Do you have a cleaner?

Mrs_Z

Yes, we have a cleaner - once a week, 3hrs. The first cleaner was with us for 12 years, then we went through a few short term ones for various reasons and now the current one has been with us for 3+ years. Does a great job, we pay her £35. I don't mind cleaning myself but I work full time so having her buys me time, an extra half day at the weekend. We originally got one as we both worked full time, now OH works from home but does not like cleaning so we've kept her. She needs a job and I like my weekends free to spend on other things so it's a win win. But you need to find one that cleans to the standard you are happy with and is trustworthy. That's why I very quickly upped her money from £30 to £35 pw.

Noctu

lush_walrus wrote: »

Yes - i love having a cleaner. Ours has been with us for 6 years and we now have a tailored routine that suits us both. She comes 3 times a week 2.5 / 3 hours each visit Mon, Wed and Fri at times that fit with her, we are all out most weeks so it doesn't matter to us what time she does it. She spends a day a week cleaning the household a normal clean, she spends one day on externals (windows outside one week, inside the next, hard surfaces the next, cleaning the garden furniture and the 4th week is the garden building when we aren't using it.

The 3rd day again rotates the task inside kitchen cupboards, the larder, deep cleaning the oven, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge freezer. Deep cleaning bathroom cupboards, the tiles, mirrors etc. Cleaning our wardrobes and hall storage (taking all out checking for moths putting back), cleaning all light switches, plug sockets door handles, deep cleaning carpets.

Our house is always super clean without us having to spend the time doing it. I don't really understand those who say they tidy before the cleaner comes, well yes the house should be tidy that's not a cleaners role. Cleaners clean inhabitants decide how tidy they want to live.

Assuming she stays 3 hours a time, and you pay £10/hr (being conservative)... 3 times a week... my mental arithmetic says you're paying approx £400 per month on a cleaner? Is that right? :eek:

theEnd

Single bloke and I have a cleaner. It's great.

£25/week, flat spotless and a few shirts ironed. Fairly sure it's takes little over an hour, but well worth the cash.

onlyroz

I would love a cleaner but can't justify it right now. Perhaps in a few years when we've paid down our debts.

oystercatcher

We've had a cleaner for nearly 2 years now. She is brilliant and has really improved our quality of life.

I pay £25 for 2 hours a week (London commuter zone)

If she didn't come I wouldn't bother tidying the clutter out of the way and it would build up out of control. She cleans kitchen and bathroom, dusts and mops and/or vacuums all floors and does windows when they need it.

I have health issues so with the basics done I can use my limited energy on more important things . This has really helped my depression too, I used to always feel I should be doing chores when I didn't really feel well enough and it is very depressing sitting surrounded by 'grubbiness' that I can't improve.

At first I felt very embarrassed by the state of the house and all the clutter but it was like that because I needed help! When I have energy I attack a cluttered corner and have a turf out and little by little the house is returning to the state I would like it to be. Meanwhile the basics are taken care of .

When she arrives at 11am I am usually exhausted by the simple efforts of getting myself ready, walking our three dogs and making the place tidy enough to be cleaned, so I make a coffee and curl up out of her way with something to do and thoroughly enjoy having the house cleaned while I rest.

System

Technically i do, the landlords wife comes round and cleans all communal areas every week. Which saves on a lot of possible arguments with housemates :P

AndyBSG

I'm 40 with two young children and my wife and I have a cleaner.

She comes for 3 hours once a fortnight and cleans the bathroom, kitchen(including oven and microwave), dusts, hoovers and mops the floor.

Both my wife and I work full time and found that all those chores would take us a few hours every Saturday morning trying to fit them in around looking after the kids.

In the end we decided that for what amounts to £20 a week we'd much rather have that 3-4 hours of our precious weekends back.

I like to think that as the kids get older and can start doing chores and the pair of us start winding down our working hours heading into retirement that we'll not need one anymore but I know i'm probably just kidding myself!

Red-Squirrel_2

No cleaner for me. Can't afford it anyway, but even if I could I wouldn't feel comfortable having someone else doing something that feels so personal. Having somebody else clean your toilet and your bedroom and so on feels much more intimate than having somebody clean your windows or mow your lawn. I don't like the maids coming in daily when I stay in hotels either, rather make my own bed!

I suppose I might feel differently if I had a bigger house and less time to do the chores in.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I don't, and wouldn't unless it became an unavoidable necessity for health/physical reasons.

My reasons are:
-I spent a summer working as a housekeeper in an American motel and was trained to clean quickly and efficiently. Therefore it's no big deal to do it myself.
-as a cleaner I saw far too many pubes. I don't think anyone should have to see mine. Same for grubby toilets and the contents of bins.
-I live alone and value my privacy. Trust me, your cleaner is judging you as they sweep the nailclippings off your floor.
-I don't see the point of paying someone for such basic tasks that I can do myself. I only pay for skills/trades that I don't have.

I have a full time job, London commute, volunteering commitment, partner that lives 2 hours away, fair sized garden to keep on top of and a full social life, but I manage to keep a 2 bed house spotless. It just isn't that hard.

consultant31

Chappers27 wrote: »

God no. The trick is not to make things dirty in the first place! When I was married we employed a cleaner, but my ex-wife used to tidy up the place before she turned up. Crackers.

Surely the cleaner is coming to clean, not tidy up.
If she had to tidy before she could start to clean it would take twice as long and cost you twice as much!