I know it sounds extravagant, but seriously, hiring a housekeeper is an excellent decision, no matter what your income level is. There are people from all walks of life who have hired a housekeeper and if you've never looked into hiring a housekeeper, perhaps you should look-you might be surprised at how inexpensive it can be for you to hire a housekeeper.
Although there are many housekeepers that work in a staff position for a family (and sometimes, ala Alice on the Brady Bunch) live in the actual house or on the grounds, most can be hired to come in once or twice a week, depending on your needs. When we made the great decision to hire a housekeeper, we did so because we had a very young baby around and I do not enjoy cleaning at all.
She will clean our entire house, which takes around 8 hours, for around $100. This is a very reasonable price and when you hire a housekeeper, they will often work with you to come up with a good estimate for when they come in.
While you can hire a housekeeper from an agency or company, this does tend to be more expensive than if you hire a housekeeper off of
craigslist.com
or another site. Of course, when you hire a housekeeper you want to make sure they have excellent references and do a check of his or her background.
If you and your partner despise cleaning and even have arguments about who cleans what, it will be worth your time to hire a housekeeper. It will take away a lot of stress and you will see that it was money well-spent. For those who do not have a lot of extra cash, consider what your time, by the hour for example, is worth and decide it if is better spent cleaning or doing something else.
Chances are, you'll see the value in hiring a housekeeper. It can be a big step to take but be fearless, for many families, especially those with young children, the decision to hire a housekeeper is one of the best for all parties involved.
