I briefly mentioned before that I was thinking of hiring a cleaner, and it’s true. I am definitely going to hire one. For the longest time, I was completely against it. When I moved into this townhouse, I tried to reason with myself that my place is small (just less than 700 sq. ft.), and I can just suck it up and spend the time to clean it myself. Surely doing it myself would be worth it to not have to pay someone to come and do it for me.
But you know what? Cleaning sucks. I work 65+ hours/week, and I hate the fact that I have to use my precious free time to clean. Then, I started to fall behind with cleaning, what with traveling, a boyfriend, and a ton of work to do. Not to mention that starting next week, I’ll be playing field hockey 3x/week. So, a few weeks ago I made the decision not to clean anymore, and just hire someone to do it for me. Just like that. And since then, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders – I feel great! I’ve decided to eliminate something that I hate (cleaning) in favour of something that I do like (anything but cleaning).
Then, I debated about how I was going to budget in the expense. Usually, I would cut something out of my budget to make room for it, but I’m not going to do that either. I feel sort of like a PF rebel today. Not only am I admitting that I’m hiring a house cleaner, but I’m also going to just add it to my monthly budget as a new expense. Like it’s no big deal. Lifestyle inflation here I come! Just kidding. :)
Since moving to Vancouver, I’ve increased my income by nearly 100%, but (aside from my mortgage and housing expenses), my budget has remained the same. I still only spend $100/month on entertainment, and $150/month on groceries. I still clip coupons, and I still try to get the best deals on everything possible. I have to keep reminding myself that I will be more than okay if I add an additional $50-60/month expense. Just like I will be okay if I end up buying that scooter that I really want.
There’s no sense in working as hard as I do if I can’t enjoy life. And I do not enjoy life when I’m cleaning (does anyone?). I figure as long as I’m putting enough money away to satisfy all of my savings goals, and as long as I’m taking into consideration my wants vs. needs, and making sure that what I spend my money on is going to put value in my life – then I really don’t see a problem in it.
It’s a weird feeling, budgeting in something as luxurious as a house cleaner. But at this point in my life, it just makes sense. Obviously if my income were to drop, or there was a sudden change in my financial wellbeing, the cleaner would be the first to go. I like staying financially healthy a lot more than I hate cleaning.
I haven’t hired anyone yet, but I’ve done preliminary research into different companies, and have asked around for recommendations. I’m thinking that, after an initial deep cleaning of my place, I will get somebody in once a month for a couple of hours. That’s all it will take.
Would you ever hire a house cleaner?
62 Responses to “The decision to hire a house cleaner”
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I have made the decision to hire a cleaner recently, but haven't found one yet. My place is probably slightly smaller than yours and it always seemed like an extravagant use of money to do something that I had time to do, but the thing is, I really hate cleaning. Nothing worse than getting up on the weekend and having to clean
I have justified the decision, by realising that if I use the couple of hours that I save cleaning working then it should save me money and I certainly would be happier.
A small bit of me still thinks that it is too extravagant which is probably why it has taken me a while to arrange, but it does make sense..
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Great decision! If it fits in the budget easily, and it makes your life easier to live, why not? And you're right, what is the sense in working so hard if you don't enjoy the fruits of your labour from time to time?
I cannot afford to hire a cleaner permanently, but I do plan to hire one to do a deep clean of the house a week or two before our baby is born in March, and then likely for the first month or two of the baby's life so that i can have a clean house and not worry about anything but surviving my life as a new mother. The Groupon/Deal-find type daily-deal websites in our area frequently offer fabulous maid service packages so we are keeping our eye on those with the intension of purchasing the next one that comes along.
We'll be getting one once the lil' SPF arrives in a few weeks. We just won't have the time to stay on top of things like dusting and deep kitchen/bathroom cleaning.
Find one "under the table" tho – most bigger companies insist on 2 at a time, 2 hrs min for like $85. Ouch.
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I'm slightly worried about finding one "under the table" because they aren't bonded… or am I just being totally paranoid for no reason?
Why is my name askimet?
What we've learned is you get a cleaning person who IS bonded who works for a company that Bonds their staff – but this person works a "side gig" for extra cash. You have to know that the parent company takes a BIG chunk of what they charge for the service and the cleaner gets little of it. For $20 an hour the cleaner takes ALL of that home … tax free … many do it.
