Hired help at home

[Gardening Grandma]

How about a "None, but I'm thinking about it" category? ;D ;D

[Deleted]

None of the above for me, but I do have a dog walker.
I view it as a necessity for the days when I am gone for 12+ hours, but I'm still a little ashamed.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I'd love to have a cleaning service but it's not in the cards.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We have a cleaning lady who comes every other week to clean bathrooms, mop tile floor, vaccuum/dust.
We have a gardener who mows and edges (I deal with flower beds, bushes, pruning, trimming)
We have a pool guy who deals with chemicals/cleaning.
We have a Spider Guy. (Amazingly enough, he deals with spiders.)

[lazysundays]

SPIDER GUY?!! where do you live so I don't move there? OMG I would freak

[resolution]

I voted none but I would reconsider if I met a stink bug guy.

[wodehouse]

Oh dear, I voted "None", but does the lawn fertilize/weed kill service and the (useless) bug exterminator service count?

[isabella]

I have a regular cleaning lady (housekeeper) and a lawn service (considered that gardner for the poll). Landscaping, pruning is a different company than the lawn service.

[Gardening Grandma]

I voted "none", but now realize that we have a "bug" guy come and spray every 3 months. Should I have checked "other"??

[Deleted]

I have a lawn guy. He comes every other week to do the grass and does occasional other tasks like pruning, replacing a railroad tie, digging a hole for my DH's beloved dogwood . . .

But I'm the housekeeper. Today I started doing all the blinds and windows. I really had no idea they were that dirty!

[dancinmama]

We have a crew of three guys that come to do the yard every week. They mow, edge, prune, weed, fix any problems with the sprinklers/drip system, and the ever popular blow of everything from here to there.

[NancysSummerSip]

I voted None but if there's a guy out there who squashes palmetto bugs, I'd go for it. Dang, those things are HUGE!

[bobosensei]

We have none of the above. We rent so no yard responsibilites, we had to downsize when we came to Europe so I can handle the cleaning of the 2 bed 1 bath 900 something square foot apt, and no chef because we love to cook.

If we had a bigger place or when we have kids or own a home I can see us getting help with the yard and cleaning. Especially if we are a two income family.

[bobosensei]

And DH tried to get me to get a housekeeper a few times a month so that he didn't have to feel bad about not helping me clean. I wouldn't do it because I don't like the idea of someone in the house when i am not here- and I wouldn't feel right being here while someone cleaned and I sat on my butt!

DH also would hire a dog walker if I would let him. It is a pain having to walk the dogs so much since we don't have a back yard. I don't trust anyone to do a good job with them though- so we don't.

[Malarky]

I have my own contractor. Granted he works for other people, as well, but he does all the work on my house.

I'm a tad particular and I try to keep everything in the original style of the house. He's already working on milling some of the molding for my mudroom renovation.

He's nearly finished rebuilding the first floor. ;D

[Miss Tequila]

I'm disappointed that no one has a chef

[coffeegrl]

I voted gardener/landscaper just because I KNOW that the cost of paying those guys to mow the grass and keep up the flowers/bushes and whatnot at my apartment complex is included in my rent. Not specifically stated, but I know it's figured into the price. It's 30 buildings, each 2 stories with four apartments on each floor and they're spread out with landscaping in between each one. Those guys definitely earn their keep!!!!

[Peace Of Mind]

I voted gardener because we have a landscaper who mows, edges, weed whacks, trims the shrubs, etc. and a green up guy that does the fertilizing and handles weed and bug problems.

[Deleted]

Although we rent we are responsible for maintaining the garden. We have a 15' hedge that surrounds half of the property (corner lot). We just paid 1000 euros ($1400 to get that thing trimmed per the LL's instructions). It really annoys me because as LLs we pay for the gardener for our rentals. But our housing choices in Bonn, Germany were limited and the market and rules are different than in CA or AZ.

