Submitted by Don Doman
It’s a changing world and most of us need a little help one way or another to survive. The biggest problem seems to be a lack of time . . . and energy. House cleaning or house keeping is a struggle, but there is a definite movement towards hiring cleaning professionals to assist and relieve the cleaning burden.
There is an endless pile of laundry that needs to be done, cooking home cooked meals every night, constant cleaning, and vacuuming.Here are some blog comments about outside cleaning resources and busy schedules:
“My spouse and I are struggling. There is an endless pile of laundry that needs to be done, cooking home cooked meals every night, constant cleaning, and vacuuming. Helping our child with her needs.”
“I really am reluctant to hire cleaners because of the cost associated, but I don’t see anyway that we’re supposed to have the time to get everything done.”
In addition to mostly full employment these days and long commutes (often people travel hours each way to and from work) . . .“I hate cleaning and I have always had a cleaning lady. I had one when I worked full time. I had one when I was a stay at home mother and I have one now that I work part time. I could clean my house if I felt like it, but I would rather pay someone to clean than do it myself.”
“I hate cleaning, but also it’s a royal pain with a small kid . . . I found a lady who . . . charges a very reasonable rate, much less than large cleaning companies. I get her to come in about twice a month for 2-3 hours and do the heavy-duty things I hate the most – clean bathrooms and kitchen, mop floors, vacuum, dust baseboards. If I worked, you bet we’d have someone come in more often and do the more frequent tasks as well.”
In addition to mostly full employment these days and long commutes (often people travel hours each way to and from work), taking care of children and taking part in community and school activities, there is little time for cleaning and picking up around the house. Unless you work and live in the same neighborhood, you’re probably dealing with a messy house and one that is growing dirtier with the tough jobs getting put off until later. Later rarely comes, however.
You can have a clean house and give yourself a better life.One solution is hiring professionals to do your housework. There are cleaning firms available in many cities in the South Sound. There are also small businesses, sometimes with just one single person hiring out according to your schedule and needs. Author Heather Lende writing in Woman’s Day commented about her helper, “I’ve always suspected that housekeeping is more of an art than a science, so our loose arrangement suits me as well as it does her. If she feels like tackling the fridge on a rainy day, she does. If it’s sunny and warm, she throws open the windows and airs the sofa cushions. She often surprises me. I opened the linen closet one day and discovered she’d made order out of the chaos.”
Here are five benefits for getting cleaning help:
- Professional Experience/Equipment/Cleaners
- Regularly Cleanings On Your Schedule
- Time Saving
- Get the Services You Need
- More Rest, More Sleep, More Fun Stuff
I remember as a child looking through the Saturday Evening Post and reading the Hazel cartoon. Hazel was a live-in maid. The TV show version starring Shirley Booth ran from 1961 to 1966. I never knew anyone who had a maid and the TV show made it seem like every household had a maid and a cook. Who were these people? Not real ones for sure. I only saw people doing their own cleaning and cooking . . . even if they were holding down two jobs, being Cub Scout Den Mothers, and minding their own kids and/or the neighbor’s. Kevin Hipkins, president of Mollymaid says, “In the 1970s women would feel reluctant to hire a cleaner as it was seen as a luxury they shouldn’t be paying for. They had a superwoman type mentality that they should do it all themselves, but these days a lot of women’s view of a superwoman isn’t someone who is cleaning the house every week. They have better things to do.”
The generations have changed and so have the situations. Liam Dickerson, marketing manager for Housekeep says, “Many young workers (Millennials) are putting more hours into their jobs these days and they feel they’re better off getting someone else to do their cleaning. They’re also living in smaller dwellings with more people living in them, which means they’re likely to spend more time tidying up mess as there may be less space to store things.”
So, if you find yourself falling behind in cleaning, there is help available. You can have a clean house and give yourself a better life. Professionals can do it quicker than you can and do a better job as well.
