SAHM And Housekeepers. When Did You Decide You Could Handle It Yourself?

My home is also 3000 sf and I do it myself, and I'm trying not to laugh. But I'm not a perfectionist and tomorrow is always another day. I don't get upset if the floors are full of toys. You just do some, spend some time with the kids, do some more, spend time with the kids. Make a project plan if you need to. Hehehe.

I have a friend who hired a mother's helper to entertain her kids while she cleans the house. You might want to consider that route.

What is this 'housekeeper' thing you speak of......

I dont mean for this to come off as rude or mean but IMO a SAHM should be taking care of the kids AND the home. Thats what you are home for, right? I have a 2 yr old and a 6 week old and I do it myself. Plus Im way too picky to let anyone else do it for me. But I think its good that you see it as a luxury and Im sure if you tried you could do it yourself

I first hired a cleaning service when I was pregnant with #2. It was lifesaver and a marriage saver. The cleaning crew came every other week.

Fast forward to now. I have three kids, and the youngest is 15 months old. We couldn't afford the cleaning crew into our budget any more, so I stopped having them come a few months ago. Despite my efforts (okay, I'm not the best housekeeper) the house looks a little yucky. My hubby and I give ourselves a weekly allowance, and I have decided to use some of my allowance to hire a new cleaning service to come once a month. They start on Monday, and I am so excited :-)

I have decided that I really like having a cleaning service, and I am willing to give up some eating out, clothes, and toys to pay for it. It is a luxury, and I'm lucky to have it. Now that it's coming out of my own spending account, I don't feel guilty like I'm taking away from the family's budget to have the house cleaned. I figure I'll probably give up the service when my kids are able to clean help me clean the bathrooms and vacuum the floors.

If you can afford it, I say keep it. No need to hyperventilate. I'd trade a day at the spa, girls' night out, or cute sandals for cleaning service in a heartbeat. Having a clean house makes me feel centered and organized. 3000 sf is a huge house. You probably have at least four bathrooms. Our moms and grandma's probably only ever had to clean one bathroom and vacuum 1000 sf. Good luck to you! I hope you can find a better cleaning service.

Well...
it's a bit different for me.
I found it relatively easy to stay on top of things when my kids were little.
I mean, I controlled the clutter, the mess, whatever.
We just didn't have that much stuff, and anything truly messy was put away unless *I* wanted to bring it out.
I found a housekeeper MUCH more necessary once they got older, especially now in the tween/teen years.
Living with three "half adults" whose idea of clean is way different than mine? Depressing :(
Yes, they can and do help but they do a crappy job so I'm happy to spend the extra money on a professional.
I would say, de-clutter, get rid of a LOT of toys (or at least pack most of them up and then rotate them in and out) and you will find your house MUCH easier to manage.
It gets worse, save your money for the pro cleaners, you will need it later!!!

My house is half your size and i have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old home all day. Naps are a great time to do cleaning. I pick up everynight after they are in bed. Once a month doesnt sound like a lot to me, i'd think you'd be doing cleaning anywways. I clean 5 days a week at least. Including laundry.

Before my husband and I got married, we knew that we were both messy. Add an ADHD kid and my asthma, and things are totally out of control. Unfortunately, we only do the cleaning service once a year. Last time I had my 2700sf house cleaned before I went out of town for my birthday. Two people spent 4 hours cleaning, and I did laundry and picked up toys at the same time. When I got back from my trip, it was out of control again. The rest of the year, it's just a mess that I can't handle. When my son was younger, I almost kept it up because I'd invite other moms over for playgroups. That was just the incentive I needed to get everything looking neat and clean. I'd turn on some high-energy music, and try to get my son involved in finding a home for each toy. During the playgroup I could relax and my son was entertained. It helped to have polite guests who would at least make an attempt to put the toys away before they left.
I recently invited my MIL come over and just talk to me and give my son some attention while I'm cleaning, but she keeps cancelling at the last minute.

I dont think that once a month cleaning help is too much.. I would assume that your younger child naps and in theory you could clean while the baby naps.. so you might be 2 hours of cleaning ..

but would you ever have 4 hours to just clean without a kid needing something.. no way.. If you can afford the cleaning help.. keep it going once a month is not bad..

I run our company from home full time for 3+ yrs now. Daughter is 17. I just now this month got a deep clean and scheduled monthly help.

When I was SAHM but hubby's customer service rep/travel agent/etc I did all housework myself. I felt it was my job as a sahm.

Before I recently started having help, I did maintain our 4000+ sf house and it was a hard job. Now that I'm doing more for our company , it takes more of my time, that's why I got help.

There are ways, especially if you are budget cutting , to figure out a routine so you do it yourself when needed. Help is appreciated but it is costly and you need to figure out a good avenue for your family. I love the idea of paying a moms helper so you work while children are entertained.

