Why Moms Should Not Feel Guilty About Hiring a House Cleaner and How it is Possible to Afford One
Have you always dreamed of hiring a house cleaner but you either feel guilty or feel you can’t afford it? Well, you shouldn’t. Moms should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner, and here’s why.
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Also covered in this post:
Difference between a housecleaner and a housekeeper
I want a housecleaner but my husband doesn’t
10 Best Reasons why Moms Should Not Feel Guilty About Hiring a House Cleaner
As a busy mom, hiring a house cleaner can lighten your load with your time, mental health, your stress, give you more time with your family, your relationships, ability to be a more present mom, and allowing you the energy to cook healthier meals and entertain more often.
As a busy mom you should not feel guilty about hiring a housecleaner and here are the ten best reasons why.
You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty Because Time is Precious
Time is one of the most valuable resources that we have, and it’s also one of the scarcest. Most moms have a never ending to-do list, and finding extra time to clean can be challenging.
By hiring a house cleaner, you can free up more time to spend with your family, or to focus on other important aspects of your life, or be more productive. Which is why moms should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner
You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty because Self-Care is Important
Moms often put their own needs and desires on the back burner to take care of their families. However, self-care is essential for maintaining your overall well-being. It’s good for your mental health and sanity.
Hiring a house cleaner allows you to take a break from the constant demands of motherhood and prioritize your own needs. Which is why moms should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner.
Reducing Stress is Important for Mental Health
A messy and unkempt home can add to the stress that most moms already experience. Hiring a house cleaner can help reduce stress by providing a clean and organized space to relax in, rather than worrying about endless cleaning tasks. Which is why moms should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner.
Professional Cleaners do it better
House cleaners are trained professionals who ensure that your home is cleaned to the highest standard. They have specialized tools and techniques to remove even the toughest stains and dirt, leaving your home looking fresh, smelling great and in a timely manner. Stop spinning your wheels frustrated that your home never feels or smells clean or inviting.
You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty Because You are Setting a Positive Example
By hiring a house cleaner, moms demonstrate that it is okay to ask for help when needed. This teaches children that it is important to prioritize self-care and that it’s okay to ask for help to accomplish it.
Did you know that one of the habits of a successful mom is the ability to delegate and outsource? Are you trying to do too much all on your own, and in results making no momentum forward or progress? You need to be ok with outsourcing and delegating.
You Will Have More Quality Time with Family
Engaging in quality time with family is crucial, not only for your children but also for you as their mother. By hiring a house cleaner, you have more time to spend playing with your children or having a relaxing evening as a family.
You Are Helping The Economy
Supporting local businesses such as house cleaning companies helps the local economy grow, providing jobs and opportunities for people. In fact, recent studies have shown that small businesses tend to pass on the benefits by reinvesting in different local services, hence generating income for numerous households.
You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty Because It Will Help Your relationships
After becoming a SAHM I struggled with resentment a lot (read my store here)! It took a tool on my marriage and relationship with my husband. I resented and hated a lot of the responsibilities and tasks in motherhood, especially as a stay-at-home-mom. One of them was definitely cleaning the house. Hiring a housecleaner helped me better my relationship with my spouse and heal my wounds and resentment.
You Will Feel More Comfortable Entertaining
Do you ever get to Friday and the weekend and want to host but you look around your house and you give up as it will take way too much energy to clean the house just to have some friends over?
My husband and I love to host and knowing that our house will be tidying and clean majority of the time makes it so much easier to say “yes” to having friends over.
It is good for your mental health to pour into relationships and enjoy quality time with close family and friends, consider it a form of self care.
So if having a messy home is keeping you from entertaining, and hiring a housekeeper could help, it is probably worth the investment.
You Will Cook Healthier Meals More Often
This was one of the main reasons my husband and I decided to get a housekeeper AND joined a meal delivery service with HomeChef. Two are the best decisions we ever made.
Prior to having kids cooking healthy meals was a priority for us. We enjoyed sitting down to a glass of wine and a delicious healthy home cooked meal.
We noticed after having kids that healthy meals was being put on the back burner to many other priorities, including me as the SAHM trying to keep the house clean.
We decided to hire a housekeeper and I would put that time towards making home cooked healthy meals again.
