I need additional help at home
August 25, 2019 12:00 PM Subscribe
Right now I have hired a husband and wife team who come to our house to clean the kitchen, vacuum and straighten up once a week. They are here for about 90 minutes and I pay them $100 cash (I have no idea if this is market rate or not). Laundry & cooking isn't part of the services they provide. I am not sure how to go about hiring someone who will do those things, and about how much I should plan on spending.
My life is about to get a whole lot more stressful and difficult so I am thinking about what I need to cope, and part of that is not feeling like I'm drowning in dirty clothes, garbage, and old take-out boxes like I am now.
I would love it if this person or person could:
1. come in twice a week instead of once
2. do laundry tasks: picking up laundry off the floor, bringing it to the washing machine, sorting, putting loads in, taking loads out, putting clean laundry away (I guess that's all the tasks)
3. help us eat something other than take-out, I am really not sure how I would expect them to do this. Maybe if I just buy a bunch of Trader Joe's frozen stuff and they heat it up? (If I was able to do this myself I'd be doing it, I just don't seem to be able to for whatever reason) I have all kinds of reservations about hiring someone to cook, like can I afford it, I definitely can't afford someone with actual cooking chops, what if I don't like their food, what if they quit and I have to hire someone else, what if we don't get along, what if I don't like having someone in my house that much, what if they get frustrated because I don't always know what I want...
4. Also do all the cleaning and straightening up that I get currently
Part of the thing that makes this hard to research is that the house itself is pretty big (from my POV) but I don't need all of it to be cleaned all the time, so going by square footage or number of bedrooms doesn't give an accurate idea of how much work needs to be done. My bedroom, my bathroom, my husband's bedroom, my husband's bathroom, the living room, the kitchen, the office, that's about it.
Maybe I should keep the current cleaners and hire someone to do the laundry & cooking separately?
However I would love it if the additional services didn't cost much more than I'm paying now, I can barely afford that as it is.
How do I find someone who will do this, is there a certain type of job I should be looking for? Just looking for housecleaners just brings up more people who just do what I'm getting now. I think what would be perfect is someone who was working as a nanny but doesn't want to deal with kids anymore! My hubby and I are just two overgrown kids who need looking after. How do I find them?
My life is about to get a whole lot more stressful and difficult so I am thinking about what I need to cope, and part of that is not feeling like I'm drowning in dirty clothes, garbage, and old take-out boxes like I am now.
I would love it if this person or person could:
1. come in twice a week instead of once
2. do laundry tasks: picking up laundry off the floor, bringing it to the washing machine, sorting, putting loads in, taking loads out, putting clean laundry away (I guess that's all the tasks)
3. help us eat something other than take-out, I am really not sure how I would expect them to do this. Maybe if I just buy a bunch of Trader Joe's frozen stuff and they heat it up? (If I was able to do this myself I'd be doing it, I just don't seem to be able to for whatever reason) I have all kinds of reservations about hiring someone to cook, like can I afford it, I definitely can't afford someone with actual cooking chops, what if I don't like their food, what if they quit and I have to hire someone else, what if we don't get along, what if I don't like having someone in my house that much, what if they get frustrated because I don't always know what I want...
4. Also do all the cleaning and straightening up that I get currently
Part of the thing that makes this hard to research is that the house itself is pretty big (from my POV) but I don't need all of it to be cleaned all the time, so going by square footage or number of bedrooms doesn't give an accurate idea of how much work needs to be done. My bedroom, my bathroom, my husband's bedroom, my husband's bathroom, the living room, the kitchen, the office, that's about it.
Maybe I should keep the current cleaners and hire someone to do the laundry & cooking separately?
However I would love it if the additional services didn't cost much more than I'm paying now, I can barely afford that as it is.
How do I find someone who will do this, is there a certain type of job I should be looking for? Just looking for housecleaners just brings up more people who just do what I'm getting now. I think what would be perfect is someone who was working as a nanny but doesn't want to deal with kids anymore! My hubby and I are just two overgrown kids who need looking after. How do I find them?
