Getting a Cleaner so that I CAN be 'Oldstyle'

davsidipp

yes.it is do-able but doing everything quick you might not get a good job done .

SAK45

I have a private cleaner. She works for a hotel too. You pay her to do whatever you want. So during your initial chat just let her know what you would like done in 2 hours, she'll let you know if it's manageable. Mine comes fortnightly for 5 hours. Been with us now for over 2 years. Knows exactly what to do and I have all the products in a box for her, she mops, vaccums, dusts, polishes everything. If i need something else done then I call her for a couple of hours and agree the amount.

415SanFran

Without seeing the size of your house, or knowing how many hard floors you have, it is really hard to make a judgment on times. Especially if you are like my late Grandma and have a gazillion ornaments!:)

When I had a cleaner it was worked out that if I did not need her for any reason (holidays, kids being contagious,) she would get half pay, if it was her holiday then she didn't get paid.

hotcookie101

She seems to think its doable. Obviously we will see how we get on, if its too much then thats fine.

I want her to still come when we are on holidays-and do a "spring clean"-kitchen cupboards etc, so we come home to a nice clean house! Bliss! (only got to do all the laundry when we get back! )

ceridwen

I think its perfectly acceptable to have a cleaner if one can afford it and find a suitable person for it (I know a suitable person - but cant afford it....:().

I'm not sure that 2 hours would be sufficient to do that list of tasks you have in mind though - so would agree with doing a "time and motion study" on it yourselves - but with the proviso of doing it at a "reasonable pace" (ie not slacking - but not "going like the clappers" on the other hand either).

Personally - I have noticed that it seems to be the norm in this society not to pay cleaners for any time when one is on holiday oneself - but I think its the moral thing to still pay the cleaner as normal (after all - it was established a year or two ago that EVERYONE has the legal right to 28 days holiday a year including bank holidays). That legal right applies to part-timers as well.

Therefore I personally could not "sit easy with my conscience" unless I paid any cleaner I had for her holiday time each year and would be fearful she would have a go at me for breaking the law as well if I didnt do so.

To me - I can afford a cleaner if:
- I can pay her £10 per hour
- I can pay her for her holiday time (and I would expect her to have 5-6 weeks paid holiday time per year PLUS Bank Holidays - because that is what I expect myself)
- I've timesied the job out at working at a "reasonable" level - ie not slacking it on the one hand OR going like the clappers on the other hand.

So - thats my thoughts for what its worth - ie I will have a cleaner (assuming I can find a suitable person that is....) once I can afford to match those 3 criteria. Until then - I have to do it myself (darn it:().

MaggieBaking

Well, I think that cleaners are contractors who are subject to a lot of benefits like - a higher hourly pay, flexible working hours etc and they also have some negatives like not getting sick pay/holiday pay etc. Otherwise you may as well hire a firm, pay them £10 an hour whilst they get a cleaner to do it for you and have them pay their cleaners £6 per hour all year round.

Having said that a cleaner will be in your home and I imagine it's a personal relationship so if it makes you feel more comfortable to pay her holidays then so be it.

I think that the OP has a little bit too much to do in 2 hours. And to look at it another way, would you do all that hoovering, mopping, dusting, cleaning kitchen, bathroom, toilet, emptying bins for £20? (If you pay £10 an hour I don't know!)

Penelope_Penguin

hotcookie101 wrote: »

OH and I have decided to get a cleaner. Not very OS I know, (and please move me to a different board, or merge me if there is already a thread)

There's nothing wrong with employing someone to clean - we don;t question employing people to service our car, or do "handyman" jobs, so I don;t see why this is any different

I'll add this to the existing thread where you may get more ideas.

[Deleted User]

years ago when both my OH and I worked full time I employed a friend as a cleaner ,her OH had fallen out of work and times were tough for her.She would come twice a week and guaranteed the day before I would be nagging the kids and running around like a demeneted chicken getting things looking as tidy as possible for her.All she had to do was hoover through from top to bottom and dust everything else was done .Eventually her Oh found another job and I lost my cleaner but it was nice to come home to a relatively clean house that was dusted and hoovered.I would definitely have another cleaner if I could now as there are only so many things I can do now (age and disability the reasons) but I am doing my best to cope as best I can at the moment .My DD changes my bed for me weekly which helps as I can't do the duvet covers very easily and she also brushes down the stairs for me (a lot better than a hoover i think )I have a window cleaner once a month which is brilliant .But the rest i'm afraid if it doesn't get done then it just doesn't get done .My difficulty is bending very much, so I can usually get one of my grandsons to reach the bits I can't get to I know eventually I wll have to get someone full time but stubborness stops me at the moment . No if you can afford it then get one Its helping someone elses economy as well.

lostinrates

FWIW I think having a cleaner is a wider picture MSE thing to do, its a good method of making more employment, employment that can fit around childcare etc for the person do it.

My parents, friends etc have always paid two weeks holiday a year, my guess is this is a minimum. As an employer, even if some one for two hours a week, its both moral and legal to go by employment laws, and what we expect from our employers we should give too. Also worth considering the declaration of this money.

Personally I'd rather have an individual than an agency, to lead to a good long term relationship, someone who over tie gets to know your foibles, any pets you have etc etc. Agencies do have benefits though...people to cover the holidays that don't suit your needs, and insurance and organisation.

having help may well be old style: after all, many old style homes did have help. The key to being ''not old style'' IMO is to make sure the work is not revolting, and something you;d be prepared to do yourself if you had time, and to be a fair, modern employer. There are some types of old style that its progress to leave behind! Being a poor employer is one of them, providing decent employment and freeing time for yourself is not!

tjak

I have struggled on whether or not to have a cleaner - but think I have now worked out a way that works for me. Finding the right money every week was always a problem, and it made me question whether I could afford it every week. Now I pay my cleaner when I get paid every month - its just one more bill, and then its forgotten.
I found that she can do so much more in 2 hours than me, mainly because she doesn't get distracted by anything! I develop ADHD when cleaning, and end up with 5 different tasks started and nothing really finished.
It does free me up to cook from scratch, look after my chickens and veg plot, and not to feel "I must go and clean/tidy".

I had my cleaner when I was working full time and commuting. Now I am on long term sick due to Fibromyalgia, and I am unable to do as much as is needed, even though I am now at home all day. My DH has insisted we keep the cleaner, and he is so right! I don't have the guilt or pressure to keep the house clean, and everyone is happier as a result.

Life is too short - if you can pass on a few hours employment to someone, then all the better!