I have been able to successfully do that and it has been a priceless decision. I love the quality time around the dinner table that my family has, plus creating healthy eating habits for my kids is a huge win.
What does the average house keeper cost?
The cost of hiring a housekeeper can vary greatly depending on several factors. First and foremost, the cost will depend on where you live. If you live in a big city, you can expect to pay more than if you live in a rural area.
The cost will also depend on how many hours per week you need the housekeeper to work. On average, a housekeeper charges $20 to $50 per hour. If you need a housekeeper to clean a three-bedroom home once a week, you can expect to pay around $150 to $200 per week.
There are also additional costs that may come into play. For example, some housekeepers charge extra for laundry, dishes, or deep cleaning. If you have pets, you may also need to pay extra for pet hair removal or litter box cleaning. Make sure to discuss these additional costs with the housekeeper before you hire them so that you know what to expect.
Another factor that can affect the cost of hiring a housekeeper is whether you hire an individual or a professional cleaning company. An individual housekeeper may charge less than a cleaning company, but you’ll need to take on the responsibility of managing payroll taxes, providing insurance, and covering sick days and vacation time. A professional cleaning company may be more expensive, but they will take care of all of these things for you.
How often should I have a house keeper come?
There is no one size fits all answer to how often you should have a housekeeper come. It depends on several factors like your cleaning needs, budget, lifestyle, size of your house, and personal preference.
The good news is that there are options for every budget and schedule. You can choose to have a housekeeper come weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or on an as-needed basis.
Finding the right frequency of housekeeping visits will take trial and error. Start with a less frequent schedule and adjust according to your needs.
Hiring a housekeeper is a great investment in your home and peace of mind.
5 factors to consider to determine how often a housekeeper should come
To know how often a housekeeper should come and clean your home, consider these factors: Your cleaning needs, your budget, your lifestyle, size of your home, what areas you specifically want cleaned, and your personal preferences. All of these factors will help you determine how often a housekeeper should come and clean your home.
1. Determining your cleaning needs
Before hiring a housekeeper, you need to determine your cleaning needs. Do you need a housekeeper for regular cleaning like vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning bathrooms or just for deep cleaning? Regular cleaning usually requires a more frequent housekeeping schedule than deep cleaning.
2. Your budget
How often you can afford to hire a housekeeper depends on your budget. Determine how much you can afford to spend on housekeeping services weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. The frequency of housekeeping visits can be adjusted accordingly.
3. Lifestyle factors
Your lifestyle and daily schedule also play a role in determining how often you should have a housekeeper come. For example, if you work from home, have small children, or pets, you may need a more frequent schedule. On the other hand, if you live alone and travel frequently, a less frequent schedule may be sufficient.
4. Area and size of your house
If you live in a large house or have multiple levels, you may need a more frequent housekeeping schedule. Similarly, if you have a lot of areas that need special attention like the kitchen or bathrooms, you may also need a more frequent schedule.
5. Personal preference
Lastly, you may want to consider your personal preference. Some people prefer a clean and tidy home at all times, while others are more relaxed. Determine what works best for you and your family.
I want to hire a house keeper, but don’t think I can afford one.
As a busy mom, you have a lot on your plate. You work hard every day to juggle work, kids, and household chores. The idea of hiring a housekeeper sounds like a dream, but you might think that it’s simply out of your budget. However, the truth is that hiring a housekeeper may be more affordable than you think.
Here are 6 things to STOP doing To Afford A Housekeeper
To afford a housekeeper reduce the amount of Starbucks trips you make, start doing your nails at home instead of going to the nail salon, stop going into stores, but switch to online shopping, eat at home more, frequent Costco less, and scale back on the beauty services. These 6 changes can immediately help you afford a house cleaner.
Stop going to Starbucks
Going to Starbucks daily or weekly can costs you hundreds of dollars each month. Just by making your coffee at home, you could save enough money to easily afford a house keeper monthly.
Stop getting Your Nails done at a Salon
A few months ago my husband and I went on our first “long” trip away from the kids. We had been away before, but we usually would only go for 2-3 nights. This trip was 7 nights!
So of course, I was doing all of the glam stuff to get ready for our Mexico trip. Fresh hair, nails, spray tan, new outfits. I was so excited for this time away.
But I was shocked at how much a full set manicure and pedicure cost at my local nail salon. $110!!
