IF YOU HAD THE MONEY , and you are able bodied , would you hire a maid ?

[UndertheOcean]

I don't know , sounds tacky , even if I had money to burn ... plus I don't like a stranger going over my things.

[Sanity Claws]

1. House cleaner, yes

I would love to have someone do some of the cleaning, maybe once a week. I wouldn't want a maid around all the time, for pretty much the same reason you mentioned.

[Flaxbee]

6. Same here ... but I'd probably just limit the assistance to 'common' areas --

like the living room, den or whatever, kitchen and bathroom, but probably not the master bath if it was en suite.

If we had a home office, probably wouldn't have that room cleaned, either.

Growing up we had a woman from the neighborhood come in - my mom had some health issues and I was a kid. She was a really nice woman; my mom made her lunch in addition to her hourly rate. The problem is, she beat the crap out of the floorboards, wasn't terribly careful with things.

But yes, I would bring in help, maybe once or twice a month, mostly to do the things I hate to do: the floors.

[seabeyond]

10. bathrooms. i would hire someone for just bathrooms and do the rest

i am so tired of cleaning bathrooms, lol.

[GreenPartyVoter]

33. Yep, but twice a week for me. I have kids.

[Dulcinea]

57. Absolutely.

If there's anything more boring than cleaning, I don't want to know what it is. When I go back to work full-time, the first thing I'll do is get a cleaning person!

[seabeyond]

2. i do, i am, i would, i have but.....

i have a big house and i cannot do it all. i can get a housekeeper but the last time i had one i was cleaning the house before she came here to clean and was really hard for me. for about the last four years hubby has told me to get a house keeper, and i keep saying i am going to get one.... and i still havent gotten one. i tell him all the money i am saving him four years of not paying for one.

[Lars39]

3. I would rather have a secretary/organizer for all the damn paperwork.

[abq e streeter]

4. Yes, now that you mention it, I suppose I would

[petronius]

17. Pfff. It'll take her hours to finish my bookshelves with that silly little duster

Not that that would be a problem... ;)

[Duer 157099]

5. I wish I could but the few times I've tried, I didn't like it

Either it's a matter of trust, or it's too intrusive, or they don't do it to my standards, or I wonder about the tools they use or if they're aware of how cross-contamination of things works or... so many reasons, so I suffer doing it myself.

Plus, they break things and never tell you and let you find out for yourself.

[Mutley]

7. I don't know.

My parents have a house cleaner who comes once a week, and she is very nice, but I feel very awkward when she's there. She and I have the same "social status" (service industry), and it just feels strange to have her cleaning around me. I usually leave if I happen to be there when she's there.

[mnhtnbb]

8. I have had someone to help with housework for years. I HATE cleaning but like a clean house.

She comes once a week. I do laundry, dishes, pick up and put away things so surfaces are clear for dusting or vacuuming. I change sheets and make beds.

I also have someone wash windows once a year-- sometimes both fall and spring.

[MrsMatt]

9. Only if she was Alice

the maid from the Brady Bunch.

[spinbaby]

11. I've been thinking of it

But I just don't think our house is nice enough to deserve a maid. I have issues.

[BlueIris]

12. I've been going back and forth on this one. I could probably do it at this point,

but I feel sort of...sleazy about the idea of asking someone else to clean up after me. As someone who was used as a maid by lazy-ass family members and roommates for years, I'm not sure if I could push my housecleaning onto someone else, even if I was paying them, because I know how demeaning it is for the housecleaner.

[seabeyond]

13. except, they NEED to work, they want the money and is the job

they can do, earn pretty good and have relatively flexable hours. house cleaning service is a good business for some. i know single moms that put the business together and they WANT your business. lol

[supernova]

14. Yes, I would

because

1) I have a condition where I tire more easily than others w/o this condition.

2) I would probably be living in a much bigger house.

For those two reasons, I just can't do it all. I can barely do this place. I would love to have someone come and do the big areas like the kitchen, living room, dusting, floors. windows. All those things I say I'd like to get to routinely and just can't. :P

But it wouldn't be every week. It would be more like once a month.

When I was little I had a fantasy of having a butler. (Mr French was da bomb! ;-) )

[nolabear]

15. Oh hell yeah. I think cleaning is a talent, and I ain't got it.

I've had house cleaners on and off (mostly off) and aspire to hire one now, as soon as I feel confident they won't walk in, take one look and walk right back out. I have a really busy life and don't mind kicking the pay toward someone who does things like wipe down surfaces I just never get to. Besides, it keeps me keeping up if I know someone who needs for the crap to be off the floor will be showing up THursday.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. I have a cleaning lady...