I don't know where you live but you're describing a pretty significant investment of time if you want someone to cook your meals, do your cleaning and do your laundry. If you don't want to pay much more than $100 a week then you're going to have to add something else to sweeten the pot. Can you offer the right person a live-in situation as part of the deal?
posted by victoriab at 12:22 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by victoriab at 12:22 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Just to clarify, you're looking for someone to take on the tasks of cleaning a house that size twice a week plus laundry, plus cooking for two people how many days a week? I don't know how to say this nicely but: you can't get what you want for $100 a week without badly abusing someone who doesn't have the social power to fight for a real living wage. I'm sorry.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:37 PM on August 25, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:37 PM on August 25, 2019 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh yeah so, I absolutely do not want to take advantage of anyone - if you have some idea of how much would be fair please let me know!
posted by bleep at 12:40 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 12:40 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Also I am thinking two visits per week? And I like the idea of looking into a personal care assistant if it could be covered by insurance and/or medicare, thanks!
posted by bleep at 12:41 PM on August 25, 2019
posted by bleep at 12:41 PM on August 25, 2019
Here are my thoughts about what you are asking:
You are currently paying $33 per person hour - I don't know your local area, that could be reasonable or it could be high. Depends in part on whether the people doing the work have a real business and pay taxes etc. or it is all under the table.
Laundry takes time - you would want one person doing both cleaning and laundry so they are at your house long enough to get things out of the washer and into the dryer and then into the dryer and folded. As a minimum, you probably need to pick up your own laundry and put in baskets. Sheets and towels are a load by themselves, although probably don't have to be done every week. If you want them to put away as well as fold, that is more time.
I would consider one of those home delivery services for food that minimizes shopping, food prep etc although you still have to spend a little cooking. You ask your helper to cook on the days when they are there - add at least 45-60 minutes to their time especially since you want them to wash up what they use for prep.. You can then use Trader joes for the days when you are home without help. Advantage of food delivery is you can just check which meals you want for the week with minimum of brain power on your part. You might also go with a default menu for certain days of the week. (Pasta on Monday, tortillas on Wednesday, takeout on Friday, left overs on Saturday) Food is going to cost and it costs more for convenience but probably not more than you are paying for take out.
So, maybe 3 hours a week for cleaning, 2 hours for laundry and 2 hours for cooking twice a week, that would be 7 hours. So, if you hire one person for two 4 hour shifts a week, at $33/hour that would be $262 plus the cost of the food delivery service.
posted by metahawk at 12:45 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
You are currently paying $33 per person hour - I don't know your local area, that could be reasonable or it could be high. Depends in part on whether the people doing the work have a real business and pay taxes etc. or it is all under the table.
Laundry takes time - you would want one person doing both cleaning and laundry so they are at your house long enough to get things out of the washer and into the dryer and then into the dryer and folded. As a minimum, you probably need to pick up your own laundry and put in baskets. Sheets and towels are a load by themselves, although probably don't have to be done every week. If you want them to put away as well as fold, that is more time.
I would consider one of those home delivery services for food that minimizes shopping, food prep etc although you still have to spend a little cooking. You ask your helper to cook on the days when they are there - add at least 45-60 minutes to their time especially since you want them to wash up what they use for prep.. You can then use Trader joes for the days when you are home without help. Advantage of food delivery is you can just check which meals you want for the week with minimum of brain power on your part. You might also go with a default menu for certain days of the week. (Pasta on Monday, tortillas on Wednesday, takeout on Friday, left overs on Saturday) Food is going to cost and it costs more for convenience but probably not more than you are paying for take out.
So, maybe 3 hours a week for cleaning, 2 hours for laundry and 2 hours for cooking twice a week, that would be 7 hours. So, if you hire one person for two 4 hour shifts a week, at $33/hour that would be $262 plus the cost of the food delivery service.
posted by metahawk at 12:45 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
I hate chores. Here are things that I either do or have strongly considered but thought were ultimately impractical/unaffordable for my specific situation.
