Yesterday Kate @ Kate Takes 5 admitted that she now has a cleaner. I read her post with interest as today we employed one of our own.
Today, after 6 months of having the babies’ home, we have finally interviewed a cleaner. Her name is Joan, she is a Grandma and she seems lovely. I have to say that I found the interview awkward and it was a good job that David was there or else she would have just been coming for a chat over coffee rather than to clean anything.
As it is though, she starts tomorrow at 10.00am and she is going to come every Thursday for 3 hours. She charges £9 an hour which is more than we expected to pay but for peace of mind and a clean house I think that we will find it worth it. Assuming that she is good at her job.
I felt bad asking someone else to come and clean my house for me. I felt even worse showing her around the place and admitting to the neglect of the last 8 months. David and I have never been the tidiest of people and babies just come with so much stuff!! Joan was very polite but I know that she must have noticed the dirty clothes everywhere, glasses in the bedroom, clean clothes not been put away, toys in the strangest of places, surfaces just littered with junk. Not my finest hour!
Now I find myself in a situation though where on a Thursday morning instead of my usual sacred two hours sleep I am going to be getting up to clean for the cleaner, at least ensuring that she can get to the surfaces and floors that I would like her to clean.
I can’t believe that we have a cleaner but something had to give and this was something that we could do to ensure that we have more time and less stress, not I must say that I spend that much time cleaning as it is, but I do spend a lot of time fretting about the lack of cleaning and it is the cause of many heated discussions between David and I.
It will be nice to know that at least once a week the bathroom will be glistening, the kitchen sparkling, the carpets dust free and the entire house will feel fresh and new, as new and fresh as a 16th century cottage can feel! It means that the babies can crawl around without leaving trails in months of settled dust. I think it will also motivate me to be tidier so I don’t have to explain away the utter untidiness of our home. It is a good thing, it will help to restore some balance to our lives. I hope.
Poor Joan.
So there we have it, tomorrow she begins.
I am actually really looking forward to having her in the house. I jokingly said to David that I may follow her round engaging her in conversation, inviting her for cups of tea and to cuddle a baby! I won’t of course do that, not on her first day!
We have a cleaner!
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Do you have a cleaner?
I envy you, I really do! We’re not the tidiest either, so I often think it would be a great idea to employ a cleaner. Like you though I’d be wanting to ‘pre-clean’ just like I do before taking the car to the carwash, so that I don’t die of shame. Really though, there shouldn’t be any need. If you could keep on top of the cleaning then you wouldn’t need to hire Joan, and with 2 8 monthers soon to be causing mayhem everywhere you have enough on your plate.
I hope it works out 🙂 I may do the same at some point!!!xx
No you’re not going to preclean Jennie !!! Just spend the first hour to show her where things need to be put away so that she knows where it goes and you don’t have to worry about it next week.
I’m happy for you, you’re going to enjoy your children more without these annoying thoughts and pressure about housecleaning !
Bisous
I used to preclean for my cleaner in London all the time. Having said that she was so much better than me at cleaning that I used to nearly cry if she couldn’t come round for some reason! Enjoy! Emma
I don’t see why you should be ashamed. If she is a professional cleaner, she will not judge – just get on with the job.
I don’t see why we have to feel guilty that we don’t clean our own homes because our mothers did. I don’t feel the slightest bit ashamed about my wonderful Rose, who comes to me for six hours a week and keeps me sane.
Firstly she does a better job than I would do in 6 hours a week, secondly I use that time to nurture my family and myself rather than doing chores, and finally it stops arguments in my house over what chores my husband should do. He does none and I do very little and it works for all of us.