To those who have a cleaner...

Tish_P

We tidy up so the cleaners can clean - that's in the arrangement. It's easier for them to clean than to tidy because they don't know where everything "lives". I might wave a bog-brush at the toilet if it's embarrassingly dirty but otherwise I don't clean.

If there is washing-up in the sink they wash that before starting anything else - that eats into their cleaning time, so in the morning before they arrive I try to shove everything in the dishwasher (and OK sometimes the fridge) but occasionally forget.

To whoever asked - we pay for 2 hours cleaning a week, which is enough to keep everything up to a reasonable but not surgical standard (for 2 adults in a small terraced house, 2 cats, no kids). They hoover, mop, dust a bit, clean the bathroom and kitchen and empty the bins.

I thoroughly recommend getting a cleaner if you can afford it, it's worth every penny never to have to come home from a hard day's work to a sticky kitchen floor and cat hair everywhere.

londonsurrey

tea_lover wrote: »

I would love a cleaner. It was great when I lived on my own and the house was always spotless but I didn't appreciate just what a messy git OH is until we moved in together. You'd think about 6 years together I'd have noticed!

Got a fun afternoon of housework planned and really not in the mood.

Maybe it would be cheaper to kick OH out rather than get a cleaner:D

Oh yes. I think it's time women wised up, and appreciate the advantages of gaining a wife.

tea_lover

londonsurrey wrote: »

Oh yes. I think it's time women wised up, and appreciate the advantages of gaining a wife.

I would LOVE a wife!

daisiegg

I don't get at all stressed before the cleaner comes! I don't mind at all the bit of tidying, toilet cleaning and bin emptying I do. I only posted the question because OH thinks I'm absolutely mental and I wondered what everyone else does.

I did say my mum gets stressed about her cleaner coming...but that's because her house is extremely messy (and us kids have all moved out so no longer can it be blamed on us!) and it takes her ages to pick everything up so the cleaner can clean the surfaces, carpets etc. But that's her own fault for being so untidy in the first place!

lallysmum

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

I dont agree with this and neither will most cleaners. You are paid to clean not tidy. If you're tidying too, then you're more of a housekeeper than cleaner.

And I don't agree with that.. If there are things like newspapers on the floor, or homework papers left on the table, I have to clean those areas anyway, so what's the problem spending 2 seconds tidying them up. To be fair, I don't put away/move children's toys, but I always remake beds, straighten curtains etc as I just feel that it makes a better/cleaner impression when they come home from work.

Maybe I should market myself as a housekeeper then? lol. Although, I started with one woman and now clean for 7 of her friends as well, so I must be doing something right.

fluffnutter

daisiegg wrote: »

I don't get at all stressed before the cleaner comes! I don't mind at all the bit of tidying, toilet cleaning and bin emptying I do. I only posted the question because OH thinks I'm absolutely mental and I wondered what everyone else does.

I did say my mum gets stressed about her cleaner coming...but that's because her house is extremely messy (and us kids have all moved out so no longer can it be blamed on us!) and it takes her ages to pick everything up so the cleaner can clean the surfaces, carpets etc. But that's her own fault for being so untidy in the first place!

Men have got a different view on domesticity (in general. Trying not to be sexist!). They just don't see their sense of self-worth as being in any way related to the tidiness of their house, particularly the ones that live with women (which is most men probably). Partly the house will be the 'woman's domain' and partly they're nurtured from birth to tie up their sense of worth with the type of work they do, whereas for woman more focus is on family, home and kids.

Having or not having a cleaner (and how your home is generally) can be a real source of feminism-related conflict actually. For many people's tastes I'm probably making too much of this but it's fascinating how closely linked domesticity and self-worth is for many women.

daisiegg

fluffnutter wrote: »

Men have got a different view on domesticity (in general. Trying not to be sexist!). They just don't see their sense of self-worth as being in any way related to the tidiness of their house, particularly the ones that live with women (which is most men probably). Partly the house will be the 'woman's domain' and partly they're nurtured from birth to tie up their sense of worth with the type of work they do, whereas for woman more focus is on family, home and kids.

Having or not having a cleaner (and how your home is generally) can be a real source of feminism-related conflict actually. For many people's tastes I'm probably making too much of this but it's fascinating how closely linked domesticity and self-worth is for many women.

I know what you mean - it is very interesting. For example, no one at work knows I have a cleaner because I'm embarrassed about it!

BJV

I used to have a cleaner. But I got so stressed about the house before they came that in the end I used to spend more time cleaning so that when she came there was little to do.

I don't think that cleaning someone else's house can be easy. If I found someone else's loo in the same state as another member spoke about I could not have done it. It is one thing to clean up your own loved ones messes but someone else's - no it can not be easy.

I wish I could get a gardener but they are so hard to come by.

j.e.j.

fluffnutter wrote: »

Men have got a different view on domesticity (in general. Trying not to be sexist!). They just don't see their sense of self-worth as being in any way related to the tidiness of their house, particularly the ones that live with women (which is most men probably). Partly the house will be the 'woman's domain' and partly they're nurtured from birth to tie up their sense of worth with the type of work they do, whereas for woman more focus is on family, home and kids.

Having or not having a cleaner (and how your home is generally) can be a real source of feminism-related conflict actually. For many people's tastes I'm probably making too much of this but it's fascinating how closely linked domesticity and self-worth is for many women.

I think this is very true. If the place looks a bit yuck, or the hob's not been cleaned, etc you always feel that if someone were to see it they'd be thinking "dirty cow":rotfl:

Years ago when being a full-time housewife was more the norm than it is these days, I think generally homes were cleaned and kept to much higher standards. These days you've just got to do what you can, and/or get a cleaner

fluffnutter

daisiegg wrote: »

I know what you mean - it is very interesting. For example, no one at work knows I have a cleaner because I'm embarrassed about it!

So true, isn't it! If you say you've got a cleaner, you're not coping, or you're precious, or you're up yourself, or you've got a really dirty house, or you've got too much money, or a whole host of other ways that women may (or we think they may!) be judging you.

It's one of those things that women really do feel they need to justify. So often I hear 'Oh yeah, I've got a cleaner. But only because... blah blah <some reason they feel lets them off the 'domestic hook'>.

There's so much pressure to work, and have a beautiful house, and look fabulous, and have a great social life, and have clean, well-behaved kids, and have a husband who's every need (including those in the bedroom!) is catered for... and then when you do the sensible thing and think 'Fcuk it, I'm knackered, I'm going to pay someone to tickle round with the hoover once a week' you feel too embarrassed to admit it and start cleaning the loos before they arrive! Madness