I Have a Cleaning Lady. So Sue Me.

Late last year the little miss got mobile, and our previously we-can-manage-the-preschooler-mess house instantly transformed into a daily tornado scene. Any time we previously had (and let's be honest, it wasn't a lot) for bathroom cleaning, cupboard wiping, appliance de-fingerprinting was now taken up by simple pick up of toys, clothes, papers - anything and everything she got her hands on that she could fling far and wide.

I put a call out on my beloved Facebook to see if anyone I knew had a decent cleaning service. We've tried a few over the last few years, none regularly because of the cost. Mr. Awesome is...um...thrifty. He's been swearing since we moved in two and a half years ago that we can't get our windows cleaned because he will do them himself. WHY should he pay someone $100 to clean all of our windows, inside and out, when he can easily do it?! Good question, and in theory, this is a valid point. IN THEORY. In reality, we've now lived here two and a half years and our windows still have the post-reno guck not washed away by rain or wind. It's just mild enough that it can't be seen from any distance, so it's remained a low priority problem.

So anyway, back to the cleaners. Along the same vein, Mr. Awesome swore up and down we could manage the household chores by establishing a list of 15-minute tasks that we split up and each take one each day. Two flaws with this plan - 1, the whole house is never clean at the same time so we're always living with something undone, and 2, we never found the time to make the plan! We couldn't even find time to PLAN the system, let alone actually do our 15 minute tasks!

One of my dear friends sent me info on her cleaning service, who happened to be having a ridiculously good special encouraging people to book12-week packages for a reduced price. It worked out to only about $45/cleaning, every two weeks.

Yes, I could get up an extra half an hour early and stay up late every day, but friends, I am tired. I want to spend my extra time with my family, not with my head and shoulders rammed down behind a toilet. Call me crazy. We already spend plenty of time doing dishes, general wipe-up, pick-up, and given the fact that the little man is STILL not fully potty trained (don't get me started), we are doing laundry EVERY DAY.

The other bonus of our bi-weekly cleaning sessions is that it forces us to tidy up before they arrive. And then it stays WAY tidier throughout the two weeks. Things don't pile up the way they used to, even with our 15-month old cyclone tearing the place to bits.

So yes. I have a cleaning service. I'm less stressed out about the condition of our house, and I spend more time with my family. Best $45 I've ever spent.