Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Hire a Housekeeper or Do It Myself

I enjoy having a clean home, really I do, but the truth of the matter is: it is rarely ever  never completely clean.  Yes, counter-tops are wiped own, the dishes are clean and put away, the floor may be swept (twice a month if I’m lucky), and the bed may be made (twice a week), but that is about the extent of our “clean” home. 

I was sitting at home thinking about all I had to get done on Memorial Day weekend to make the house half-way clean.  Sweep the floors, clean the bathroom, put away clean laundry, etc.  And then it dawned on me, I don’t think we have cleaned the baseboards since we moved in February 2007!  This may be because we (by “we,” I mean Todd) have redone the main living areas of our home which included new flooring, painting, new baseboards and trim, new doors and closets, and the like over the years, but still, we have yet to do a deep cleaning of our home.

I found a company with a coupon online that would come in and do a deep cleaning of our home (6-8 hour service) at a discounted rate for Mother’s Day.  I talked to Todd about it and told him I wanted to hire someone to come and clean our house thoroughly twice a year and then maintain it every 2-3 weeks.  I was ready to give the woman a call and set up an appointment…until I saw what was on her list of services.


This is the actual list of services from the company.
When I read through each item on the list, I put a time on how long it would take to complete these tasks on my own.

  • Wipe down the outside of the microwave: 1 minute
  • Clean inside of microwave: 5 minutes
  • Wipe ceiling fan in master bedroom: 5 minutes

After I went through the entire list…I realized that I can do this!  The list didn’t seem as overwhelming when I put a time to complete each item on the list.  It will not be completed in one day, but if I do one section a day, I can easily deep clean our home within a week to two weeks at the most.  I spend too much time online as it is, if I just cut my time online and replace it with cleaning 30 minutes an evening or in the mornings before work, we will have the clean house I always wish we had. 


I am taking this list, printing it up, and will go through each and every line item on the list of services on my own and see how long everything takes to complete.  Hopefully, within the next month, I can report to my fellow readers that I have completed the list in its entirety as well as kept up with maintaining the cleanliness of our home.  Who knows, maybe we can even invite some people over and not have to clean like mad-men the entire morning before they arrive!  How nice and relaxing would it be to already have a clean home and not have to worry about anything but enjoying time with company! 

12 comments:

  1. Well done! Yes I too have been tempted to pay a housecleaner but have only done so once - right before my parents were coming to visit for Thanksgiving. Otherwise, I wait for the moment to hit me (usually after plenty of caffeine) and I just clean everything myself!

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    1. Lol. That's great that you hired someone when your parents were coming to town. Classic!

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  2. What a great idea! It doesn't seem so daunting if we break it down into little bites. I may try this also. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I feel the same way. It doesnt seem as daunting when it is broken down this way! Thank you for your comment.

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  3. When I was in school, I had no time to clean the bathroom, so I cleaned the commode one day, sink the next, tub the next, sweep or vacuum the next. Another day, I would clean all the woodwork/trim/doors. Over a week I would have it all clean. I would do the same for the kitchen, only the little jobs took longer. I think with the list in front of you, you can set goals and check things off instead of doing like I would do, procrastinate because the whole job is so large.

    Thanks for the comment when you stopped by my blog.

    My many doors are not hollow, all 112 years old and many surfaces. So, cleaning one of them could be a real chore. I tell myself I will clean just one door, assemble the toothbrush for crevices, cloth for dusting, wet cloth for any cleaning. Once I get tools in hand, I usually just keep moving from door to door. That was then. Now, it is very difficult to stand long enough to clean one door thoroughly.

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    1. I am a master procrastinator...and then I get overwhelmed and nothing gets done. Just so you know: I have not started on the list yet, and it's been a month since I wrote this post. :-) One day, it will get done. Just not today!

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  4. With the birth of our son a few months ago both my wife and I feel like we have next to no time to do anything, let alone clean up the house. So we are considering hiring a housekeeper just to help out maybe 1 or 2 days a week with things like washing and ironing.

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    1. In this case, I can completely see hiring someone to help out! Now for my husband and I, we have no excuse (other than being lazy).

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  5. For me, it's not just about the money. My parents raised me with the belief that physical labor (but not too much) builds character. I'd have to agree.

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    1. I completely agree...
      (and now I feel a little bit guilty for being so lazy)

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  6. Good idea.Trust Worthy cleaning provide customized Detail, Regular, Basic, Post Construction clean up, Move out & in cleaning, Office,Window Cleaning

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  7. I appreciate everything you have added to my knowledge base.Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer.Thanks. Housekeeping company

    ReplyDelete