And to be honest, I didn’t even like the job that was done. UGH! I felt like I wasted so much money and I could have done them better myself.
Several months ago I bought a home gel UV light kit and I love it! My nails always look “salon” ready and I’ve been doing them myself for months. The kit was very inexpensive and I’m saving hundreds of dollars each month not going to the nail salon for my mani and pedi’s.
I would much rather do my nails myself, at home, with my UV light gel kit, while I binge a Netflix show, drink a glass of wine in my comfy clothes, then spend hundreds of dollars on crappy salon nails.
Stop Going INTO Stores
Impulse buying is one of the biggest contributors to spending too much or going over your budget. It’s also the number one reason why you should switch to online shopping.
Just think about your most recent trip to Target or Walmart. Did you stick to your list? Or were there several items you bought because you saw them and quickly decided you needed the item.
The money saved from reducing impulse purchases while roaming Target, will easily cover the cost of a monthly cleaning service.
Related Post: Benefits of Online Grocery Shopping – Especially for Moms
Eat at Home More
Can you even afford to eat out anymore? For my family of 6 we spend over $30 just at Taco Bell!! It really is so expensive to eat out!
Many times as busy moms we resort to eating out because we don’t have anything planned to eat at home. It’s 5pm, everyone is hungry, you are tired, and spending $25 at McDonald’s seems like a great choice.
Start meal prepping so snacks and meals are not so daunting of a task and you will be more likely to eat at home, then swing through the nearest fast food restaurant.
The amount of money you can save by eating out ONE less time per week, would easily afford a monthly house keeper.
Related Post: 5 Meal Planning Hacks – How I save HOURS Each week
Don’t Shop at Costco Regularly
I used to be addicted to Costco. As a large family it felt like the place I “SHOULD” by my groceries each week. And if not weekly, then definitely monthly, right?!
After analyzing our budget and grocery expenses, I realized that Costco is not a place I should frequent often.
Even as a mom with a list, on a mission, I always left buying several items we didn’t need. And those items added up quickly.
By shopping at my local grocery store, and switching to online shopping with delivery for my groceries, we now save hundreds each month.
Costco was killing my pocket book! I now only go to Costco 2-3 times per year and use it as my bulk purchases, items I can stock up on.
Are you going to Costco regular? Try going less and see if your budget thanks you.
Scale Back on the Beauty Services
Do you monthly get facials, massages, Botox, your brows, Filler, fake lashes, or hair appointment?
It is amazing how time consuming these services can be AND how costly the maintenance of most of these services are.
I am in ALL support of these services, many of them I consider Self Care, and as a busy mom, a little pamper can go a long way with mental health. So by no means am I suggesting eliminating or forgoing these services all together.
But, how often are you going? Could you spread some of these services out longer? Instead of getting your hair done every 6 weeks, could you stretch it to 8-10 weeks?
Instead of facials monthly, maybe once a quarter?
For me, while I value and love these “beauty” extras (if your budget can allow them), I value a house cleaner sometimes even more. There I said it.
I really hate cleaning my house, but my mental state is more impacted by a dirty home, then it is by some of the above beauty services.
Have you read some of the statistics on how a dirty and cluttered home can significantly impact your mental health?
Check out 6 steps to simplify your home with decluttering and organizing to learn more.
What is the difference between a Housekeeper and a House Cleaner?
A house cleaner focus on just cleaning, while a housekeeper will also include tidying up your home, changing sheets, and make the house look inviting.
A housekeeper will do more than just clean (mopping, scrubbing sinks and showers, cleaning appliance), but will also put shoes away, pick up clothes, load the dishwasher, and fluff pillows on the couch and beds.
When a housekeeper is finished with your home, it will not only be clean, but look organized, tidy, and even staged ready.
Should I hire a House Cleaner or a Housekeeper?
Interview both and decide based on pricing, availability and services which one meets your needs and you like best.
If you want your house to look not only clean, but picked up, tidy, organized and things put back away that were left out, you will need to pursue a Housekeeper for those request.
If you want an ongoing relationship, someone who comes regularly on a schedule, housekeepers are best for that kind of experience and service.
Benefits of Housekeeping and House Cleaning Services
Statistics show that how your home looks and feels directly impacts your mental health. You can have increased levels of stress and anxiety just from having a messy home.
