s/o s/o working moms - how much help do you hire?

[basil]

We have a house cleaning service that comes every 2 weeks...and landscapers that do the yard in the summer.

My major problem with keeping a nice house, though, is clutter and laundry. The housekeepers push my clutter into a pile to clean around it, but that makes it even harder for me to go through it. So my house is clean but messy all the time!

Similarly, I have a mental block against putting the laundry away. Somehow it just never ever gets done. So I'm always running around looking for stuff in the pile on top of the washing machine or the guest bed, etc.

I'm thinking we need a weekly or twice weekly person to come help with laundry and organizing. If stuff were organized, I think I'd be so much better off! We have looked for this person and had so much trouble finding them though. We have had housekeepers who stole from us, who refused to fill out the W4 so we could pay their SS taxes, who didn't actually clean stuff they said they did, etc.

How often do you have help with housework? How much would you like? Where do you find people who will reliably and honestly do this sort of work?

[meggie t]

One option is to hire an organizer to do the initial organizing and then hire weekly housekeeper/cleaner to maintain. Getting a system in place first is important. That's going to involve you as well, so you can work with the organizer to help them figure out what works best for you.

I have hired organizers in two different homes and it is well worth the time and money. It really is life changing if you maintain the system. As you probably know, some organizers are better than others so interview and ask friends for referrals.

[AnnieW625]

We used to have a house cleaner that came 2-3 x a month, but we had to let her go for the time being, but she was costing is about $255 a month ($85 per visit) and while we loved having her we figured we could use the $255 in better ways, like saving.

I occasionally have to hire a sitter to watch my kids so I can go to a junior league or school meeting if my DH is out of town. That costs about $30 an evening if I hire a sitter from 6 to 9, and provide take out for my kids, and the sitter. I lucked out and my high school sitter's mom won't let me pay her more than $8 an hour, and we have a great Little Caesar's Pizza near us with $5 pizzas. If the meeting is at school then the school provides care at $5 per kid, and we will usually have take out that night as well, so I spend about $20.

DH does the bulk of the yard work, and I will pitch in if needed. We wash our own cars and thankfully can limit dry cleaning to about once every two months.

I still prefer to cook weeknight meals at home vs. going out even if it something quick like Mac n cheese, sandwiches, or pancakes/waffles and bacon or eggs.

Eta: my worst habit right now is not putting the laundry away. My life would be easier with a nice large closet where I can hang everything.

[khalloc]

I dont have any help, apart from a teenage babysitter who might come 1 night a month and babysit while DH and I go to dinner.

I do my own laundry, clean the house, take care of kids when school isnt in session. DH does his own laundry (trained him to do his own early on). He does alot of housework himself too.

I'd love to have a housekeeper come in once a week and do the things that dont always get done (dusting, cleaning walls, baseboards, windows) but its just not in the cards for me right now. Maybe later this year.

DH would never hire someone to do the lawn. he does all that himself. I guess it was just the way both of us were raised. He doesnt hire anyone to do anything. I take that back, he did finally hire someone to cut down 3 huge oak trees last fall, but originally he wanted to do it himself and I convinced him not too. LOL

[pastrygirl]

We have a cleaner that comes every two weeks. She works around clutter, so I have to make sure to clear the floors as much as possible. Desk and counter tops are another story! I clear the island, but every other flat surface is piled high with junk. Our formal dining room is a disaster. We clean it out every couple of months when my in-laws visit, but I'd love to just not get it messy in the first place. I'm guessing my husband views it as "my" job, but I view it as "his" stuff... so it never gets cleaned when it's small enough to manage.

The closets need to be cleaned/organized. We have at least three that are full of junk. I love the idea of an organizer. I'm pretty good at staying organized; I'm just not good at organizing years' worth of junk and piles. I don't even see it anymore.

Laundry... I do every person's laundry separately, once or twice a week. I often let the baskets stay full for a week or two until the kids run out of clothes in their room. I try not to, but I also have that block!! I try to fold/sort their laundry and then they are in charge of putting it all away. During the summer, I was 100% on top of this, and we had laundry days twice a week. Now I remember to ask them once or twice a month. I let my husband put his own laundry away, though he rarely does it. He just dresses out of his basket. Our laundry is in our closet, so it's not a big hassle to wash and put into baskets. You'd think I could just reach across the hallway to hang up his stuff, but nope. I can't seem to manage it! I'd love to have someone else come in and do laundry, though I don't think we'll ever pay for it.