-- Food delivery service of pre-made food or grocery store delivery (depending on budget). You will have to approve the order weekly, put away the delivered food in the fridge/pantry, and heat up to eat. I also have Amazon subscriptions for recurring toiletries and non-perishables, like toothpaste. For that, you have to approve the order monthly and unpack the boxes when delivered.
-- Robo-vacuum. It vacuums daily, set it and forget it. (Outlay is about $200). Cleaners can empty bag weekly. I love this thing, strongly recommend.
-- Laundry service. You have to leave the laundry on your front steps for scheduled weekly pickup. ($25~ minimum for regular wash and fold order, although also depends on poundage, etc). Personally, I would put the dirty laundry in the hamper myself, and put out/take in the laundry from the curb, but ask the cleaners to put the (not-personal) folded/clean stuff away. I mean, I wouldn't ask them to handle your underwear, but hanging up clean, folded sweaters or whatever is reasonable to at least ask them about.
-- Cleaners to do bathroom/kitchen and dusting. Asking them to do "real" laundry is usually a separate service, but IME they will usually put clean sheets on a bed or other very light stuff like that as part of normal cleaning.
-- Home health aide or companion if part of the stress has to do with stuff like getting someone to doctor's visits and other essential errands when they're not necessarily in shape to do that alone. They will also often help with very light cleaning, like getting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. IME, this is usually like $20/hr~ if you go through a service (not under the table) but a min of 4~ hours per visit is often required.
-- This is so minor, but I have a "smart" lighting system that means I can adjust and turn the lights on/off from my phone, plus schedule lighting "routines." So the lights always come on at sunset, always dim at bedtime, and I can shut them off at the end of the night without going all through the place. HIGHLY highly recommend. I don't even know why this is as pleasant as it is, but it is.
-- What's going on with your trash collection and your patio/yard?
posted by rue72 at 1:39 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
-- Food delivery service of pre-made food or grocery store delivery (depending on budget). You will have to approve the order weekly, put away the delivered food in the fridge/pantry, and heat up to eat. I also have Amazon subscriptions for recurring toiletries and non-perishables, like toothpaste. For that, you have to approve the order monthly and unpack the boxes when delivered.
-- Robo-vacuum. It vacuums daily, set it and forget it. (Outlay is about $200). Cleaners can empty bag weekly. I love this thing, strongly recommend.
-- Laundry service. You have to leave the laundry on your front steps for scheduled weekly pickup. ($25~ minimum for regular wash and fold order, although also depends on poundage, etc). Personally, I would put the dirty laundry in the hamper myself, and put out/take in the laundry from the curb, but ask the cleaners to put the (not-personal) folded/clean stuff away. I mean, I wouldn't ask them to handle your underwear, but hanging up clean, folded sweaters or whatever is reasonable to at least ask them about.
-- Cleaners to do bathroom/kitchen and dusting. Asking them to do "real" laundry is usually a separate service, but IME they will usually put clean sheets on a bed or other very light stuff like that as part of normal cleaning.
-- Home health aide or companion if part of the stress has to do with stuff like getting someone to doctor's visits and other essential errands when they're not necessarily in shape to do that alone. They will also often help with very light cleaning, like getting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. IME, this is usually like $20/hr~ if you go through a service (not under the table) but a min of 4~ hours per visit is often required.
-- This is so minor, but I have a "smart" lighting system that means I can adjust and turn the lights on/off from my phone, plus schedule lighting "routines." So the lights always come on at sunset, always dim at bedtime, and I can shut them off at the end of the night without going all through the place. HIGHLY highly recommend. I don't even know why this is as pleasant as it is, but it is.
-- What's going on with your trash collection and your patio/yard?
posted by rue72 at 1:39 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm dealing with elements of this right now, both in finally giving my mom's housekeeper a raise and in getting some in-home care.