That is huge! So one of the big benefits of having a housekeeper or cleaner, is reducing the extra stress and anxiety a messy home can have on you.
If you are busy, or just hate cleaning, and the cleaning is being neglected, hiring a housekeeper can be one of the best decisions you make for your mental health.
Mom’s should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner, as your mental health should always be at the top priority.
How do I find a Housekeeper or Housecleaner?
The best way to find a good, reliable, trustworthy housekeeper or housecleaner is to ask your friends. You will also be surprised as to how many of your friends already have housecleaners. It really is something women feel embarrassed to talk about until they know someone else who has one.
I want a housekeeper buy my husband doesn’t
Are you a SAHM, or even a working mom, and you desperately want a house keeper but your husband doesn’t? Use these tips to try and come to a compromise on getting a house keeper.
Show you are willing to sacrifice something
When I first approached my husband as a SAHM wanting to bring in a bi-weekly or monthly house cleaner, I knew he would want to see what I was willing to sacrifice to make it work with our budget.
We were already stretched thin with me being a full time SAHM, and we have four kids.
Use one or several of the above 6 ways to afford a house cleaner and he will see you are willing to have skin in the game to make this a priority.
Being a SAHM doesn’t make you a housekeeper
Just because you stay home with the kids that doesn’t make you a housekeeper. The 1950’s ideal “perfect housewives” is not realistic anymore, and we need to stop comparing moms to that generation.
Even majority of SAHM’s are financially contributing to the household, as side hustles and SAHWorking moms have grown a lot in the past decade.
Another change is more moms are being present and engaging with their children then those moms of the 1950’s & 1960’s when it was an era of “being seen but not heard”.
It requires a lot more effort to be a present mom today, as more moms are hands-on moms, which means the housework will take a backseat.
Does this sound like you as a SAHM? Responsible for your child’s development, social activities, creating nutritious meals, age-appropriate learning, all while trying to limit screen time and keep a house clean. Moms literally can not do it all, even though we try.
Stay-at-home-moms need to share the load. There are two adults in the family (assuming you are not a single mom), which means the load should not 100% fall on to the SAHM.
Just another reason why SAHM’s should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner.
Explain what you will do with the extra time
One of the reasons why I wanted a house cleaner was to have more time. Keeping our home clean, especially the deep cleaning, was consuming lots of my time.
Even as a SAHM, your time is valuable and can be used better in many different ways.
For me, I wanted more time to put healthy meals on the table since I wanted to eat out less and focus on family meals around the dinner table.
Having a house cleaner will free up some time each week, so what do you plan to do with that time?
Express your Mental Health concerns
Being a working mom or a SAHM is a very exhausting job and can take a huge toll on your mental health. I started to hate being a mom, I felt ‘less then’, I felt like I was a maid or a servant, and I didn’t feel worthy.
Hiring a house cleaner gave me back some of my dignity and self – worth I was needing. Don’t over look or down play the mental health as a mom. It is important.
Are you ready to hire a house cleaner?
Cleanliness is not a measure of a mother’s worth, you’re not failing as a mom, or a wife, or as a women. It is OK to admit that you want help in keeping your home clean, and moms should not feel guilty about hiring a house cleaner either.
Remember, nobody is superhuman; all moms need a little help now and then. If purchasing a house cleaning service is not currently within your budget, these 6 “stop doing” items can get you closer to your goal of investing in one.
While having a regular professional house cleaner helps greatly with the deep cleaning, there is still the every day cleaning. As a busy mom it is very helpful to know some cleaning hacks, so you can spend less time keeping your house clean daily.
Related Post: Quick Busy Mom Cleaning Hacks That Will Transform Your Home
I’ve also found having a cleaning schedule helps a lot in keeping my house clean. Do you have one that works for you? If not, check out “The perfect cleaning schedule for a stay at home mom” now.
Looking for more genius hacks? Don’t forget to check out…
Want other amazing mom routines to help you stay on top of mom life?
Check out 13 Important Routines for Moms
Now it’s your turn to give hiring a professional house cleaning service a try. Let me know what you decide in the comments below!
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Thanks for the heads up that hiring a house cleaner can help you relax and unwind. My brother has been thinking about hosting a house party around his home this year. I should talk to him about consulting these cleaners whenever he needs them someday.
Thank you for sharing Zachary. Yes, house cleaners are amazing!