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Would You Be Okay With Having a Maid?
No. I don't think so. We had someone come in every couple weeks to clean not long after our second son was born. The "every other week" thing was 1) a gift from my mother in law, 2) a broad hint that we were messy. I guess everything was cool the day after the lady cleaned, but I could take or leave it.
I'd rather have a cook. I would love to come home from work and have dinner waiting for me.I like doing my own laundry.
I don't know how I would personally feel about having a maid, I've always taken care of that stuff myself. I think I'd be lost. I have cleaned other peoples homes as a job though. I really liked working for most of those people, there were exceptions though. I made some big bucks doing that.
Oh, wait, I'd be totally okay with someone doing the vacuuming for me, too. :)
I would definitely be ok with someone coming in twice a week, doing the major cleaning and a few windows, and cooking up some meals for the next few days until they arrive again. Sign me up!
My wife would have to clean before the maid came, so that she didn't think we were pigs. She would like to get a maid, and I am all for it, she just isn't able to pull the trigger yet.
I would have to clean before having a maid come in... I mean really clean. The only thing left for her to do would be maybe the oven and the windows. I’m a bit of a clean freak- I would actually enjoy cleaning other people’s houses.
I need to hire someone to do my windows. Last time my window guy was here he saw my John Kerry sign and started on a really long rant about those pro-abortion people and how they were all going to hell. I tried to discuss it with him, but there is no arguing with a home-schooling, Evangelical window washer who listens to the Bible on his Walkman.
Cynthia wrote: "I need to hire someone to do my windows. Last time my window guy was here he saw my John Kerry sign and started on a really long rant about those pro-abortion people and how they were all going to ..."Cynthia, around here a lot of off duty firemen clean windows. You may want to check if they have that there or not.
Jim wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "I need to hire someone to do my windows. Last time my window guy was here he saw my John Kerry sign and started on a really long rant about those pro-abortion people and how they we..."Cool! Do they wear their uniforms? I have always had a thing for firefighters. As long as they can deal with my 1920s-era double-hung windows.
They don't wear their uniforms to clean windows, they do it on their own time, but who knows what the Ames firefighters will do.
No, I'd have to clean before the maid got here. And I don't like people touching my things. I have horrible ADD so when I put something in it's spot, it HAS to stay there or I'll never find it again!
Hey thank you, Jim.Hoo boy! I'm calling the Welch Avenue station later--better wait until VEISHEA is over though. The campus springtime lets-all-drink-'til-we're-nearly-dead festival is this week. Oh, BOY. Hope no one gets shot or stabbed this year. (Crosses self, says Hail Mary.)
BunWat wrote: "I used to get teased about cleaning for the cleaning lady, but it was bs, because I wasn't cleaning I was tidying up. I was clearing off surfaces so she could clean them. Because I didn't want to..."This, this, this! I would work for Bun anyday. I used to hate it when people left stuff everywhere and expected me to put it all away (and know where it goes) before I could even start cleaning. Then they would bitch about having to pay me for an extra hour of work.
I have a housekeeper (I refuse to call her a "maid") who comes to our house once a week. There's a part of me that feels like I could do the housecleaning, but since my wife and I are frequently busy with work and child-rearing, having our housekeeper come in once a week to clean up our messes certainly helps.
The blessed cleaning ladies have saved many a marriage Gus. No more "It's your turn to scrub out the tub." Don't miss that a bit.
I pretty much believe that I should clean up after myself. That's part of the full experience of everyday life. In a way, it's a Buddhism thing. On the other hand, can't make hard and fast rules, because everybody has their different situations and There are a lot of things I am too short or otherwise not able to do. And with my parents...I wish they would get one. They're both elderly and have a difficult time doing it. And they could well afford it, but they refuse (although between getting the kids launched and retirement, they always had someone). I think the problem is because my dad has definite hoarder tendencies and he doesn't want his piles of stuff interfered with. This is also why I don't wade in (plus my sister lives with them and she should be helping)
I would love a housekeeper. If I could get someone to come a couple of times a week and do floors and dust and bathrooms...well...that would be heaven!
I'd love to have a maid come in and do the stuff I never get motivated to do, like clean the window sills, baseboards, etc.
We have a housekeeper, who's more like a grandmother to me because she's been with our family for so long. But the only things she does is cook, vacuum, and go grocery shopping. All the bathroom cleaning, dusting, mopping, laundry...that's all my job.
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That seems.....unprofessional.
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Lobstergirl wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "I need to hire someone to do my windows. Last time my window guy was here he saw my John Kerry sign and started on a really long rant about those pro-abortion people and how they we..."I guess it's been awhile, eh?
Lobstergirl wrote: "That seems.....unprofessional."My sprinkler repair guy had Rush Limbaugh's show blasting from his van's radio the entire time he (sprinkler guy) was working.
Ewwww!
Hell yes, I would love to have a housekeeper. They're pretty hard to find way out here in the boonies. I hired my daughter-in-law at one point. Things were good for awhile. Gradually, the house looked less and less clean. I finally asked her if I was to take the lack of housework as her resignation. LOL!
Rebecca wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "I need to hire someone to do my windows. Last time my window guy was here he saw my John Kerry sign and started on a really long rant about those pro-abortion pe..."Yes it has been a while.
Hell, no, I'm not OK with having a maid. How can you ask someone to clean your toilet without demeaning them, even if they're willing? Maybe my view is colored by growing up in the South, where maids were common. Underpaid, compassionate maids who did the most menial tasks for people who were too lazy to clean up after themselves.