She comes every other week, and it's great!

I make the beds and do the dishes and the laundry, and she cleans. I pay her and I trust her. She cleans for several families on my street...

Word of mouth works.

I HATE cleaning.

[WinterParkDonkey]

19. Yes, what's wrong with this?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. I don't understand your question.

There's nothing wrong with it, as far as I know.

Care to clarify?

:shrug:

[MrSlayer]

18. Absolutely.

Why not give someone gainful employment if you could?

[yankeepants]

21. I don't even have the $ but I hire

a cleaning person.
Let's face it . . .

I suck at it

The fact that I suck at it robs my energy by stressing over it

Which deprives me from getting on with my life

I pay someone who makes $ and is good at this

I am thrilled with the results

They are happy to get $

I do things that I can do

[Dappleganger]

28. I hear you...

and feel the same way. It really does suck the joy out of me.

Now give me some gardening to do, I'm all over it. Cleaning out closets or the garage isn't a problem, neither is painting. I also enjoy cooking (but have really had to work at it). Cleaning is just not my forte.

[applegrove]

22. I'd definitely hire a cleaning lady once every two weeks.

[noamnety]

23. No, the thought creeps me out.

I don't want people going through my things when I'm not here and I am equally uncomfortable being here while someone lurks around me. I feel awkward when people come to fix the furnace, and that's maybe a half hour once every 5-10 years.

[HipChick]

24. No..I would just get a new boyfriend that could cook and clean..isn't that what men are for?

:evilgrin:

anything else would be a plus...

[nickinSTL]

25. hard to say...

I'm incredibly lazy, as is my wife...

but I stayed in an apartment in Jamaica that had a housekeeper, and it was...very uncomfortable for me.

[Kali]

26. nah, I'd rather put the money towards infrastructure (storage for all the crap)

visibly I'm a slob, but when I do finally clean it is at the level of anal retentive q-tipping the crevasses.

[Dappleganger]

27. If I'm able-bodied I tend to clean up before the house keeper comes...

that didn't last too long once I was feeling better, LOL!

BTW, house keepers are relatively common here in FL but they pretty much just do cleaning and that's it. The church we were going to at the time hired one for us when I had multiple surgeries and chemo, and honestly it was the best thing they could have ever done. It was nice to not feel as if we were putting out a friend to clean all of our dirty stuff, and it took a load off my husband's mind to know the house was at least fit for visitors if they popped in to chat.

But yes, if we had money to do it regularly I'd hire someone to do it. I'm a geek at heart and not a traditional housewife (tried to explain that to someone today, one look at the floors and windows and it's easy to figure that out).

[MajorChode]

29. Yes, I would and do

Actually I use a service now, so there are 2-3 women that come once per week. They do the weekly deep cleaning things like scrub the sinks, toilets, bathtubs, showers, sweep and mop, dust, ironing, etc. Both my wife and I don't particularly like to do those things and both of us do extensive volunteer work outside our regular jobs and both of us travel fairly regularly, so it just works out much better to pay to have some of those things done.

[dana_b]

30. for big things that I hate like

the oven, the frig and a few other things but not the everyday stuff or even dusting or vacuuming.

[Kat45]

31. I wish I could afford to hire a cleaning person.

I HATE to clean, and thus avoid it. I also refuse to use the toxic chemicals that are most cleaning products and I don't have adequate elbow grease for the cleaning products I do use (ie vinegar). Thus, my place is not as clean as it should be, and because of this I can't have friends over. Unfortunately, I don't expect to be able to afford to hire someone anytime soon (if ever).

[GoneOffShore]

32. Absolutely -

And I just love the song -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahqu1nd3Zu8

[Dr Morbius]

34. And I love the other song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6Nk55fGYI&feature=related

My life is changing
in so many ways
I don't know who
to trust anymore
There's a shadow running
thru my days
Like a beggar going
from door to door.

I was thinking that
maybe I'd get a maid
Find a place nearby for her to stay.
Just someone to keep my house clean,
Fix my meals and go away.

A maid. A man needs a maid.
A maid.

[TommyO]

35. Absolutely, my cousin's wife does house-cleaning and I respect her abilities

She's taught me more than any guy should know about keeping a shower clean.

[unpossibles]

36. not unless I had to, no

I've done my own chores my whole life and see no reason to quit, even though I get lazy sometimes.

