7 Reasons You Need a Cleaner
Let’s presume you are a busy person – I can tell you that because pretty much everyone I meet tells me how busy they are. Hey, I’m busy too. Twin babies, a two year old, building two companies as well as several websites.
We all have the same 24 hours per day or 168 per week. Some of the stuff we have to do such as work, commute, sleep, eat wash and so on. They are pretty much compulsory. The rest of the time we can call discretionary. We have to eat into that with quality time with our loved ones as well as physical training if that is important to us. But what about the remaining 6 hours we have per day. In fact, when I put that number in writing it is pretty measly.The vast majority of people spend this time on a variety of common tasks such as:
- Watching TV
- Surfing the web
- Facebook / social media
- Socializing
- Relaxing or reading etc.
What we all do with our spare time is down to us of course and I’m not judging. I’m just asking if you would like more free time? If yes then doesn’t it make sense to let go of some of the stuff which takes it up. Taking this further, does it make sense to get rid of the stuff you least like doing first? Take the below:
- Cleaning your house
- Car maintenance
- DIY
- Gardening
I personally loathe the above tasks. They have to be done but I don’t see why it has to be me who does them!
I see my neighbors every Sunday – mowing the lawn, washing two cars etc. That is around 4 or 5 precious hours of their lives gone forever. If it is enjoyable then what the heck, do it. If your goal however is to grow a secondary income so you can have more options in your life or just to have more free time then wouldn’t it be wise to look at?leveraging?your time?
A cleaner will set you back around $10-15 per hour. Same for a gardener. A hand car wash will be around $10-20 depending on how big your car is. A handyman is around the same also. They can do the job in half the time you can and probably twice as well as you could.
If it all feels a bit much, then to start with look for a cleaner. I prefer the indepdant ones rather than franchised. They take more time and have more pride in their work.
Work out what you will do with that extra 2-4 hours per week. Now times that by 10 when you delegate more stuff.
Paul Browning
Tag:More Free Time
11 Comments
I’ll second the advantages of a housecleaner- when my hours get over-booked, cleaning is the first thing to go. One or two weeks later, I’m sitting amidst piles of stuff, disorganized papers, and crumbs. I don’t know about you, but I work most productively when I am in a clean and organized environment. Sine I work from home, I have to either take the time to tidy up or work at a reduced-efficiency rate. The $30 weekly investment in a housekeeper not only saves my sanity, but also helps me work at my best.
If you have good relations with your neighbors, you can save some extra $$- housekeepers, yard care, and car detailers may be willing to grant discounts if they can schedule several appointments in the same neighborhood.
For me, gardening and cleaning can be therapeutic. It is a great time to step away from my hectic life and just focus on the basics. Not to mention the internal award of completing a task and enjoying a job well done. It saves me the money I would have had to spend on a massage or craft project!
“Delegating sounds like a great idea to free up more time, but it is soooo hard. Even though we hate doing some of those chores/tasks, we are still reluctant to turn them over to someone else. Speaking for myself, I tend to have trouble giving up control. Even if I do delegate them, I tend to still micro-manage the project. I guess I don’t feel that anyone can do it as well as I can. It is something that I need to work on.”
Candace, I totally agree with you. The cost of a cleaner is an investment – in my sanity.
Cleaning is my relaxing time. Nothing like a bit of scrubbing the tub or cutting the hedges to make things right again. Absolutely, though, if there ever came a time I couldn’t do those things, a cleaner would be top priority.
When my finances were in better shape, I had a housekeeper come a couple days per week. As a single mother who works full time, my time is at a premium. That extra time was spent with my children. I really miss that 🙁
Audriana – that was definitely worth the cost. Hopefully, things will turn around for you soon.
House cleaning take too much of my leisure time and energy. I have a cleaner to do chores and the whole family can enjoy quality hours outside. Sometimes one have to give up something and focus on what’s really important. even if it cost you quite a lot, it’s worthy.
I hired a gardener because I could not believe that I was spending all of my free time doing lawn maintenance instead of doing something I really want to do. Great idea!
I need my cleaner back! When I was writing my thesis I had a lovely lady come in once a week and do the housework. While I was glad when the thesis was done, I really miss walking into a sparkly clean house.