Scout, I never felt demeaned by the people that hired me to clean their houses. Most of the people really did need the help, for example, I worked for a mother with 4 children under the age of 5 (what she really needed was a nanny). A couple who worked full time, had three kids, and took care of both sets of elderly, ill parents. I also worked for a few elderly people who seemed to want me there more for conversation than help with housework, I did feel unbelievably guilty for charging them for my time, so I'd show up on my days off to spend time with them.
I've also worked for people who really didn't need a maid and could've done the work themselves, but they were paying me $15+/ per hour and providing all the supplies, so I wasn't going to complain. Just sayin' :)
When I was growing up, none of my friends came from homes with domestic help. Most of their moms were not employed outside the home, however, and seemed to feel that the cleaning was their domain. My mom seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in cleaning, especially in running the vacuum cleaner right outside my door on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. Saturdays were always cleaning day, and I was expected to dust the entire house, take out trash, clean bathrooms. I never seemed to clean to my mom's high standards, and hated cleaning. I enjoy doing the laundry now, but not the cleaning.
if i had a house to myself, had a job and could afford a housekeeper i would definitely want one. i'm not a particularly messy person, but i'm an irregular cleaner.
We have a housekeeper who comes in 2,5 hours a week and cleans stairs/floors/bathrooms and kitchen. We pay her about 40 dollars a week for that.With two kids, two dogs and a fulltime job each, it actually gives us time to focus on the kids and eachother when we're not working :-) (and not argue about why my husband doesn't do his share). I do the laundry and he cooks :-)
I've never had a maid, but I worked as one for a while. People need jobs, and if the pay is decent, it's not bad work (you usually don't have to do anything really disgusting, especially if you work for a cleaning service), it's mostly just dusting and vacuuming. I wouldn't feel bad having a maid, and I would definitely be more polite to them than some of the customers I used to have were to me- not that everyone is an entitled jerk, but there are always a few unpleasant ones. Also, just FYI, you're better off with an independently owned company than a chain, if you care about how your housekeeper is treated by his/her employers; I worked for a chain and they cheat you out of money left and right. If I could afford it, I would definitely have a housekeeper, my house is a disaster.
Welcome to TC Amber, thanks for jumping in.
welcome to TC amber! i stalked you here to see if you were welcomed already, but i see jim was quick today.
There are many ways mothers and wives are demeaned. I could make a list but I won't.
janine wrote: "welcome to TC amber! i stalked you here to see if you were welcomed already, but i see jim was quick today."lol, the only time stalking is acceptable.
Jim wrote: "Welcome to TC Amber, thanks for jumping in."Thanks!
Cynthia wrote: "There are many ways mothers and wives are demeaned. I could make a list but I won't."No list needed. I know what you're saying. That's the main reason I got a divorce.
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Darlene Egelhoff, the mother of U.S. reality television personality Heidi Montag, says the recession has forced her to work as a maid. Egelhoff told TV’s “Inside Edition” she and her husband owned a restaurant for 21 years, but had to close it because of the economy. She said they have been struggling to pay their bills since and the only job she could find in Crested Butte, Colo., was cleaning houses.
YES!!! I hate cleaning bathrooms!!!!
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Living room:
# Reserve one side of sofa cushions to be shown to guests. Before company arrives, flip over the cushions to reveal good-as-new fabric. When guests are gone, flip them back.
# Rid the sofa of pet hair by wetting the fingertips of rubber gloves and gliding your hand over the sofa. The hair will stick to the rubber.
# Stack books, catalogs, and magazines in neat piles on the floor or arrange them in a deep decorative basket.
# To disguise windows in need of washing, pull curtain panels closed.
# Fold a clean blanket neatly and drape it over a stained sofa. Strategically placed throw pillows can also camouflage soiled upholstery.
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# When the dishwasher is full and the sink is overflowing, stow dirty dishes and silverware in a stockpot and pull them out later to be cleaned.
# Cover up the lingering aroma of last night’s supper by boiling nutmeg, cloves, or cinnamon and orange peels in a sauce-pan on the stove.
# Declutter the refrigerator by taking down notes, drawings, and magnets and throwing them in a plastic bag. Sort through it later.
# Fold hand towels to hide stains. Two tips: Hang the clean side over the oven handle (with the stains in the back), or roll towels in neat spirals and stack them pyramid-style next to the sink.
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* Glide a sticky lint roller over the bath mat to pick up hair.
* Light a candle. Everything looks better (and cleaner) by candlelight.
* Hang a fluffy bathrobe on top of damp towels dangling from the hooks on the back of the door.
* Store a rattan or canvas basket on top of the toilet and throw in stray cosmetic brushes.
* Hang fresh guest towels. The humidity in this room makes textiles look droopy, even after a recent machine washing.
* Mound cosmetics and hairstyling products in a container underneath the sink. In a pinch, pile them in the tub and close the shower curtain. Cross your fingers that guests don’t snoop.
Damn, Lobstergirl. The ultimate thirty-minute spiff-up.
Tomorrow, instead of housework, I'm going to town to buy some rubber gloves and a couple of lidded baskets.
When my mother visits, she wants to do my laundry. I always insist that she NOT do it, as I am an adult and prefer to launder my own delicates. I even sort of enjoy the cycle of renewal that doing the laundry symbolizes (not ironing though). I'm uncomfortable with ANYBODY coming in and cleaning my house. I don't like the idea of them going through my stuff, and I really hate the idea of a human serving me. A robot maid, that would be okay since it's a machine, but not a human. And it's not that I like to clean like my sister, who has this weird compulsion to put everything in order. She alphabetizes her spices and her liquor cabinet.
How about you? Have you ever had a housekeeper/maid? Maybe even a butler? Is the fact that you are paying them enough to mitigate any sort of ambivalence/weirdness of having a servant?