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I have no idea why your name is askimet. I tried to change it, but it wouldn't let me because you've registered for IntenseDebate… but now your comments aren't automatically going to spam, so I consider it a win. :)
Yes, that's definitely true about big companies vs. side gigs. I guess it's all about finding someone through word of mouth that you can trust. Do you plan on being there in the house while the cleaner works? Or will you leave and give them a key.
I think the first few times you're around – especially to answer questions, then you have some in and out visits where you go to the store, or walk the dog but return. I'd also want a copy of their drivers licence and i'd be sure to know enough to know where they work. After a while you should build some trust i'd think. I know we have a lady who cares for our cats when we're away. She has a key we give her, she's all alone to feed the cats and deal w/ litter and mail. Never an issue.
We live in a smaller city – if the person wants to stay here they won't rip ya off. Word of moth business is likely key to their livelihood so i'd use a friend/colleague who has used the person for some time. I wouldn't hit craigslist …
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When I was in high school I cleaned someone's house on the side. He has a friend who knew my dad so at least it wasn't a total stranger. If you could find someone that you knew it would probably be easier to trust them with all your stuff. Maybe a shout out to your fb friends if them or someone they know would do it.
Yes, we have a house cleaner. We hired one when I got pregnant with our first child. My husband didn't want me trying to overdo it or worse slipping and hurting myself. He works long hours and when we do get time to be together he didn't want to be cleaning so we hired a house cleaner. And we've kept them on since!
They are a huge help!
As soon as I can justify the cost (ie I'm out of debt, and making enough to save every month), I will be getting a house cleaner. I hate cleaning!
I would not hire a house cleaner. Much like your self Krystal, I work 55-60 hrs a week, but still find time as a male to cook (not every day), do the cleaning and my laundry, and that's cleaning a 1000 sq foot condo. Yes we are all busy with our careers and life in general, but there is time to be made. There is no such thing as no time. I spread it out, do a little tonight, something on Sat. and Sunday is typically laundry in the am and it still leaves me a full day to go out, write a post and than some.
I give full credit to the mothers or single mothers as well, who juggle a full-time career, parenting, housework, cooking and life in between. It can be done, there is no such thing as no time.
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I do think that, at some point, there is honestly no time. And even if there is time, I don't want to spend it cleaning. I work a full day at work, and then I come home, cook something to eat, and then start working. I usually work until 11 or 12 most weekday nights. I would say that I'm pretty good at managing my time, but I'm struggling to make the days longer so that I can fit everything in.
When it came down to making a decision, I decided that if I could make more money in a couple of hours, than it would cost to hire someone to clean my home once a month, then the money is well spent.
Seriously, good for you! Don't feel bad about being a PF blogger who spends money once in a while. A major point of being financuially repsonsible is being able to use money wisely – you save SO much already! Cut yourself a little bit of slack.
you know you've made it when you have a housekeeper : )
seriously, it's great! I have her come in twice a month, biweekly, mondays the start of the work week, i love coming home to a freshly neat nice smelling home. I have to pay a bit more, but she also irons and folds my laundry (which I toss in the machine myself).brilliant.. i didn't hire from a company though, i used a referral from a wealthy pal, so I pay this woman cash, and she cleans old school- like good cleaning yo!
I'm going to send this to my husband. :) "Krystal is doing it, why can't we?!"
We have talked about it so often, but haven't for similar reasons. Our apartment is SMALL, we should be able to handle it. Every time I bring it up (or he brings it up) we end up deciding that it is too ridiculous and we can handle it. But our cleaning never improves.
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I personally think housecleaners are a huge waste of money.
I know several individuals who have wasted money on them only to find out that they aren't actually cleaning the house but doing a light dusting over some specific items or rooms with high traffic. Obviously since it's just you in the townhouse I'm assuming you aren't that dirty, but for a family of 5 you can image how dirty some rooms could be.
My suggestion if you aren't going to be around when your place is being cleaned is to drop in to see just what the individual is doing. My aunt did this and caught her cleaner watching TV.
good luck thou. I would be interested in hearing about how it goes with picking a company or person.