[wickerwoman]

37. Maybe once every few months.

I don't think I'd use a service (like Merry Maids) since they exploit the shit out of their workers, but I would consider hiring a house cleaner, paying them well and mostly ask them to do the dusting. I have pretty bad allergies and dusting is hell for me.

But I do agree with Barbara Ehrenreich that having a maid is a dangerous precedent (leaving your crap lying around for other people to clean up is a slippery slope kind of mindset especially for kids), cleaning is good exercise and sometimes kind of meditative and everyone should at least know how to do it.

And no matter how much money I had, I don't think I would have a house bigger than I could clean myself. I would spend the money on travel and a small number of really nice things, but I can never see having so much stuff that I couldn't take care of it myself. I'm kind of an anti-hoarder. Having more stuff than I can use makes me anxious.

[WolverineDG]

51. Oh please

My mom had a maid & several of my friends' parents had live-in maids. We all still had to clean our rooms, do laundry, sweep & mop.

Having a maid isn't a "slippery slope" for kids; it's parents who don't teach their kids to clean up after themselves.

dg

[tblue]

38. Almost everyone I know has a housekeeper.

It's the area where I live. I don't have one, but I used to. Can't afford it now. But I sure would if I could.

[SeattleGirl]

39. I have a housecleaning service come in every other week.

I find that it's easier to maintain the upkeep in between cleanings, and I was really starting to hate cleaning the house every weekend. I really like having the service.

[MiddleFingerMom]

40. No.

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No. No.
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Nonononono.
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AW, HELL NAW!!!!!!!
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[SeattleGirl]

41. LOL!

Come on, confess! That's actually your maid, right? :rofl:

[MiddleFingerMom]

42. Of, COURSE... it's my maid. It certainly isn't...

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...ME!!!
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It's NOT!!!
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Really!
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You're startin' to make me mad.
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[SeattleGirl]

43. Did you know your nose turns red when you're mad?

:P

[csziggy]

44. I didn't when I was able bodied, but I need to scrape up the money now

I've had someone come in twice since we've moved into this house. Once was a woman I met during the campaign. I needed the house cleaned, she needed the money so I did not feel bad. I couldn't locate her last spring when I needed it cleaned again, so I hired a service. The woman who came in just did not do a good job so I have not called them back.

But I simply cannot do the heavy cleaning anymore so I need to get someone to come do it every so often.

[Skittles]

45. yes.....but I would pay her/him very well

I just.....am not very good at that kind of stuff

[MiddleFingerMom]

49. Funny, I always pictured you as kicking dustbunny ass, too.

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YES,INDEED.
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[Skittles]

56. I can keep things clean

just not all at the same time :(

[meow2u3]

46. Yes I would!!

That's because my house would look like the aftermath of a tornado if I didn't hire a good maid. Plus, I'd pay the housekeeper well enough, with a living wage and benefits, so he or she wouldn't be tempted to steal from me.

I'm an ADD woman and need all the organizational help I can get. Trouble is, females in this culture are expected to be the support system, not seek support, even if ADD causes impairment in this department. Figuratively, society is pulling a wheelchair out from under a paralytic and expecting her not only to walk, but to sprint in record time.:grr:

[TreasonousBastard]

47. I would have an entire house full of servants...

and sit on my ass taking care of the important things in life.

Like...

or

...

or something I could think of if I had a houseful of servants giving me the time to think of something.

[Coventina]

48. I would hire someone for the seasonal/annual stuff that SHOULD

get done, but never does because the day-to-day stuff is all I can handle.

I might also consider hiring someone for the weekly chores, if I had the money.

[WolverineDG]

50. Yes, I hate housework &

hiring a maid would help support the local economy.

dg

[sui generis]

52. of course

it's a job like any other job. able bodied has NOTHING to do with it. How much is your time worth? If you can give someone a job and give yourself more personal time, then do it.

A better question would be if you didn't have much money and you were done cleaning your own house, would you take money to clean someone else's house?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

53. for seasonal cleaning duties...oh Hell Yeah and maybe once a month

for a heavy duty cleaning, yes. I would.

[NV Whino]

54. In a New York minute

I hate cleaning and I know several really good housekeepers.

[LaurenG]

55. Brenda - I'd hire Brenda

a friend of mine uses Brenda, she's like Cher, she doesn't need a last name.

[Old Troop]

58. Yup. If you have the money, why not spread it around a little?