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tomthumb
27-09-2008, 08:23 AM
I know some of you are lucky enough to have a cleaner. I was debating whether to get one or not and I wanted your sound advice.
Can you please tell me how often she/he comes (once, twice or more times every week)? How much you pay roughly (if you don't mind telling me) and if you find it worth it.
I am just thinking at the moment, I am hoovering every day and mopping kitchen and bathroom everyday as well. My house seems to be always dusty and dirty with everyone coming in and out and I simply cannot face it anymore. I am so tired of cleaning and tidying all the time! :(
It seems like all I do is clean and tidy (I know most of you probably feel the same). I have to say as well, since I have seen Angel's playroom in the picture, it has inspired me to try and make my playroom a bit more organised. Problem is I am just not one of those organised people! :laughing:
Thanks and I hope everyone has a lovely weekend

Elodie XX

Jules27
27-09-2008, 08:41 AM
I don't have a cleaner YET but as soon as I am earning a decent amount I will have. I'm going to be using my best mate as she is FAB at housework and LOVES it!!! Strange lady!!!! The going rate around here is about £7 - £8 p/h:eek: Think I will get 'mates rates' though as I do look after her kids at times for a lot less than that!!!!

As for how often, think thats up to you really, personally I would say once or twice a week depending on what you want cleaned really!!:laughing:

DudleyChildmind
27-09-2008, 09:22 AM
I remember this being discussed at an Inland Revenue meeting I attended and the lady from the IR said you cannot claim this against your childminding expenses as you live in the house. I thought that was out of order personally.

ajs
27-09-2008, 11:00 AM
i have had cleaners before but they left as i was too messy for her:eek:

i have a new one starting wednesday who is apparently really good and will get me organised

i will be paying £32 for 4 hours cleaning which i know is an awful lot of money but i cannot really do everything that needs doing in my house and run my business succesfully.
to be honest though
i am full so i am earning enough to justify her coming, i work over 50 hours a week and then do all of the paperwork etc so i decided that i would spend some of my own money on her rather then a take away once a week.
while hubby is employed and earning he pays the bills my money is for food and household expenses, and the occasional treats this to me is more improtant than me having a new handbag or new shoes and will hopefully save my sanity

Alibali
27-09-2008, 11:48 AM
i put my cleaner fees through my books as she does the childminding area of the house once a week, I'm sure if percentages were worked out this could be justified. I hope I'm right, don't want the tax man on my back.

She does 2 hours and I pay £16.00

LittleStars
27-09-2008, 12:08 PM
I have a cleaner who comes 3.5hrs a week and I pay £30

She is an angel and I would happily get down on her knees and worship the ground where she walks.....

She cleans everything and does the ironing.

I put 2 hrs a week through the accounts as that is the amount of time it takes to clean the areas I use for minding. The other 1.5 hrs are the bedrooms and the ironing. Apparently according to the tax course I went on that this is fine as long as you ONLY employ a cleaner because you are childminding...

Dragonfly
27-09-2008, 01:09 PM
I wish, i wish, i wish, I had a Cleaner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nah nothing happened!!:blush:

Rubybubbles
27-09-2008, 01:14 PM
cleaner:laughing:

I wish! I have cut down on my hours and have a tues off and thurs morning (well in a fashion always doing something to do with work!)

Roughly around £7-8 per hour around here, and would need at least 2 days a week:blush:

tomthumb
27-09-2008, 06:03 PM
Thanks for your answers, this is what I thought (price wise). I have found a few cleaners so I will be calling them on monday to see if we can agree.
I am a bit worried though that they won't want to do it as it is too messy...
Not telling hubby until it is set up as he doesn't want us to have one (well, he is not the one cleaning all the time, although he does some).
I am so happy :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Hope I will find one that will want me!!!

Will keep you posted

Elodie XX

sarah707
27-09-2008, 06:41 PM
I have a friend who is a cleaner.

She charges £8 an hour but she says families especially expect a lot for their money :D

Pedagog
28-09-2008, 06:00 PM
I remember this being discussed at an Inland Revenue meeting I attended and the lady from the IR said you cannot claim this against your childminding expenses as you live in the house. I thought that was out of order personally.


