Years ago a friend of mine, newly married and about to have her first child, said “I have to get a cleaning lady. Working 40 hours a week and having a kid AND cleaning my house- it can’t be done.” I remember judging her so hard. I admit before kids I was the judgey single girl who slept as long as she wanted and had no idea how much work (and house cleaning) goes into parenting. My immediate thought was, “do you know how many single moms are raising several children at once, working two jobs and still cleaning their own house? It CAN be done.”

Now that I am a mom, and I know other moms, you know what we want? A cleaning lady. I can’t count how many moms answer this question, “what would you do if you won a million dollars?” with “HIRE A CLEANING LADY!” Why? Because our families don’t stop with the messes! I spent an hour and a half cleaning the house the other day. I scrubbed two bathrooms, vacuumed AND mopped the floors and finished a couple loads of laundry. Just as I was patting myself on my back for a job well done I looked back to the kitchen table now filled with crumbles of the snacks I let the kids eat to keep them occupied, and then I tripped over the trail of toys they pulled from the four corners of the earth to play with while I CLEANED THE HOUSE! GAH!

When you tell people you are hiring a cleaning lady they are thinking one of two things:

  1. You must be rich.
  2. You are being lazy.

Turns out you don’t need to be rich to afford a little extra help, and it actually makes you smart not lazy. Here’s why you should hire a cleaning lady, even if you have to sell a pint of blood to pay for her. Kidding. But I’ll totally do it if I have to!

You save your time. It is actually very rare for moms to get time enough to clean everything that needs to be cleaned in a day without a child asking for a snack, or complaining about the atrocity their sibling just committed. You can’t focus on both things at once. But a cleaning lady is there to JUST clean your house. Her attention isn’t divided so the whole cleaning process goes smoother and faster. What might take you two hours may only take her an hour. That means one more hour of your time to spend it the way you want. Play outside with the kids; sip a beverage on the deck, read a book! Just don’t feel guilty you aren’t the one inside scrubbing out the toilet.

You save your energy. The big misconception of hiring a cleaning lady is that you need her to come to your house every week. Not true! I actually hire someone just to do the bigger cleaning. The summer months are the hardest for me to manage. I can just about keep up with the bare minimum, but having a pro come in twice a month to do the bigger clean is a huge help to my stress level. I feel more energized to do more with the kids like watch them run through the sprinkler while I sip my iced coffee on the deck.

You won’t have to break the bank. You don’t need to spend a ton of money on hiring cleaning help. Just pick out a few hot spots in the house that are difficult for you to keep up with and find someone willing to do those specific tasks. For me I can’t keep up with the bathrooms and the floors in the summer. The kids bring in so much water and dirt from playing outside, and bath time happens every night. It always looks like a show at Sea World after bathing two kids. Hiring someone to mop my floors and scrub down two bathrooms every two weeks costs less than having someone come every week. And so worth the extra time I get back! You can also hire someone to come do a deep cleaning once or twice a year. No harm in asking Santa for a little extra help during the Christmas season!

You can help another mom. Hiring a cleaning company is going to be more expensive than hiring an individual who cleans homes. I found another mom who started cleaning houses so she could have extra cash to be home with her child. She selected when she wanted to work and how much to charge. I was happy to help another local mom provide for her family, and I got shiny floors in return! Total win-win!

You can definitely make having a cleaning lady more affordable by limiting the amount of cleaning hours needed. For example, I make sure my kids pick up all the toys beforehand so vacuuming and mopping are a breeze. I also make sure things are put away in the bathrooms so there isn’t anything to clear out of the tub. Before your help starts they will assess the size of your home and go over everything you’d like to have cleaned before giving you a time frame. Once you agree on a plan they know exactly where to clean and waste no time in getting it finished. Everything is negotiable, so knowing what you want help with really counts.

I only hire extra cleaning help during the summer to maximize my time with my family. Otherwise I couldn’t afford it. I am deeply grateful for the extra help every couple of weeks. The rest of the year I am on my own. Oh and one more bonus, I am less likely to get upset about a new mess in the bathroom after it’s just been cleaned when I wasn’t the one that “just cleaned that!”

Do you ever hire extra cleaning help?