Debt is evil.... You do everything in your power to be out of debt.

Can you go to once a month? Hire someone cheaper? I hear flylady is helpful, but I wouldn't give ,ine once a month up!

I was a working mom and never had a housekeeper. I did it all myself and made time to play with my child.
Would I have paid someone to help with the housework if I could have afforded it? Maybe.
Was my house spic and span? Never. Nor was it ever in danger of being condemned.
Did things like windows get let go? You betcha.
I guess what you have to ask yourself is how much you're willing to let go versus how much you want to save the money.

I had a cleaning service after number two came along. Unfortunately, I had to fire them because they simply could not show up on time. I loved having them, but when it became more stressful to wonder if they would show up or not, I decided it wasn't worth it. (I had had the service for a year or so.)

So I started asking around for another service and all I heard were negative comments about people being ripped off regardless of the company being "bonded and insured". I gave up.

My house is 3000+ sq ft and right now I am doing the work with my husband and kid's help, but the bulk of the chores seem to fall to me. I've tried flylady, made "to do" lists, broken down big chores into smaller, more manageable tasks, but I've decided that I want my cleaning service back. You are right, it is a luxury, but I think that some things are worth the money and this is one of them!

By the way, I was a SAHM, but went back to work a few years ago. That has made a world of difference in my attitude toward cleaning services.

Give it a try- see how you do and keep the number handy in case you want them back!! Good luck!

check out the fly lady system. You'll had to adjust it to a bigger house, but the idea is you just maintain the house.

I don't know if this helps your decision at all, but if I could possibly afford help, I would absolutely have a housekeeper come at least once a month, and in my wildest dreams, I would have help once a week.

I don't care who does it all themselves, I don't need to earn that hero badge. If you want a housekeeper and it freaks you out to lose the luxury, then have a housekeeper! Don't buy into the lie that you have to do it yourself just because other people have done it.

I can't afford a housekeeper at this time, but to those who can, please don't feel bad about it! I would MUCH rather be spending more time with the kids and all the other reasons you listed. In my opinion, you have a great thing going!

I found a cleaning service at a very discounted rate that comes for 2 hours every other week . They focus mostly on the bathrooms and kitchen. We have 3 young boys so we really need help with bathrooms!
I don't feel guilty, it is one indulgence that I budget. When I am not working, I want to spend as much time with the boys as possible ( not to mention all the laundry and other areas that need to be cleaned, yard work, etc). My boys are 5, 4 and 2. I dont imagine that our schedules will become any less busier, esp now that they are signing up for activities.
Don't feel guilty, enjoy!

What if you just cut back to having them come in every 3 or 6 months to do a really good cleaning? Then you could still have more money in the budget and get things done that you probably wouldn't (or would hate) to do yourself.

My kids were 10 and 7 when we decided to clean on our own for a variety of reasons, one of which was I wanted my boys to learn to clean and to help. It's been a mixed bag. We aren't the best housekeepers, although I come from a family of neat freaks and even one professional housecleaner. The kids have been helping with the bathrooms, some vacuuming and their rooms. They are now 15 and 12 so I really should have them doing more. They do some dishes and fold some laundry, empty garbages. We have a two story house plus a partially finished basement and the entire thing is never cleaned all at once, which I miss. We usually do a level at a time or get certain areas ready for company.

I haven't had help--ever. Not when I was working FT, not when I was unemployed, not now that I work PT.

I guess there might be two approaches to "test" yourself:
1. Wean off -- like methadone. You're already "down" to once per month. Seriously, that would be a joke in my house, I'd be doing everything all the time anyway!
2. Cold turkey -- like ripping off a band aid a.k.a. as the sink or swim approach.

Good luck!

Get your family to help. That means everyone in the house is assigned chores to do on a daily AND weekly basis, including your husband whether you're a SAHM or WOHM. It teaches the kids responsibility and life skills and how life actually works.

You can use a system like FlyLady and only take what you find useful. Use charts that can go up in the kitchen near the fridge. Use labels and hold everyone accountable. Be consistent. Have reasonable consequences for slacking off.

once monthly isn't exorbitant. but if you are going to give up this nice little gift to yourself, why not let yourself down gently? go to every other month, or hire a weekly mother's helper for an afternoon so you can buckle down and knock all the deep stuff out while not being distracted by kids.
flylady can be helpful.
there are probably ways of either easing into it, or allowing yourself a less frequent luxury. maybe budget for a once or twice a year big cleaning session?
khairete
S.

I am working mom. And, I have housekeeper to come to my house cleaning twice a month. I just think we should have less stress about this if you can afford it. Indeed, even I have a housekeeper like this, there are still a lot of works during days and weeks. Cooking, dishes, laundry etc... so, I feel like that I need that to spare my time.