I think it's fabulous. When I was in a different situation I had a cleaning service and loved it. I will do it again as soon as my finances calm back down, it has been a rough couple of years. In the meantime I make a game out of it, I set a timer for 20 minutes and race to see how fast I can clean toilets and scrub tubs and fold laundry and then I'm allowed to read or crochet or watch tv for 20 minutes. Somehow that fools my brain into thinking I'm having fun.
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That is an AWESOME way to motivate yourself to clean. I sometimes put a timer on to focus on my writing, but have never thought about it for doing chores. Good for you! :)
When/if I can ever afford it, I"ll be jumping on the house cleaning train.
I can handle doing the kitchen, floors, etc. But when it comes down to wiping down the walls and cabinets, washing the tub and taking care of the dust.. bleh. I usually let it all build up for a few months and then clean ALL DAY and I'm exhausted and frustrated by the end of it. And when it's messy/dirty/whatever, I get frustrated and grossed out and try to spot clean but then I see even more and it's just a pain in the butt.
So yup. I hear ya!
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Hahaha, that goes to show how awful a cleaner I am – I have never wiped down walls or cabinets before. And I think I've only scrubbed the bathtub once since I moved in. Agreed, when you let it build up, it takes so much time and effort and it's so frustrating. I'm really excited to have a cleaner so I don't have to stress out about finding the time to do things that I hate doing.
Krystal! First marble slab and now housecleaners? My whole notion of you is going off the rails! kidding. But I am amazed. I use a housecleaner. And my place is small too. It makes a world of difference to me knowing that on a regular basis my place meets a baseline of Clean by someone who's way better at that. And it frees up my time to do thing I'm good at, and that make me the money to pay him / her . I salute your choice!
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Hahaha I know, I'm a changed person now! :P Also, I didn't know you use a house cleaner. Did you also use one in Vancouver? And if so, are you able to recommend that person?
just saw your query now – sorry for delayed response. I did use one in Vancouver but he's no longer doing house cleaning, sorry!
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No worries, thanks anyway Nancy. The hunt will continue! :)
I have a 648sqft condo and although i don't work that much (generally a standard 37.50 week) it only takes me 60-90min on a Sunday to do the cleaning (2-3 loads of laundry, change bedding, vaccum and wash floors, dust, clean the bathroom and run the dishwasher). I'd rather keep the $50-$60 (are they really that inexpensive?) in my pocket and use it for other things.
But to each their own :)
You can do all of that in under 1.5 hours? I'm impressed. All of that work would generally take me half a day. At least! I'm exhausted just reading that list. :) Yeah you can hire cleaners for about $20/hour, and I'd only need one for a couple of hours each month. My place is small and I'm not that messy.
Other than the cost I think the main thing keeping people from hiring someone is pride. As though getting a housecleaner makes them lazy or wasteful with their money. You work 65+ hours a week? Of course cleaning is going to be a job (it's work!) that is going to fall by the wayside, unless you sacrifice time doing things you love (in order to do it). Think of mothers who have full-time jobs, to assume they can keep a house as clean as a stay-at-home mom, AND cook healthy meals, AND have great relationships, it's ridiculous. You can't do it all on your own and I don't believe it's sustainable if you try. Something's gotta give.
Oh, and housecleaners are people who need jobs. I'm not giving my money to some invisible process and getting a clean house, I'm helping a woman make a living. It's win-win, for me. (I have never hired one, but definitely maybe one day :))
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No house cleaner for me!
1) I can't afford it.
2) I enjoy cleaning (I'm not crazy, I promise!) After doing hours of lengthy readings for school, I want to take a break but continue doing something worthwhile (i.e. I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my time). So I clean. Normally it's dishes, but I'll sweep or dust or even get down and dirty with some toilet bowl cleaner… anything to get away from academic reading for a little bit.
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I would definitely hire a house cleaner if I can use that extra time to make more extra cash than what I am paying the house cleaner. I actually hate spending 3+ hours a week cleaning the house and doing laundry… it's quite time consuming!! Since BF and I moved into the house he bought… I miss condo life! Cleaning the house takes forever and I can't believe how fast dust accumulates!