The Whatever Mom is a twin mom learning to let go of perfection. She shares her real life struggles with parenting through her blog and contributes her time and talents as a writer to Hudson Valley Parent and Masshole Mommy. When she isn’t writing you can find her chugging coffee, folding laundry and not judging other parents. Don’t forget to subscribe via email so you never miss a blog post again! You can also find her work featured on Mamapedia 

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33 Comments on 4 Reasons You Can and You Will Get a Cleaning Lady

  1. I think anyone would like a cleaning person! Hell I would! I don’t mind cleaning because sometimes it gives me time to think. Clear my mind. Help doesn’t hurt though!!

  2. I am currently our cleaning lady. lol. I have a friend who cleans homes, and I’ve thought about forking out the money to do it, but honestly, I work from home, and homeschool my youngest daughter. My whole family really helps keep the house clean, so it’s just not something that I need weekly. I would love to hire some one every now and then when we are having family to come and stay with us, like before the holidays.

  3. Omg preach it! We are about to move, so I’m not worrying about it right now, but when we move into our new house, cleaning crew is the first thing I am putting in the budget. I work so much, often 12+ hours a day/ 7 days a week. The LAST thing I want to do when I get home is vacuum. I want to spend quality time with the people I love. Worth every penny!

  4. I hired a cleaning assistant when I became a full time principal. I knew that if I wanted to devote my time to making my school great, I had to focus on that. I appreciated her and we had a fantastic relationship.

  5. I am for sure the only cleaning lady of my household. Sometimes I wish I would hire some help having kids and working full time can be stressful.

  6. Having someone to help you around is a big blessing. We need to appreciate our cleaning assistants!

  7. It’s not bad to get a little help sometimes. It doesn’t have to be expensive as well. These are great reasons to get a cleaning lady.

  8. Having a cleaning lady will definitely help you relax more and not pressure yourself so much into cleaning the entire house. More rest means a happier you!

  9. Getting a housekeeper would be my dream. The only problem is that it wound have to be a daily or a few times a week thing. I tried having a weekly cleaning lady and I always ended up cleaning before she came because I so embarrassed by how gross my house was.

  10. I have always believed in asking and getting help by hiring a cleaning lady. hey, I work a lot, my husband works a lot, the world only works when we pay others to work too. I get annoyed by certain family members who basically won’t hire because they don’t want to spend the money. BUT, they have the money to spend. ugh oh, and their homes are dirty too.

  11. Let’s face it, we don’t have time to always be cleaning out house. No one wants to spend every weekend scrubbing and vacuuming. I see nothing wrong with having someone help you out. I’ve used a cleaning lady for years and it has been a lifesaver.

  12. I have always said I wanted a cleaning lady just to come in and organize and deep clean so I can basically start over again!!

  13. I won’t lie. I would love to have a cleaning lady come in and clean our house. It is such a struggle. I work way more than 40 hours a week, so I don’t have the time, and my husband struggles with it as well as his job and yard work too. It is tough. A cleaning lady is a splendid idea.

  14. I had a cleaning lady for years!!! They really aren’t that expensive. My hubby is so anti cleaning lady so when we moved in together my cleaning lady was no more.

  15. I will definitely get a cleaning lady, as it’s only a matter of time. Without a washing machine or dryer in my unit in our apartment complex, it makes keeping our place clean that much more difficult!

  16. I love this list. We are just finally moving into our first home and I can already see how valuable a cleaning lady would be. Getting back all that time to spend with your family is more than worth the $$ spent!

  17. I actually rather not have a cleaning person. Scrubbing the house down once a week makes me feel good, I get steps on my fitbit and honestly no previous cleaning lady we have had cleans as well as I feel I do. Thank again maybe I have problems cleaning after the cleaning lady LOL

    • Before having twins cleaning was like a meditation for me. It was soothing. But now with kids who make NON-STOP messes from dawn to dusk, and running a business and a household, I can’t get to everything that needs to be done. Having that extra safety net for me is a huge sanity saver!!

  18. I’m at SAHM and I have a once a month cleaning lady. BEST decision I’ve ever made! I feel you on the judging- it’s not something I advertise to people. But the one day each month I walk into my house knowing everything is clean is the best feeling in the world. It’s a marriage saver for us too because I’m horrible at cleaning and my husband is a neat freak.

    • SAHMs need a cleaning lady the most! The idea that all SAHMs have time for is to clean and organize is a totally ridiculous idea. Until you’ve spent your day juggling temper tantrums with meal time rush you have no idea! lol

  19. I would love to hire someone to clean my home. We are getting ready to move and I’ve thought of hiring someone to clean our home once the movers take our stuff.

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