Housekeeping Advice

[mickey2]

One could only dream... do you mind If I ask what it cost to have someone to come in for that many hours??

I live in Northen Cali SF bay area and the going rate here is $75.00 per hour... so as you can see I cant afford more than 2 hours a week of help....

I pay her $18 per hour which is at the high end. A lot of people do it for less. An agency would charge $50 per hour for 2 workers to come in.

It costs me about $125-$150 per week as at times she is a bit longer.

I really need her as we have a husky dog who loses hair like crazy! Like another poster said as well, starting at 6 and finishing at 5 30 6 each night does not leave time for me to clean.

[radhas]

Yes, me too. I live San Jose, CA. I can't afford to have cleaner. Its too expensive.

[happykidschildcare]

I have a cleaning lady come over every other week for deep cleaning.
Its $20 hr for 3 hrs...time I can spend with my fam on the weekend!

[snowborden1]

Yay!!!! I found a lady that will come every other week for 3 hours for $15 hr!!! I am soooo excited!!!!
Thanks ladies for all your help! Oh, And I did just mine and my husbands laundry today I told the boys they have to do their own tomorrow! Hehehehehe!!!::

[Abigail]

I did housekeeping three days a week for a lady and was hired online through a web site. I was offered $11/hour and I took it. I love to clean....vacuuming is actually relaxing, I know, I'm weird! ::

[Candyland]

Yay!!!! I found a lady that will come every other week for 3 hours for $15 hr!!! I am soooo excited!!!!
Thanks ladies for all your help! Oh, And I did just mine and my husbands laundry today I told the boys they have to do their own tomorrow! Hehehehehe!!!::

That's fantastic!! And I'm super happy that you're going to teach your boys how to launder...which I think is very important for all kids to learn (and cook too!). Good for you!

Just a tip...don't expect too much, but don't underestimate them either. Go simple. It would really help if you had one of those tri laundry baskets. I have a set of 2 - one holds darks, lights & whites. The other holds uniforms, towels & rags. I also purchased one laundry basket for jeans. Make sure your boys (all of them ) put their dirty clothes in the appropriate baskets after showering. That'll make it so much easier for everyone. Then teach your older one how to do the jeans; and maybe the younger one how to do towels. Make it their "job" for the week and then add another, let's say, lights.
Remember, youre training your boys to be helpful husbands for their wives one day...and their wives will thank you too!

[snowborden1]

That's fantastic!! And I'm super happy that you're going to teach your boys how to launder...which I think is very important for all kids to learn (and cook too!). Good for you!

Just a tip...don't expect too much, but don't underestimate them either. Go simple. It would really help if you had one of those tri laundry baskets. I have a set of 2 - one holds darks, lights & whites. The other holds uniforms, towels & rags. I also purchased one laundry basket for jeans. Make sure your boys (all of them ) put their dirty clothes in the appropriate baskets after showering. That'll make it so much easier for everyone. Then teach your older one how to do the jeans; and maybe the younger one how to do towels. Make it their "job" for the week and then add another, let's say, lights.
Remember, youre training your boys to be helpful husbands for their wives one day...and their wives will thank you too!

I love the tri laundry basket idea! I am headed to target here pretty soon and will have to pick one up for their bathroom. Thanks
I love this forum! I wish I knew about a long time ago.

[GretasLittleFriends]

I have a housekeeper every other Saturday for 4 hours and I love it! And I'm really luck too b/c she only charges me $60 and we LOVE her! She gets all the stuff I hate to clean (bathrooms, floors, etc.) I keep everything else picked up during the week.

I also LOVE the fly lady and use quite a few of her techniques daily. I shine my sink each night and never walk downstairs in the morning without a handful of laundry and do that daily so it doesn't become an overwhelming task.

Here is the site.
http://www.flylady.net/

I LOVE the fly lady too!! She's such a huge help. I love how she says just jump in, you don't need to catch up. I really wish I could honestly listen to that advice!

I would love to hire a cleaning lady, but just can't seem to justify it (or afford it right now). Do you leave when the cleaning people are there? I would feel very awkward having someone else clean my home. It would make me feel rather incompetent.

I have a husband who is gone for weeks on end (with work), a 15 yr old girl who is a huge help, but I feel I expect too much from her. My 6 yr old boy is great help when HE wants to be, but usually it's like trying to get teeth pulled. And my 10mo old daughter, well, she's great at making messes. The hubby is the neat freak, not so much me...

[treehugger82]

I have a housekeeper every other Saturday for 4 hours and I love it! And I'm really luck too b/c she only charges me $60 and we LOVE her! She gets all the stuff I hate to clean (bathrooms, floors, etc.) I keep everything else picked up during the week.

I also LOVE the fly lady and use quite a few of her techniques daily. I shine my sink each night and never walk downstairs in the morning without a handful of laundry and do that daily so it doesn't become an overwhelming task.

Here is the site.
http://www.flylady.net/

Thank you for this link! I love it so far and have so much more to check out. This is just what I have been looking for

[Abigail]

I had to teach my husband to do laundry before we got married.

We have three laundry baskets total and this is because it's how we learned it as children. I started doing my own laundry when I was in second or third grade, I was young that is all I remember. I use to be scared of falling into the washer and drowning! LOL....back when all our laundry soap was powder too, don't miss it at all!

We have a WHITES, DARKS, and TOWELS basket. Self-explanatory. The rule we use to forget to follow was EMPTY YOUR POCKETS!! I still forget a piece of gum and my husband forgets his work stuff in his pockets and pens...lots has been thrown away but luckily nothing has stained the washer/dryer.

As kids we had weekly chores posted and we earned so much per item we did. Garbage, dishes, laundry, make bed, etc. My parents found they were giving us $1+/day on average and between three kids they couldn't afford it. We grew up on food stamps. They soon change it to $2-$3/week depending on our age and we had to complete ALL of our chores for the entire week or we didn't see a dime.

Good luck and hope something works, you should be able to get around having a cleaning lady for your own family. You should feel great about having one for your daycare space 100% deductible and shouldn't cost too much to do deep cleaning for you or whatever you choose!

[DBug]

For my kids (8 & 10) and for my husband, I've simplified the laundry process even more. No whites or lights -- they spill on them anyway, and I just do the linens and towels. They each have one basket for their clothes. When their basket is full, they just throw the whole thing in the washer. So far they don't fold since they all just shove the clothes in their dresser or hang them in their closet, but it's a start!

My mom actually taught me NOT to sort lights and darks . Since then I've learned the benefits of sorting, but the kids have lots of time to learn that!