That's odd as we were told you could claim for a cleaner and a gardener, as long as it wasn't excessive

sarah707
28-09-2008, 06:42 PM
That's odd as we were told you could claim for a cleaner and a gardener, as long as it wasn't excessive

Yes i've always been told that as well :D

FizzysFriends
28-09-2008, 06:55 PM
My mom does mine once a week. I have an excuse as to why I can't do mine, cleaning products set off my asthma.

DudleyChildmind
28-09-2008, 07:26 PM
That's odd as we were told you could claim for a cleaner and a gardener, as long as it wasn't excessive

Perhaps the Inland Revenue have changed their minds as it was a 2-3 years ago since I went to the meeting.

I also asked if I could put the work I had done to the wall on my drive. I had it knocked down so the parents could park easier but as I would be using the same drive as well they told me I couldn't put it through my books :rolleyes:

Bushpig
28-09-2008, 08:23 PM
I had a cleaner come but she talked SOOOOO much, made little comments re the kids etc. all the time (trying to be friendly maybe, but I thought she was over familiar and she wasn't cleaning!) and I just didn't like that. So due to all the talking (and not working), only half of the work was done, yet I had to pay her in full :(

Do any of you know a trustworthy cleaner who would come to Wimbledon Village area? Putney is the closest train station.

Bushpig
28-09-2008, 08:25 PM
My mom does mine once a week. I have an excuse as to why I can't do mine, cleaning products set off my asthma.

Me too, terribly!!! I try and clean/hoover, but chest literally siezes up. Light cleaning of counters etc. are fine... but heavy cleaning, no way!

Twinkles
28-09-2008, 08:30 PM
I'm on my third in as many years :eek: I too am very messy , I think they got fed up cleaning playdough off the kitchen floor.
I pay £8.50 an hour and she's here for three hours. It just gives me peace of mind that my floors and upstairs bathrooms have had a good going over at least once a week. ( I do clean the loo's daily )
I have to say that I'm considering letting her go as she seems to do less and less for her money :rolleyes: Don't know if I'd replace her what with the credit crunch and all.

Cazz
28-09-2008, 08:34 PM
My mom does mine once a week. I have an excuse as to why I can't do mine, cleaning products set off my asthma.

If you have your mum as a cleaner, can you put that down on expenses or is that not allowed as she is a relative?

TBH I'm not sure I would want someone else in the private areas of my home but your mum's different! (not that I've got anything to hide or anything of value but that's not the point!)

I have no problem keeping downstairs clean and tidy but upstairs is a different story! Now my baby is on the move I can't leave her to go up there and when she's asleep in her cot I'm restricted as I can't be too noisy upstairs! I can only think it's going to get even harder when I start minding, so employing my mum for upstairs sounds like a good idea!

Carole x

Chatterbox Childcare
28-09-2008, 08:50 PM
I have a cleaner and she is £10.00 per hour and worth every penny. In the 2.5 hours she is here she can blitz the house and spend quite a bit of time in the toilets (little boys will be boys!)

As to claiming it back. I worked out how many rooms I used for childminding and worked it on a percentage. I still have to hoover everyday but it helps keep the mess down

Blaze
28-09-2008, 10:01 PM
That's odd as we were told you could claim for a cleaner and a gardener, as long as it wasn't excessive

Same!:thumbsup:

Angela234
28-09-2008, 10:19 PM
I used to be a cleaner about 12 years ago i got £10 for cleaning a 5 bedroom house that a family of 6 lived in. I earn't my money!

It would be great to get my house cleaned

Angela

Twinkles
28-09-2008, 10:37 PM
One of my cm friends used to have a child one morning a week because it was cheaper for the mother to pay a childminder to look after her child while she cleaned the house, than it was to get a cleaner in :rolleyes:

buildingblocks
03-10-2008, 08:51 PM
i have had cleaners before but they left as i was too messy for her:eek:



:ROFL1::ROFL1::ROFL1:

Sorry Mandy but that did tickle me. I used to work as a cleaner an dloved it but hate doing my own.