ETA:
My husband does all the snow removal, which can take 2-6 hours depending on the storm. We can't hire it out because no one ever does a good enough job, and we are screwed if the snow isn't completely cleared.

My husband usually mows/clears leaves, and it takes 2 hours/week. He's planning to hire it out this year.

What I'd really like is a chauffer!! Someone to drive one kid to an activity while another kid has something else, etc.

[wellyes]

Putting laundry away is a bear. I know so many families who struggle with it. It's not just you.

[echoesofspring]

We have housecleaners who come every other week. It's a splurge but it's worth it for our sanity, and I figure I can make much more $ in the time they are here than I pay them. I do really work to use their visit as an opportunity to get a handle on the clutter and it's discouraging how much time I spend putting things away. Dh does a little bit but nothing like I do. We always resolve to 'clean as we go' after they are here, but it inevitably slides. Hopefully when the kids are a little bit older things will be better.

Laundry is a bear and I've actually considered that if I ended up at a demanding job I may look for a mommy's helper, etc. to help with it and food prep, etc. There was a comment in on of the other threads were someone said they'd rather be doing (career) work than house work and it was a bit of an epiphany for me. Right now I try to do load of laundry a day and the once a week I watch a show and fold, fold, fold. Then maybe it gets put away. Sad that I consider that my 'me time' but I really do kind of treasure it as an excuse to watch tv.

[Philly Mom]

We have a house cleaner come once a week (sometimes we pay extra to have her fold laundry) and a yard person come weekly from spring-fall including a spring and fall clean up. During the winter, if there is more than a couple of inches of snow, I also have someone plow our driveway. It is very long and a hill. This morning I shoveled an inch of slush before work. DH is traveling. It took me 30 minutes and I had to leave the kids alone inside. Luckily DD2 was still in her crib. I would LOVE to have the resources to pay someone to do our laundry at least once maybe twice a week. Instead, we use that money to pay for extra help for me when DH is traveling. We often have piles of laundry but DH is pretty good about putting his mind to it and folding everything. Of course, then I have to put my clothes away. Ughh

[Mikey0709]

RIght there with you Khalloc - -

I wish we had some help, or could afford to hire some. My husband and I both work full time - - he also puts in hours of overtime.

No help

I think I do laundry every day of my life... and I kinda dread when it's time to start maintaining the lawn for the season - cause that takes a few hours a week from my husband.

I wonder if i'm the majority or the minority????

[gatorsmom]

Well, I'm not technically a working mom but I volunteer at school and the nonprofit of which I'm on the Board of Directors. AND my DH travels 50% of his time. I say get as much help as you can. It can take years and trial and error to find the right people to help you but it is so worth it. I always check references. I usually insist on 3 references from previous employers. It has saved me from hiring the wrong person several times. Also, I ask around for personal recommendations and suggestions. We found all of our help now from networking.

Until 6 months ago, I had a college student help me with my laundry. She was working part time as a nanny for my old nanny who told me about her. She was fantastic. I washed the laundry for her and then she would come one day a week and sort, fold, hang and put away our laundry. It took her 2 hours. Sometimes she did other things around the house. Now that work is done by me and my 2 oldest boys on Sunday evenings. But I miss her!

Our old landlord is a trained chef that started his own food- related business. He is close to retiring and selling his company but offered to make dinners for us for the week. He does the planning, shopping and makes the food and we pick it up twice a week. I still have to shop for the kids' lunch foods, breakfast and snacks for our family but I can grab that stuff at Target. We tried a couple of meal delivery services and it didn't work for us. Instead I can focus on relaxing with my kids when they come home from school. And I have time now to keep my house organized.


I also have a housekeeper who comes each week to clean. She does a different floor each week.


In the winter we made a deal with our neighbor. He can use our plowtruck to clear snow for his church's parking lot as long as he also plows our driveway. This helps because DH travels so much. It's already hard enough getting the kids out the door for school on my own, but add in having to clear snow (off our 1/4 mile long driveway) and I'd never make it.

I say farm out as much as you can. It gives someone else an income and takes stress off mom and dad which is great for the family. jmho