is a requirement here.
For a short period of time we had a cleaner. Entering the house after she had whooshed through with her mop and sponge brought me a sense of peace and happiness that only a clean house that I didn't clean can bring.
Then we moved and we never organised another one.
First up was the cost. A cleaner really is a luxury item. But in my head we would always get another one. But I just can't justify it with small kids.
I need to clean my floors everyday. On slack days I may only do the kitchen and dining but they still need a sweep. With a two year old (and a husband with bad aim) there is no way our toilets could make it a full week without being cleaned, the toothpaste in the sink would be pretty revolting if left a week too. So with a Sadie the Cleaning lady I would be cleaning all week except the one day the she came along. And then, I wouldn't want anyone to eat or use the kitchen for the rest of the day.
I would like someone to dust every now and then, but I can manage not to see it for a good month or so.
The oven would love some attention, but most cleaners charge extra for that.
The windows needed cleaning, but then I just bought some special textas for windows and the girls have now decorated them all and they are just a mess of texta swirls and dirt. I call it 'VMA' or Very Modern Art.
Lastly is that problem of cleaning for the cleaner, generally at the last minute on your way out the door, adding extra stress to the morning.
So, cleaners - are they worth it or not. Is that ten minutes of total cleanliness worth the money you fork out? Or is it better to give yourself $75 and go get your nails done instead?
 |
| My latest colour |
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would love someone to clean for me but:
ReplyDeletea) too embarrassed to have someone see how much of a shambles family we really are
b) too expensive
c) wouldn't last more than 10 mins
so I agree, spend the money on a little luxury pampering for yourself!
I think i would want my nails done! At least id have hot nails whilst i cleaned lol
ReplyDeletex
I don't like cleaning itself but I love a clean house (that I have cleaned myself). Sadly enough I find it therapeutic and it makes me feel like less of a domestic failure, plus I'd feel for a cleaner who tries to deal with my OCD tendencies lol.
ReplyDeleteI would rather spend the cash on a monthly massage - I would die without that, but can manage w/o a cleaner. (although I do sometimes daydream about having one)
Oops sorry about the other comments blogger had a freak out on me and posted multiple times lol x
ReplyDeleteBefore we moved to Melbourne I had a full time nanny/housekeeper who looked after the boys at home while I worked.....it was AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteThis lovely angel was one of those people who cannot sit down for a minute. She was a cleaning freak. She vacuumed every day, washed all our clothes, one day I came home and she had MOWED THE LAWN!
It was expensive - but then again full time childcare IS expensive. On the other hand, the only cleaning I had to do was on the weekends and that was just keeping things tidy (and I didnt' even do that very well lol).
I work 30 hours a week now but I have a cleaner that comes in twice a week at the moment to do bathrooms, kitchen, floors, etc. but I know what you mean, 2 hours after she has gone its gone back to 'tornado-ville' again. She is a single mum though with a little one of her own so I don't mind paying for it - and at least I don't have to scrub the bath!
Oh yes, would much rather clean myself & reward the effort with a new dress, love Posie
ReplyDeleteI have a love hate relationship with cleaning. I adore when its done and can stand back and inspect a sparkling job well done but loathe the lead up. And the inevitable disenchantment that comes with all my hard work being undone a mere half hr later bu tornado child.
ReplyDeleteI've been in both camps - paid for a cleaner and loved the free time with my family it bought me on weekends as well as now not having one. We couldnt afford one anyway and I figure if I had the extra funds I'd prefer a massage instead!
I chop and change on this one. Right now I work full time and have a cleaner come once a week for 2 hours (it's $60) and I think I will shift it to fortnightly as like you said, I can't last a full week on many items and end up cleaning lots myself anyway. But I do love the piece of mind that if I am snowed under with work, I can spend time I have with my family and know that the house will be sorted out each wednesday morning by someone else. Ask me again in a few months and I may feel differently. Guess whatever works...
ReplyDeleteI'd love a cleaner in theory but really just want those jobs you mentioned done. At this stage in the pregnancy though I'd love someone else to mop the manky floors for me. I swear I clean those floors a few times a day with the Bebito & Mr around. It's a luxury we just can't afford either & i don't mind scheduling out the jobs across the week when I'm more energetic than I am at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea in theory - especially for the yucky jobs like bathrooms and windows. But when I've had one in the past I've never been happy. Just to fussy I'm guessing :O) Enjoy the pedi I say!!
ReplyDeleteI have a once-a-fortnight cleaner and she is my hero. She is cheap ($25/hr for 2 hours) and while she's here (she comes on my little boy's one day care day) I get enough work done to pay for her several times over AND my house is cleaner than I'd get it. So highly recommended!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and a big quandry!
ReplyDeleteSo, this is where I sound like a right tosser and expatriate, but I really miss my housekeeper when I lived in PNG.
She did the dishes, swept the floors, MOPPED the floors, cleaned the windows, did all of our washing and ironing (and put it all away), and then cooed over my baby all at the same time.
When I moved back to Australia I was going to do my MBA, but then realised there wasn't time because I had to clean.
I don't have a cleaner now, but if I could pay someone as cheap to do as much as my housekeeper did in PNG, I WOULD.
Yes, I sound like a right snob now, don't I?
xx
I would love a cleaner - and I actually looked into some local ones but then my husband said NO! He'd rather do it himself than waste the money.... well hmmmmmm I'm yet to see him do anything!
ReplyDeletexx
I'm a bit like that - end up cleaning for the cleaner which really defeats the purpose.
ReplyDeleteI think I may like one perhaps when the kids are at school, but then I really should be saving the money and doing it myself. Oh the dilemma!
I have a cleaner weekly and love it. I work three days a week and get a bit stressed if my house gets too out of control.
ReplyDeleteI get my cleaner to do the bathrooms, floors and stuff. Then I just do the general day to day stuff.
I find if I get to a certain standard then I can relatively easily maintain it but if I get behind it is a different story. I feel the cleaner helps me stay on top of stuff. I don't clean for her but do make the kids pick up toys etc so she can spend all her time cleaning and not tidying.
The best bit is coming home from work to a clean house. It is like the fairies have been!
No cleaner here. So no clean house.
ReplyDeleteMy dream...a housekeeper who comes for three hours, twice a week. Princess? Never going to happen...but a girl can dream :)
ReplyDeleteI have a cleaner who comes every fortnight for 2 hours to do the floors, bathrooms and dust. I tidy the house before she comes and I love that on that one day, everything is clean and tidy. I wipe vanities and clean loos and sweep/mop on the week in between.
ReplyDeleteI solo-parent most of the time so things just wouldn't get done properly if I didn't have a cleaner.
Best $40 I spend!
I've never had a cleaner before but I recently just won a cleaner for a year! I was a bit excited when I got that email let me tell you. I am still waiting to hear the deets on it though.
ReplyDelete