I was told by the accountant that I couldn't claim for a gardener and to me that is more a legitimate expense than a cleaner as I have a garden full of 6 foot weeds that I can't weed as I am working, not at weekends as I am doing paperwork and it is unsafe for hte children and doesn't look good to prospective parents.

donnahay0
03-10-2008, 10:36 PM
I have a cleaner for 2 1/2 hours per week. One of the specific jobs I ask her to do is clean my patio doors and glass doors downstairs - the children so like to put their grubby hands all over them, kiss and lick them.

However, I am unable to claim tax back on my cleaner as I do not have a specific rom solely for the purpose of childminding. This would be the same for a gardener.

If you have a playroom and it is soley used for your business then you can claim for a cleaner for that room only. I do think this unfair as the reason my cleaner comes is mainly down to the mess the children create - I was spending so much of my free time cleaning and not giving my family or myself any time so a cleaner was the answer. I still clean during the week but I know that it all gets done thoroughly every Thursday so I don't stress about it anymore. It costs me £20.00 and taking into conideration my own messy family it is money well worth spending. She does a great job. I still tidy up before she comes as tidying is not her job and she cannot clean properly if there is a mess.

mandy moo
04-10-2008, 07:49 AM
I too have been thinking of geting in a cleaner at least once a week,
Will they have to have a CRB check if its a mate?
As an adult over 18 and they will be in my house for over 2 hours at least once a week, 2 in I can wangle it with hubbie..
Or if I use a cleaning company will they already have a CRB check?

Chatterbox Childcare
04-10-2008, 11:36 AM
I have my cleaner in on a Thursday and we do soft play - no need for CRB's as they are not in sole contact with the children

If you are in, don't forget to enter it in your visitors book

michellethegooner
17-10-2008, 09:41 AM
I have my cleaner in on a Thursday and we do soft play - no need for CRB's as they are not in sole contact with the children

If you are in, don't forget to enter it in your visitors book

I have a friend also a cm and she had a cleaner who was not in contact with mindees as they would go to drop in and cleaner would clean, and get paid by cm's hubby, however when Ofsted came they said as she was a regular visitor to the house in c/m hrs she would have to be crb checked, so I would ring Ofsted before getting a cleaner in on working hrs, or get one that has been crb checked.

gemhei
17-10-2008, 10:13 AM
Ofsted told me that i would need a crb check for my cleaner, weve had her for a few years now and she gets on great with my own children. A cm friend of mine told me although shes not in direct contact with the children and sometimes we are out, i have photographs of the children around the house and their personal belongings. I do trust her but just incase ive sent off my cleaners crb forms and im always in when shes here.

TheBTeam
05-03-2009, 09:41 PM
I was told at an IR meeting that cleaners could be claimed for if you could warrant lack of time etc to do your own because of hours minding and doing paperwork. I am out when my cleaner comes so not had CRB check.

I also claim for window cleaning as I would do this myself were it not for the fact i am working so much and the little ones make such a mess on the windows that I can only give quick wipes not the full clean.

I claim for babysitters when I go on courses to! I wouldn't need a cleaner for house or windows or to go on courses if it wasn't for the job!

vix84
05-03-2009, 10:20 PM
I was told at an IR meeting that cleaners could be claimed for if you could warrant lack of time etc to do your own because of hours minding and doing paperwork. I am out when my cleaner comes so not had CRB check.

I also claim for window cleaning as I would do this myself were it not for the fact i am working so much and the little ones make such a mess on the windows that I can only give quick wipes not the full clean.

I claim for babysitters when I go on courses to! I wouldn't need a cleaner for house or windows or to go on courses if it wasn't for the job!

So if inland revenue decide to look into accounts and decide that those things can't be used, what would happen? Would you just have to pay back the tax owed?

If so then Id rather put it down as an expense and pay it back if necessary.

Maybe I should right to inland revenue and ask them about it and if I could have a reply in writing, but I dont want them dropping in on me though:panic: