Last night, I got home after a 13 hour day at the office and found a spotlessly clean house. The laundry was folded. The dishes were done, and everything was put away.
It was great.
I work 80 hours a week, 90 if you count commuting time.
That’s about 50 hours at my day job, 10-15 hours working on this site, and 20-30 hours working on my other side hustles. Some weeks, my volunteer geek skills get put to use for a local non-profit, too.
My wife works at least 40 hours every week.
We chase our kids around, plan or birthday parties, visit family, take care of the yard, and do everything else that every other family does.
The difference is that, if I take work in all of its forms out of the equation and give myself permission to get a full night’s sleep every night, I have a total of 20-30 hours per week to eat, socialize, and spend time with my family. That not a lot.
I hate cleaning.
Between my work schedule and my cleaning aversion, I’m not always a lot of help around the house.
Half of my work time is spent at home. It’s hardly fair to expect my wife to clean up after me.
This has been a huge point of contention between us. She sees me on the computer and gets frustrated when I’m not helping her clean up. I get frustrated because I’m trying to make us some extra money, but she’s complaining that I’m not cleaning.
About a month ago, we hired a housekeeper. She comes every other week for a few hours and does a phenomenal job cleaning our house. We pay her about $150 per month for the work.
It’s been great.
My wife is happy because the house is clean. I’m happy because the complaining has stopped. Our housekeeper is happy because it’s more money. It’s a win/win/win scenario.
Now, $150 is a decent amount to add to our debt snowball, but paying for the cleaning services facilitates my side hustles, which bring in quite a bit more than $150 per month, so it’s even a good idea financially.
Even if it’s not, the peace of mind of knowing that I didn’t have to fold all of the laundry that was waiting for me yesterday makes it worthwhile.
How about you? Would you consider hiring a maid? Why?
I live alone in an 1100 square foot condo, so I really don’t have a need for a maid. Plus I’m kind of a neat freak and like to keep everything clean and orderly to begin with. If my situation was different (ie like yours) and it wasn’t going to put me in a hole, then I would absolutely do it. Some things are better off being done by others while I do what I enjoy and spend my time with the people that matter most.
We have someone cut the grass and did have a maid for many years. The one we had left and we have been unable to find an adequate replacement. It is OK since the budget is a little tight, but I would like to do so again.
Once the student loans are paid off, a maid or maid service is at the top of my list. C and I both hate to clean, so the house is always in a state of chaos, and yet I love having a clean house. Maid is definitely the (eventual) answer.
We hired a house keeper a few months ago and it has been the best thing since sliced bread. lol. They have been a huge help and really taken the pressure off. It has definitely made some improvement to our everyday stress.
I have had a maid since 2009 clean my home bi-weekly. It is one of the best things to outsource. But, we decided to go 2012 without a maid to see how we handle the cleaning duties. We will get our maid again to come on a bi-weekly basis once we have a child.
I hate cleaning but thank God we have a small place. Hopefully in the future, we’ll also be fortunate enough to get some help around the house.
Cleanliness and organization leads to greater productivity – so I actually think there’s a ROI associated with hiring a maid.
I actually just bought a groupon for $35 to dust, vaccuum, scrub…all things I can’t find time to do.
We do not have one, but I think The Wife wants one for Christmas. I don’t think it is a bad item to outsource especially if it will allow you to make money elsewhere.
I’ve had a maid and a guy that mows the grass for over a year now, and it has been wonderful! The cost benefit analysis of hiring these two people have made it money well spent. These are tasks that my wife and I despise and would take us too long.
We have had a housekeeper for the last several months, and it was awesome. We won’t be having one anymore because of me quitting my job, but it was so worth the money when we could.
It’s good to see all of the trickle down economics at work here in the comments!
We don’t now, have never and may not ever have a maid – until we are too old and decrepit to do the work ourselves. But then we don’t mind cleaning.
I would love to get a maid someday. My fiance and I are both horribly messy, and we never seem to get around to cleaning up after ourselves. I’m much happier when things are cleaner but I have major issues with inertia.
Yes, have one and it is definitely worth it!
I can relate to your story of not having enough time in the day to clean your house. It can be very difficult with distractions popping up all the time. Hiring a house cleaner really helps take the pressure off and makes everyone in the house more relaxed.