[Frugal Nurse]

I voted none. our yard is 1/4 acre, DH does the mowing, I do the gardening (i enjoy it). I do all the major housecleaning, usually take me about 2 hours twice per week (laundry, vacuuming, bathrooms, dusting, changing sheets, mopping, etc.) DH and I both do light cleaning the rest of the week, maybe an hour a day (picking up stuff that is out of place, loading/unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming just the living/dining rooms). Right now it just doesn't seem like the best use of my $$ to hire these things out. When I'm not working overtime, I have 4 days off per week. It gives me something to do on weekday mornings before businesses open or my friends get up. :-)

[tiredturkey]

I voted none. I clean kitchen and baths, dust living room and office, and clean tile and hardwood floors. DH dusts bedroom, TV room and dining room and vaccuums carpet and area rugs. DH mows, etc. the yard and I do most of the bed work. We did hire someone to mulch the beds this year because hauling and spreading 90-100 cubic yards of mulch is a pain in the back. We have someone powerwash and stain the decks, paint the house and do electrical and plumbing work.

We tried a house cleaning lady and a yard guy and weren't happy with the quality of either. Using a lawn service brought in weed seeds and fungal diseases and the housekeeper broke as much as she cleaned. I would absolutely love to have a cleaner but a good service costs $100/week and they don't accept every other week clients. As much as I hate cleaning, I just can't see $100 a week and I have to sit at home waiting for them during a 4-hour window because I'm not stupid enough to give anyone a key and the alarm code. Been there, done that and learned that even the most honest cleaner has a sleazy ex or creepy teenage son with a criminal history.

[cubefarmer]

I voted none and I also wash my own car.

[Deleted]

I have a lawn mower and weed puller... I call them son and daughter...

[Deleted]

Hired lawn last year as i wasn't able to do it.

Snow for the winter (again, unable to do). Am planning to have to hire again next year.

[tcu2003]

None for us, though I'd really like a cleaning lady. Thought I might be able to get one with the move, but the lady we had do a deep clean before we mvoed in didn't do a great job, so no go. DH isn't excited about getting one, but if I can find one that does a good job, I can probably convince him.

[lurkyloo]

I'm not sure how to vote...

A couple of years ago, our then-neighbors got into a huge fight and he kicked her out (after she'd given up her job and moved 2000 or so miles to come marry him and live with him). She wound up living with us (we moved shortly thereafter); we don't charge her rent but she does cover a couple of the utility bills. She does most of the general cleaning--floors, vacuuming, mowing, bathrooms, and kitchen. There's a fair amount left over, but it's very very nice having the lion's share taken care of...plus, the dog is much happier to have company during the day. And it's also neat to have a built-in dogsitter

On the whole, the positives outweigh the negatives. It's key that our house has an in-law suite for her to use...at the other end of the house!

[whoisjohngalt]

What I am curious is of those who have cleaning people, garden people, etc - do you have full time jobs or not?

Lena

[Waffle]

Jul 10, 2011 18:16:59 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

What I am curious is of those who have cleaning people, garden people, etc - do you have full time jobs or not?

Lena

I only have yard help and yes I have a full time job. But I hate yard work and I'm particularly bad at mowing grass (go ahead and laugh). It's true, the one year I cut my own grass, a couple of neighbors openly laughed at me. I have a (probably irrational) fear of gasoline "cans". I don't want to have to put one in my vehicle to fill it up and don't want it sitting in the garage. So the one year I did cut the grass - I had an electric mower. I'm sure I was comical out there flipping that cord from one side to the other.

[Waffle]

the dreaded double post.

[thyme4change]

What I am curious is of those who have cleaning people, garden people, etc - do you have full time jobs or not?

I have both a cleaning person and a yard guy (or crew, depending on how busy he is, which is tied to how well the economy is doing. I noticed he showed up alone last week - but a few years ago there were a swarm of guys and they descended on my property and got the whole thing done in about 35 minutes.)

Yes, we have two full time jobs (and of course, the two kids.) When my husband was in school and I was working, we had a cleaning lady, but he still did yard work. So, I guess we each buy our way out of our chores.