How often/many hours per week for cleaning help?

amother

Honeydew

Tue, Oct 23 2018, 3:08 pm

Metukah wrote:

That's very kind if you. My kids are already on it, but the more the merrier.

My cleaner comes in the morning, she starts the upstairs (thank goodness for 2 floors), then I go to work. I wouldn't enjoy her working under my feet. No thank you.

Om my goodness! You have kids old enough to know the space is too small?

I can't even imagine. Hashem should help you get a cleaner and an apartment.

zaq

Tue, Oct 23 2018, 5:29 pm

There’s no right or wrong answer, only what’s right for you. Some of us work full time, have no hired help and neither need nor want any. Some of us are sahms with full time live in help and feel it’s not enough. “Enough” is whatever allows you to be content with the condition of your house without going into debt but still having time to devote to your main priorities.

That’s the ideal. If your budget is uncomfortably tight and you need to cut back, cut back. You might not notice much difference, or you might have to get comfortable with a slightly lower standard of cleanliness.

To me, 8-10 hours a week sounds like an awful lot, but I don’t know how big your family is, what ages they are, how much they do as far as housework, the age, size, condition and degree of ongepatchked or cluttered your house is, how it’s furnished, how many hours you are away from home each day, how much “stuff” you have...not to mention your tolerance for dirt and disorder. It all plays a role.

shshsh

Thu, Oct 25 2018, 4:15 pm

I think 8-10 hours a week is fair, but it’s all relative.
I work almost full time (6 hours a day plus travel-so 7 hours a day) and right now I can’t afford cleaning help in my 1250 sq ft apt with 2 kids. One day...
I do it all alone, and I’m VERY on top of things (perhaps too much!) it is quite tiring tough...
Keep her for as much as you can possibly afford. Sometimes cleaning help is worth being “tight”, although it’s never worth going into debt for.