Do you have a cleaner?

ibizafan_2

According to Radio 4 Woman's Hour today, a third of us employ a cleaner. I never have, although my single son in London does, and my elderly parents (86, 90) have been persuaded to recently, and are thrilled by the whole thing. I was just interested in hearing from others here on whether you are one of the 'third'. I am quite sure that when I get a lot older, I will be joining the group.




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Pollycat

Well, I'm on the wrong side of 60 and retired, don't have a cleaner.

I think I'd be more inclined to employ a Gardner than a cleaner.

Maybe I'll get a cleaner when I'm not so fit & able to do it myself.

bouicca21

I hate housework with a passion. So yes I have a cleaner, it's a luxury that I can afford only once a month, but I make up for it in other MSE ways!

ariba10

my wife married one!

pearl123

i wouldn't consider a cleaner as housework keeps me fit. However, I do hate housework.

MEM62

Yes, we do. My OH and I both have full time careers and she has two kids at home. When the weekend arrives we have far better things to do than clean the house.

trailingspouse

Yes, I have a cleaner. In fact, she was here just this morning. She comes for 2 hours a week, and basically hoovers and dusts, and cleans the bathroom. She charges £12.50 an hour.

Several factors came together that resulted in me taking her on (she's been coming for about a year now)
- a new Aldi opened nearby, meaning I no longer needed to use Sainsbury's. I reckon I'm saving £25 a week.
- my OH worked in India for a while. It seemed to be part of the culture that, if you could afford it, you should pay someone else to do certain things for you. Doing them yourself meant you were effectively denying work to someone else.
- I had a bad hip, which made carrying the hoover up and down stairs quite difficult (although it's since got better..)
- I work from home, and my time is better spent working on the business than on housework.
- I've never particularly enjoyed housework (although I do like a nice clean house) - I realised I wouldn't get to heaven any quicker by doing it myself.

It's a funny thing - people are very judgemental of women who employ a cleaner. As if we 'should' do it ourselves. No-one thinks twice about me employing a window cleaner, or taking my car to the car wash, or even getting my eyebrows waxed - but deary me, you would think the world was about to end when they hear I have a cleaner!

Look how many ways I've felt I had to justify it! But taking the car to the car wash? It's perfectly OK to just say, 'Nah, can't be a***d doing it myself'.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

I'd definitley not look down on it, I'd consider it but would pretty much come unstuck on the practicalities. Would they have a key to let themselves in and out during the day when you're at work? What could they get done in their time? Change the beds? Clean the bathrooms? Put all the washing on?

Would you be able to totally trust them? Another problem I'd have is that nobody would be able to do as goid a job as me.

Might think about it though as it would be time saved that could be spent doing more important things.

silvercar

Another problem I'd have is that nobody would be able to do as goid a job as me.

My cleaner does a better job than me, that's why I have a cleaner.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

There is that, I suppose. You'd just have to trust that. I might have a think about it, someone to come in for few hours a week to save me having to do them.

GBNI

I would have a cleaner if I could afford it and they were brave enough to deal with my dogs