$20-40/hr is normal for regular, surface-cleaning housekeepers in cities and suburbs. My mom's is here 3-5hrs every couple of weeks or monthly, but she does too much (hotel kleenex folding, etc) and I want her to just do normal stuff for the same price ($125, moving to $150, my mom's had her for yonks).
Non-medical in-home help is $30-40/hr for someone who will help with food, groceries, laundry, and other "process" help, which are called ADLs: activities of daily living (you won't need bathroom help or anything like that). The places I've talked to have a 4hr minimum, but there are ones who will go down to 2hrs. Those might be for more intensive help (physical/occupational therapy, etc.).
Anyway, google for "companion care" and you'll find a bunch of providers. I don't think they care whether you're old or not, but I suppose there might be cheaper optoins who aren't so gerontologically oriented.
For food I'd recommend a meal-prep service. You can get all of them at the beginning of the week, or as you need them. A quick google brought up Freshly, which has what I assume is industry standard pricing.
All in all, what I've learned is that there is someone out there for your needs. It may not all be contained in a single person, but between them all you can definitely set up an arrangement for tasks that work for you.
posted by rhizome at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
$20-40/hr is normal for regular, surface-cleaning housekeepers in cities and suburbs. My mom's is here 3-5hrs every couple of weeks or monthly, but she does too much (hotel kleenex folding, etc) and I want her to just do normal stuff for the same price ($125, moving to $150, my mom's had her for yonks).
Non-medical in-home help is $30-40/hr for someone who will help with food, groceries, laundry, and other "process" help, which are called ADLs: activities of daily living (you won't need bathroom help or anything like that). The places I've talked to have a 4hr minimum, but there are ones who will go down to 2hrs. Those might be for more intensive help (physical/occupational therapy, etc.).
Anyway, google for "companion care" and you'll find a bunch of providers. I don't think they care whether you're old or not, but I suppose there might be cheaper optoins who aren't so gerontologically oriented.
For food I'd recommend a meal-prep service. You can get all of them at the beginning of the week, or as you need them. A quick google brought up Freshly, which has what I assume is industry standard pricing.
All in all, what I've learned is that there is someone out there for your needs. It may not all be contained in a single person, but between them all you can definitely set up an arrangement for tasks that work for you.
posted by rhizome at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Asking your cleaners to add laundry to their tasks is pretty easy. They can start it when they arrive, get it in the dryer. Would that be enough? You can ask around about a cook; my sister did this for a while, word of mouth. Asking the cleaners if they'd also load an insta/crockpot might work. Having themcome2x/week, they could get a meal going, and prep one or two more.
posted by theora55 at 1:50 PM on August 25, 2019
posted by theora55 at 1:50 PM on August 25, 2019
I think looking on Care.com is going to be your best bet. We’ve hired two nannies from there and been extremely pleased with both. They have sections for both housekeepers and senior care (no worries if you’re not seniors!) and I think it would be completely reasonable to message nannies as well! Some might love a kid-free, chore-heavy job.
Here was our process:
* We posted a job listing including our best guess of division of labor between childcare and other chores and an idea of what those chores would be.
* We wrote 3-5 screening questions and sent them out to everyone who replied unless they had immediate red flags. We tried to make these questions as likely as possible to rule people out for things we’d rule them out for anyway (not enough experience with high needs kids, not dog friendly, unwilling to do chores, etc.). We also tried to word them as “Our situation is X. How do you feel about X/what is your experience with X?” I’d suggest for you that you have a similar question about this being a position helping someone with a medical issue (or whatever the best wording is, don’t beat around the bush) and ask if they’re comfortable with that.
* People who wrote back with good answers got scheduled for a 15-20 minute phone interview. We’d start by taking 5 or so minutes to explain more about our situation and expectations, ask if they had any questions for us, and then ask them about their willingness to do certain chores, their experience with certain things, etc. So you might ask about their experience cooking on a restricted diet (if applicable), or how they feel about doing/folding/putting away laundry, etc.
* We took our top 3 candidates and did an in person interview at our home. They met our kid and our dog and we showed them around, etc. We asked for references.
* Both times there was a clear winner, so we checked references and did a background check and hired the person. If there wasn’t a clear winner it’s fine to check references for multiple folks.
Care.com has a pretty good app that lets you message folks and has a nifty “tell them no thanks” button so that they get a form rejection at any point in the process. We were pretty pleased with it both times.
And just FYI we’re paying $25/hour for mixed childcare and chores in the SF Bay Area. I imagine you can get away with paying less for cleaning/cooking/chores only.
Good luck and hang in there!
posted by bananacabana at 2:23 PM on August 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
Here was our process:
* We posted a job listing including our best guess of division of labor between childcare and other chores and an idea of what those chores would be.
* We wrote 3-5 screening questions and sent them out to everyone who replied unless they had immediate red flags. We tried to make these questions as likely as possible to rule people out for things we’d rule them out for anyway (not enough experience with high needs kids, not dog friendly, unwilling to do chores, etc.). We also tried to word them as “Our situation is X. How do you feel about X/what is your experience with X?” I’d suggest for you that you have a similar question about this being a position helping someone with a medical issue (or whatever the best wording is, don’t beat around the bush) and ask if they’re comfortable with that.
* People who wrote back with good answers got scheduled for a 15-20 minute phone interview. We’d start by taking 5 or so minutes to explain more about our situation and expectations, ask if they had any questions for us, and then ask them about their willingness to do certain chores, their experience with certain things, etc. So you might ask about their experience cooking on a restricted diet (if applicable), or how they feel about doing/folding/putting away laundry, etc.
* We took our top 3 candidates and did an in person interview at our home. They met our kid and our dog and we showed them around, etc. We asked for references.
* Both times there was a clear winner, so we checked references and did a background check and hired the person. If there wasn’t a clear winner it’s fine to check references for multiple folks.
Care.com has a pretty good app that lets you message folks and has a nifty “tell them no thanks” button so that they get a form rejection at any point in the process. We were pretty pleased with it both times.
And just FYI we’re paying $25/hour for mixed childcare and chores in the SF Bay Area. I imagine you can get away with paying less for cleaning/cooking/chores only.
Good luck and hang in there!
posted by bananacabana at 2:23 PM on August 25, 2019 [6 favorites]
I use a food delivery service; not like Blue Apron, but they bring full, prepared meals once a week that can be refrigerated or frozen. They're healthy and there's a lot of variety, and it's about $9 per serving, so comparable to takeout. Most of the time you can either microwave portions or put the dish in the oven for half an hour. If you're in the Boston area, I'm happy to give you the name (I *love* them); if not, maybe there is something similar where you are.
For cleaning, I'd go with metahawk's suggestion and see if your current cleaner can come twice a week and add laundry. If you think that coming twice a week will be more time than they need to clean your house, you might find other tasks that they can help you with--deeper cleaning, like windows and shower curtains, or errands that you might need done.
I have an every-other-week cleaner and I pay the same rate you do, $100 per visit. Sometimes she comes alone and sometimes she brings someone else; two people spend about 90 minutes, one is longer. So I think your rates are good, though again, I'm very close to Boston.
Good luck, and good for you for getting your needs taken care of!
posted by gideonfrog at 3:01 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
For cleaning, I'd go with metahawk's suggestion and see if your current cleaner can come twice a week and add laundry. If you think that coming twice a week will be more time than they need to clean your house, you might find other tasks that they can help you with--deeper cleaning, like windows and shower curtains, or errands that you might need done.
I have an every-other-week cleaner and I pay the same rate you do, $100 per visit. Sometimes she comes alone and sometimes she brings someone else; two people spend about 90 minutes, one is longer. So I think your rates are good, though again, I'm very close to Boston.
Good luck, and good for you for getting your needs taken care of!
posted by gideonfrog at 3:01 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you have a family member that is disabled you need to look at the home based community services (also called waiver services for medicaid sometimes) in your state, in general run by DRS but could be a different organization depending on your state/needs. There are different groups of waivers depending on disability/age/state. IL devides theirs into DD/TBI/persons with disabilities (18-59) / elderly (60+) and a HIV/AIDS waiver. However they will only take care of the disabled persons needs (so of you have separate bedrooms they'll clean only one of them).
If you or a family member meet the income and disability requirements (someone will come out and do an assessment to qualify the person) you can get services. The wait time to initiate services in IL depends on waiver, person with disabilities being the longest wait(and the wait was significant!), and though my experience with these programs is a few years old.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:32 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you or a family member meet the income and disability requirements (someone will come out and do an assessment to qualify the person) you can get services. The wait time to initiate services in IL depends on waiver, person with disabilities being the longest wait(and the wait was significant!), and though my experience with these programs is a few years old.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:32 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
And I like the idea of looking into a personal care assistant if it could be covered by insurance and/or medicare, thanks!
You can contact the Medicare Rights Helpline at 1-800-333-4114, Monday through Friday:
posted by katra at 4:28 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
You can contact the Medicare Rights Helpline at 1-800-333-4114, Monday through Friday:
Through our national telephone helpline, we answer thousands of questions every year from people with Medicare, their family members and friends. Our trained volunteers and staff spend the time to help each caller understand their Medicare benefits, find the right coverage, and understand how any existing coverage works with Medicare, in order to ensure seamless access to affordable health care.(via the MeFi Wiki ThereIsHelp page) In my state, Medicaid covers up to 20 hours per month for what is referred to as Long Term Care, which sounds a lot like the help you are looking for (i.e. meal prep, laundry, etc), and there may be a similar program available through Medicare.
posted by katra at 4:28 PM on August 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Make an appointment to talk to the social worker at your husband's dialysis clinic very soon. They can be so helpful in finding resources! For example:
- My social workers told me about a local meal delivery service that provides FREE microwaveable meals that fit the renal diet (low sodium, low potassium, etc.) -- a diet that most take-out wouldn't conveniently fall under. These meals are available for all kidney patients in my region, regardless of income, and I've heard they're quite good. Perhaps there is something similar in your region that the social workers know about, and it would at least get your husband's meals taken care of several times a week.
- They also knew how to apply for low-cost door-to-door non-emergency transportation through my city's transit program. If your husband doesn't drive, this can save you from making the commute three times a week (and waiting in between), and save you lots of time to get stuff done (or be at work, or resting, etc.).
- Like others have mentioned above, depending on your husband's age and/or circumstances -- for example, if he is not currently able to complete regular activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing, bathing, preparing food, etc. -- he may qualify for some level of home care.
- They may also point you toward finding various federal, state, and regional supports to help with maintaining your household when you have a family member with a serious illness.
- I should have put this first! Depending on your financial circumstances (typically: if he has savings of 6K or under, not including investments or property) your husband may qualify for insurance premium assistance from the National Kidney Fund that covers some or all of his insurance payments, including private insurance and Medicare/gap insurance if he's on that already. If he qualifies, that could potentially free up some capital to pay for some help at home.
Always cheering you on, bleep! There are resources out there!
posted by mochapickle at 4:29 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
- My social workers told me about a local meal delivery service that provides FREE microwaveable meals that fit the renal diet (low sodium, low potassium, etc.) -- a diet that most take-out wouldn't conveniently fall under. These meals are available for all kidney patients in my region, regardless of income, and I've heard they're quite good. Perhaps there is something similar in your region that the social workers know about, and it would at least get your husband's meals taken care of several times a week.
- They also knew how to apply for low-cost door-to-door non-emergency transportation through my city's transit program. If your husband doesn't drive, this can save you from making the commute three times a week (and waiting in between), and save you lots of time to get stuff done (or be at work, or resting, etc.).
- Like others have mentioned above, depending on your husband's age and/or circumstances -- for example, if he is not currently able to complete regular activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing, bathing, preparing food, etc. -- he may qualify for some level of home care.
- They may also point you toward finding various federal, state, and regional supports to help with maintaining your household when you have a family member with a serious illness.
- I should have put this first! Depending on your financial circumstances (typically: if he has savings of 6K or under, not including investments or property) your husband may qualify for insurance premium assistance from the National Kidney Fund that covers some or all of his insurance payments, including private insurance and Medicare/gap insurance if he's on that already. If he qualifies, that could potentially free up some capital to pay for some help at home.
Always cheering you on, bleep! There are resources out there!
posted by mochapickle at 4:29 PM on August 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had a husband/wife team twice a week who did laundry but not cooking for $225 a week and were extremely happy with the arrangement. For sure, it’s all about time expended on their end and hitting their hourly rate. I think the key is talking to them about what they need and value and seeing if you can meet them there. There’s a lot of weird cultural baggage surrounding this issue even in this thread, but I think you can pretty easily engage your cleaners in a sincere discussion about what you both need in a way isn’t exploiting anyone. I asked my friend/cleaner about meals for you this afternoon and she shrugged and said she does that for one client. I think she honestly wouldn’t care so long as she made her target wage.
posted by Lame_username at 6:37 PM on August 25, 2019
posted by Lame_username at 6:37 PM on August 25, 2019
I've known parents of school-age kids who would like to do this sort of job, since a lot of it can be done in the school day and presumably you'd be flexible about days off when kids are sick, etc. Does your town or neighborhood have a Facebook group? That's where I'd post, if I were looking for someone to do this.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:03 PM on August 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:03 PM on August 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine found someone on care.com who did all that in addition to picking her kids up from school. She basically worked 2-3 hours every day but didn't do the cleaning part beyond just "picking up" (she had a dedicated house cleaner come once a week for that).
For meals, my friend had a set of recipes and would plan meals for the week and buy the groceries for them. Then she would put the recipes in a binder, divided by day. Most were crockpot or roasted things. So for crockpot stuff, the food would be ready when the grownups got home from work. For the roasted stuff, it would be prepped and in the fridge, ready to be popped in the oven when she got home.
Another friend had a PCA coming to his parents house to help out with his mom and dad and she would do laundry and housekeeping as well. They made a list, ordered by priority and she would work her way down. So, for example, washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen might be the first thing. If the PCA came in and that task had already been done (sometimes his mom was able to get it done or maybe one of the kids had visited that morning and did it then), then she would move down to the next task. You could also work off that task list and together, most things would get done each week.
posted by dawkins_7 at 12:14 PM on August 26, 2019
For meals, my friend had a set of recipes and would plan meals for the week and buy the groceries for them. Then she would put the recipes in a binder, divided by day. Most were crockpot or roasted things. So for crockpot stuff, the food would be ready when the grownups got home from work. For the roasted stuff, it would be prepped and in the fridge, ready to be popped in the oven when she got home.
Another friend had a PCA coming to his parents house to help out with his mom and dad and she would do laundry and housekeeping as well. They made a list, ordered by priority and she would work her way down. So, for example, washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen might be the first thing. If the PCA came in and that task had already been done (sometimes his mom was able to get it done or maybe one of the kids had visited that morning and did it then), then she would move down to the next task. You could also work off that task list and together, most things would get done each week.
posted by dawkins_7 at 12:14 PM on August 26, 2019
For a lower cost option to have someone do your laundry for you, try the search term "fluff and fold." You drop off the dirty laundry and pick up clean folded laundry. Pay by the pound.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 3:52 AM on August 27, 2019
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 3:52 AM on August 27, 2019
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posted by cakelite at 12:18 PM on August 25, 2019