Cleaning lady anyone?

[Ohio12]

Does anyone farm out housecleaning or anything to lighten the load since you are homeschooling? Any other ideas besides or in addition to that to make sure you have enough time to plan and teach and take care of yourself.

[Amy loves Bud]

I have a weekly housekeeper and if you have that option I highly recommend it. The only tip I have there is to get a service that sends a team out. I had an individual lady for a long time, but she was here for so long each week and it was really disruptive. Now I have a couple who come and bring one or two employees with them. They are in and out in under two hours. It's so much less disruptive now.

Otherwise, I've found that if I get up before the kids and am showered and ready for the day, I tend to have a lot more time. I never really do that now because with the baby I'm getting less sleep, but in the past that has made a big difference.

Hope this is helpful!

[TwinMominTX]

She does some daily pick up, deep cleans, does laundry and if I ask she will cook. She works 15-20 hours per week. Since homeschooling I've learned to take advantage of alone time. I miss alone time. I crave alone time. I feel like my girls are always always with me (which mostly they are). I have a housekeeper so that when I do have some alone time I don't have to spend it doing housework/chores. Every once in a while I skip out on family and/or social activities (dinner out, visiting the in-laws, etc.) so that I can spend a few hours alone.

TK

[iquilt]

We just decided to have a cleaning company every two weeks for all of the big stuff. That is my way of getting some "me" time by now not having to scrub toilets and showers after the kids are in bed; now I can read or even get some extra sleep:) I had thought a daytime sitter would help, but that's been much more difficult to find and then I have to leave the house and find somewhere to relax; I found I was using my time to buy food and household supplies. Now my sitter money will be going towards keeping the house clean, I think it will work out better for us.

[strider]

I have used the following options over the years:

--Teenager who came in several times a week to help me keep up. I did this with a couple teens over the years. $5/hr

--Polish cleaning service--those ladies are amazing!!! And none of them spoke a lick of English, yet still managed to cluck over my children and pamper them like grandmas. :pI originally used them twice a year for spring and fall cleaning, then I went over to once a month for a while. $75/6hrs

--Single cleaning lady, twice a month, for 4-6 hours at a time. I used three different ladies over the years. $11/hr

--Boarder who paid her board with 10 hours a week cleaning. Both women with whom I had this arrangement were definitely slower than the professionals I had used in the past. Since cash was not leaving my wallet and they were doing their best I never fussed about it.

--Trade off with a friend. This was for spring cleaning, though I could see it working on a more regular basis. One friend babysat while the other two cleaned for four hours. The next week and the week after that we rotated so that everyone's house had been cleaned.

In retrospect, my favorite option by far has been the Polish cleaning service. They worked hard and fast and, while friendly and pleasant, did not feel any need to be my dear friends. Keeping it somewhat impersonal does also keep it simpler. Having said that, I really cannot cannot complain--almost all my cleaning options worked well.

The two that did not work well:

--One of the teens was forced by her mother to take the job. She was seething with anger and therefore passive-aggressively did a terrible job. Ugh. My other teens were great though.

--One of the single cleaning ladies was a friend to me, and someone who was both needy and mentally challenged. She adored my kids and I and did try her best, but her cleaning was mediocre. I just had to accept mediocre and be okay with that for that season.

[snickelfritz]

I have a chain service that comes every 2 weeks. They clean the entire house except for an unused bedroom. They rotate doing a deep clean on a room at a time.

It helps me in 2 ways:
1. They do the stuff like showers, toilets, microwave, mirrors, fronts of appliances, etc... that I was struggling to get done.

2. They are my accountability. Before, I would get the house pretty clean and keep it that way for a few weeks. Then, it started to go downhill. Now, just when we start to get behind it is time for them to come. Once or twice, I've gotten up very early to get clothes and toys picked up for them to come. Makes for one rough day.....but the house stays clean and hubby is happy. I do not pre-clean, but I do pick up: make-up products, clothes, toys, dishes off the counter, etc...

ETA: We figured out that by eating out a little less (it's easier to cook with a clean kitchen) that we mostly pay for it. Now that we've started the cleaning service, it is one thing that my husband says is non-negotiable in our budget. That either speaks to how well they do or how bad I do. :)