cleaner/toys/guilt

[Karen1]

Hi all

i have only got a small place and am not full with mindees (but Im choosing not to be until next year, as doing the eyt course, placements at primary school )

I have

2 mindees monday- work until 7pm
day off tuesday (when i do enquiry visitis, paperwork, accounts coursework, school placement etc),
wednesday 1 mindee, until 5pm
thursday 1 mindee plus own child, until 6pm
friday 1 mindee plus my child until 5pm
plus another of my children in primary school.

Also have another mindee starting in January for four days a week, so really will be tight for time then.

so this weekend my OH went mad as he says childminding is taking over LOL. well i went mad but do see his point. Now I am wondering, should i get a cleaner and take some pressure off, so in my free time i can really catch up with paperwork, coursework, training, cooking, reading with my kids, their school stuff, losing weight and being sane. Only thinking of once a term or so to just get on top of stuff and help organise. Really i would like a week to get myself organised and fully on top of it, but dont think that will ever happen.. because even in the evenings i am busy with school PTA, SW, really need to drop a few balls i think.

i dont start today until 1pm as one child off sick, so bit of extra time, but really bogged down. Moaned at OH as all he does is take the rubbish out once a week! (after nagging)

do you have cleaners and can you justify it? can i claim a percentage back?

just seems alot of money to pay out when really i could be doing it... feel so guilty. I love this job and OH made me feel rubbish this weekend about it.

[Mrsh3103]

I know exactly how you feel. Hubby moans that cming is taking of the house and that even though downstairs is spotless upstairs looks like a bomb went off then a herd of elephants spent the day up there! He still doesn't help out though. So I have taken on a cleaner every friday afternoin for 2 hours. For the 1st time in a long time I am able to relax on a friday night
She hoovers, dusts, cleans the bathroom, cleans skirting boards, I strip and wash bedding in the morning she puts it on beds, if there are any clean clothes I havent put away she does that. It's amazing what a massive difference this had made to our lives!
I can only put part of what I pay her through my books as she mainly cleans areas that mindees don't use.

[k-tots]

I get the same with my oh......but he gives me time in the evenings buy doing the bedtime routine for our three....still not enough time have about two hours....still looks like a bombsite lol

[Tulip]

Give him a choice, either he helps out or you get a cleaner

[JCrakers]

Ive got a cleaner as I was fed up with nagging my dh to help me out. It was becoming a chore on top of the chores so now I have a cleaner every Friday morning for 2hrs. Its a huge weight off my mind but I'm earning enough to justify it. I have 3 mindees every day and then a total of 9 children in the house after school mon-thurs and just 3 mindees on a Friday with no school run at the moment. I have 2 children of my own who do help out but only do things like the dishwasher, bins out etc.

To me, its money well spent and I do put it through my books as its the kids that make the mess

[Lu 2010]

I have a cleaner only a couple of hours a week that does dusting, floors, kitchen and bathroom and I wouldn't give it up for the world!!

Think people struggle to see how much we actually do. On top of the long days with no breaks we still have paperwork, planning, accounts, seeing to our own children, cooking, shopping and somewhere in all that have to find 5 minutes for ourselves!!!

[Karen1]

thanks for all the replies. i have managed to get alot done this morning, paperwork wise and answered another enquiry for August! anyway, i think i will just bite the bullet and geta cleaner for my own sanity really. plus i hate cleaning.

have had a look and one ladt does two hours for £20. with lots of reccomendations, so will have a look. right. must go now as really have to clear up and grab a sarnie before mindee turns up.

will let you all know how i get on.

[Rubybubbles]

I really really want a cleaner but can't justify the cost.

I currently have all mine sleep between 12-2 give or take 1/2 hour so I tend to do most of the stuff then a room each day (I tend To do 3childrens bedrooms) then spare room and my bedroom) bathroom get done every Mondays and Thursday then I finish early on a Friday and have 1/2 before collecting my own children where I whiz the Hoover round upstairs (downstairs gets done 2/3 times a day lol!) not great but means I do a room then paperwork I I'm lucky I may fit in a coffee.

But then I'm not doing any during the weekend oh Hum

[Roseolivia]

I have a cleaner every Friday for 3hrs so it means I get to spend the weekend with my kids without cleaning (although some of Sundays is spent tidying after my 2 and hubby). Best £30 spent. I'm hoping to get Fridays off from Feb/march and will still be having the cleaner here.

[gef918]

I used to have a cleaner, but business is slow at the moment, so can't justify it now. Can't wait for business to pick up again, so I can have a cleaner. It's lovely coming home to a clean house!

[Karen1]

Potential cleaner coming on Thursday for chat. Now, shall I clean before she comes... Lol

[Mrsh3103]

Haha I always have a bit of a tidy up before the cleaner comes

[Cinnamon Sugar]

I'd love a cleaner and have been thinking about actually getting round to having one. What works best? How did others find theirs? Word of mouth? Adverts in local paper etc? Worried about the cost with a company...any advice would be lovely...then I'll try to swing it by oh :-)

[Karen1]

Yeah my oh isn't too happy either, thinks in have time to do it. So am convincing him it's just a one off clean every term, but think if it's ok, will slowly up it and he won't notice. It's me paying anyway!,,

[clairer]

I have been thinking about a cleaner for ages as it's always only me trying to kill myself with cleaning in this house!

However I then think to myself if I pay £80 a month for a cleaner that's £80 I could spend in Oasis!

[kellyskidz!]

Wow I'm surprised that so many have cleaners. I feel left out lol!
I have a day off a week so I'm ok but I have 2 potential newbies in Jan so maybe I'll be needing one
Do your cleaners clean while mindees are there? Do they clean around them, and do they have to sign in as a visitor and written up on a RA, saying you have someone in your home each week but won't leave them with the kids etc xx