If you think hiring a house cleaner will make ur life easier… and less stressful (given that you can afford to)..by all means, I am all for it!
btw… i heard great things about the 'under the table' house cleaners… so maybe you can ask around and find some recommendations? (sometimes I am tempted to ask the lady that cleans our office if she wants to make extra cash to clean my house too.. but since BF and I are doing renovations and spending some $$ on it. I don't think he's too keen on hiring house cleaners yet.)
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That's exactly my logic! If I can make more money by working (writing), than it costs to pay a house cleaner, then it really only makes sense. I can barely keep up with my tiny townhouse, so I can only imagine how much effort it must take you to clean that house!
At first I felt really weird about hiring cleaning lady for my tiny kitchen and bathroom.
It was off having her cleaning away, so I was walking around tiding up my living room.
After a while I sat back on my couch and relaxed. At that point I realized that I work very hard and I can spend the $$ on someone else to clean for me, as the time spend relaxing for me was worth the $$ I was paying her.
Plus cleaning is something I deeply hate and never actually do a good job at.
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Good for you! The whole point of personal finance (to me, anyway) is to create options and get a sense of freedom. I also wanted to mention something I read in a book recently: in middle-class houses in Africa, it is socially expected of you to hire a maid, a yard worker, a nanny, etc… you are considered selfish if you try to save money by doing the work yourself. The reason is that their unemployment rate is so high that hiring house workers puts food on the table for many families. I don’t know how true that is (the book was fiction, after all). So even though we do not have even close to the magnitude of Africa’s suffering, there are still a lot of families here struggling to make ends meet. If the only way to better their situation is to list their services on Craigslist, I am all for supporting that.
As for us… we have hired 4-5 different house cleaners over the past year, for different reasons. However, since my husband lost his job last month, he has gone back to doing the housework with the free time he has. But were our situation to change, we would hire cleaners again. It really was a huge burden lifted off of us.
Should mention that we never left a cleaner in our home alone. My husband's work schedule allowed him to be home two weekdays, so we didn't have to compete for weekend cleaning appointments. He also would direct and inspect the cleaning. Perhaps a bit anal, but he was going to get his money's worth. (After the first house cleaner we hired where I was the supervisor, in which I spent the whole time hiding from her, and paid her without even checking a darn thing… awkward situations abound! She turned out to have been awful, so now he does all the supervising.) Remember, we hired random people off Craigslist. I would feel differently if the cleaning person was a recommendation from someone I knew personally. Or if we had a regular house cleaner.
I would definitely use an independent cleaner rather than a service. My mom has always gone this route with much success, meanwhile friends who have hired through cleaning services always report that they a) have to pay for two people b) never found the cleaning to be that satisfactory. (And one came home to find the cleaner on the phone!!)
There was also a Jan Wong series in the Globe and Mail a few years back about services versus independent cleaners and her main argument was people who work for services will not be as diligent. They don't have that entrepreneurial drive to hustle business for themselves–they like to clock in, be told where to go, and go home. An independent cleaning lady has much more aspiration, and, as another commenter pointed out, you're not paying for some big company's admin fees–it all goes to helping her make a living.
Just my thoughts!
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Yeah, I'm definitely all about hiring an independent cleaner instead of a service. I really want to make sure that the person comes recommended to me though. I'm super paranoid about letting strangers into my house, especially since I'm a single female living on my own. A Realtor in the neighbourhood recommended an independent cleaner that he hires to clean all of his properties before open houses, so I think I might try that route!
That's good that your budget hasn't changed but your increased increased significantly. If I were you, I'd hire a cleaner. There's no point in saving if you're not going to enjoy life a little!
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I think it's a great idea to hire someone who can help with anything (in your case cleaning) that you just don't have time to do, especially if you don't enjoy it. You work hard, and you should play hard. Use your time on something else that brings you happiness, and takes the pressure and weight off your shoulders, like you said.
And like Christine stated, you are paying a person and giving them a job too so it's a win-win.
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The only reason I wouldn't hire a house cleaner is because I'm a neat/clean freak and I have a HORRIBLE habit of cleaning something someone else has already cleaned. My BF calls it a disease.
Now if I could afford to hire a chef… life would be perfect!!
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I can't imagine the circumstances that would lead to me hiring a housecleaner. That's because I've had one before, when I was a kid/teenager. I felt SO GUILTY to have someone cleaning up after me that I took to doing all my laundry and cleaning my room every Monday night before she arrived on Tuesday. I am simply not comfortable paying someone else to sort through my clothing and scrub my toilet. I realize that these are jobs, that it's not slave labor or servitude, that some people might even like it – I just can't handle it. (I clean up after myself in hotels, too, as much as I can.)
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I would totally hire a cleaner. There are much better ways I could be spending that time. And I completely agree with you about having worked hard to get where you are money wise and why shouldn't you be able to enjoy some of the perks associated with having more disposable income :)
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I so so so envy you today! I would love to be able to afford that luxury.
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My parents used to hire my friend's nanny to clean our house once/week while we were at school. She didn't really have anything else to do for those few hours, so it made her a few extra dollars. A few other people on our street hired her too, so it ended up being a side business for her. When she retired, her daughter took over, then her niece, etc. Even though my parents are retired now, they still bring her in the day before they return from vacations. It's nice to walk into a clean house.
I would highly recommend an arrangement like this instead of a random company. I find the companies don't do as good a job, plus my parents could trust the nanny with a house key, since they already knew her personally and trusted her.
I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one commenting here that I actually enjoy cleaning. It's like the DIY projects I do–I love seeing the finished product and knowing it was my hard work that accomplished it. But I do understand where you're coming from. I work 3 jobs plus go to school and still fit in marathon training & socializing with BF & friends–sometimes I really don't have the time to do a full clean. What helps me is doing little bits here & there. And vacuuming every day when I'm actually home is a must–this is one of the best ways to reduce dust & dirt in a home. Good luck with your search!
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I have a house cleaner who comes about once a month even though I could EASILY clean my 790 square foot place myself. I will clean the toilet or wash the dishes or change my sheets when they start to really bug me, but never had my ENTIRE place been sparkling clean all at once before I hired Maria. It is SO WORTH IT when I come home and everything is clean and tidy. My floors actually shine! I pay other people to change my oil and hem my clothes and paint my toes too, even though I could do those things myself – why is it such a big deal that I pay somebody to clean my apartment too? It's about half a percent of my budget, but it gives me WAY more pleasure than a lot of my other budget line items. And PS in a lot of cultures it's considered standard to have paid labor to do the cleaning, even if you can't afford things like cars or electronics or expensive foods. In some places people would give up nearly everything before they cleaned their own toilets. I am on board with that sentiment.
Great call! I'm a big believer in that if you have some money to spare, and you can afford to pay someone to do something for you that will make your life MUCH easier, then you should go ahead and do it already! I wouldn't hire a house cleaner for my apartment, because my place is WAY too small, and really, my biggest issue is clutter, and I don't think a cleaner would do that. But if I lived in a place more your size, or worked your kinds of crazy hours, I totally would. At a certain point, you have to kind of ask yourself how much *your* time is worth, and if you can pay someone to do an unpleasant task for less than your own time is worth to you, then why wouldn't you?
A while back I paid someone to come and clean my balcony for me. It had gotten all grungy and grimy from the winter. I was really busy at the time and I just didn't want to do it, even though it was only a couple hours worth of work. WELL worth the $50 I spent.
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GOOD FOR YOU. Sometimes little luxuries like this can make all the difference. Lifestyle inflation? Maybe…but your time/sanity is clearly worth it! In NYC, I've definitely done a bit (a lot?) of this, such as dropping my laundry off to be done because it's completely worth it in terms of cost and time. :)
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I am happy to see that you are enjoying your success. I hired a cleaner for a 3 hours to clean my parents house the day they came back from vacation earlier this month. She did a great job and was dirt cheap (pun intended) I only paid $50 for 3 hours and I tipper her $5. The only thing is I am a bit annal and after found small little things that were still not spotless which really irked me.
So if you are like me and are fairly rigid in how you like things done I would make sure the person cleaning gets that and doesn't rush.
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Great call! I'm a big believer in that if you have some money to spare, and you can afford to pay someone to do something for you that will make your life MUCH easier, then you should go ahead and do it already! I wouldn't hire a house cleaner for my apartment, because my place is WAY too small, and really, my biggest issue is clutter, and I don't think a cleaner would do that. But if I lived in a place more your size, or worked your kinds of crazy hours, I totally would. At a certain point, you have to kind of ask yourself how much *your* time is worth, and if you can pay someone to do an unpleasant task for less than your own time is worth to you, then why wouldn't you?
I personally would not, but only because I don't like people in my house.
I would probably pay up to $100k for a robot that would clean the house :)
I personally would never hire a house cleaner. It's a bit too bourgeois for me (just like hubby would never hire someone to mow the lawn, unless we're out of town for longer than a week.) But I wouldn't judge somebody who works as many hours as you do (and is responsible with their money). It also helps that I actually enjoy cleaning and bringing order to chaos. I love taking care of my house – and with four shedding dogs and a husband, that's no easy task.
I've had a cleaner when I was living on my own, and then I gave her up when I lost my job. It is a nice luxury. Your time is precious. Life is short. And frankly there are people out there that need work as a cleaner. So why not. Enjoy Crystal!
I think they're not that cheap? My friend recently hired a house cleaner and she said it cost $100 for 1-2 hours (I think she used MOlly Maid).
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Good for you. We have a house cleaner, and I don't give a crap what people think about it :)
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I live in a one bedroom apartment and hired a cleaner last year. It was the best decision my husband and I have made! She comes every two weeks, so for the cost of an extra fancy dinner date each month, we now come home every other Friday to a spotless house and get to actually enjoy our home, rather than wasting precious time off of work cleaning it. Good move!
Once I pay off my debt, I'm totally hiring a housekeeper. I think it's a great idea. Make sure to try a few of them, my parents had a hard time finding a reliable person.
I told my sister that once I buy my apartment, she can live rent free at my apartment if she cleans and occasionally cooks (which she likes doing anyway). :P
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Haha that's an awesome deal! I'd snap that up if I were your sister. :)
To hire or not to hire…that is the question… at least for this post… In my most humble opinion, if you are not in debt, do not like to clean, can afford the service and your time is better spent elsewhere, then hire the cleaner. It is not like you are asking to hire a maid, butler or a driver. Let's look at this from a different perspective. Knowing what your time is worth, financially speaking, would it be cheaper to hire someone or do it yourself? Even if the price was the same, not having to deal with cleaning would, at least for me, take a load off of my shoulders. I would recommend a cleaning person referred by another and not a company who hires whoever. Besides, I would not let just anyone in my home alone with what I own. Hmmm I made a rhyme. LOL so… not intentional.. LOL Let us know how it goes!
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At the beginning of the summer my wife and I finally made the same conscious decision to hire someone to clean our place. We moved into our 3000 sq. ft home almost 8 years ago and we've been able to manage fairly well keeping the place clean. However, with two kids running both now running around it takes one of us to keep the kids occupied while the other gets something done as we prefer not to plunk them in front of the TV. The side effect is the cleaning just wasn't getting done and two young children didn't help keep the house clean so it was all becoming a net negative. We have interviewed 7 different individuals/companies and it is amazing the differences between them in regards to price, time, expectations, etc. Some independents/companies wanted as much as $50+ per our once we broke down their time spent cleaning divided by the payment requested. Some had details in regards to how keys are managed (locked up), using all "natural" products, using different colour cleaning cloths so the wrong product isn't used on something it should, etc. It's amazing how much we learned about the cleaning process during out interviews. In the end, we went with an established company that hadn't become as "big" as some of the others so they have learned what works best but don't charge ridiculously high prices. From a cost perspective, the "deep" clean was 2 people for 7 hours for $210, or $15 per hour and the bi-weekly cleans with 2 people for 2 hours for $100, $25 per hour (tax included). Independents could have brought the cost down to about $20 (no tax) but in the end we preferred the to spend a little bit more for what we agreed was an organized, well thought out and presented cleaning strategy but the company we hired. Would be interesting to hear what kind of numbers (hourly rates), people are "expecting" in Vancouver compared with Toronto.
You work hard so you deserve to enjoy your free time and not have to clean
I would absolutely LOVE to hire a housecleaner; it would make me happier than anything. But, since I stay at home while my husband works, I figure that I should do all the evil cleaning myself and save us the expense. Maybe we can get one once I start making some money, that would be awesome. :-)
Jen
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When I move out, I am definitely having a housekeeper. I hate cleaning, always have always will. I will do my own laundry and wash my own dishes- but everything else? I have no problem with hiring a housekeeper.