Paying for gardener / cleaner / ironing!

thomasross20

I've had to admit defeat in that after a long day at work and drive home, I've no time to do the things I love and can barely keep up with household maintenance. Couple guys at work get a cleaner in to do their house but I don't fancy that. Another person I know gets their ironing done - I hadn't even considered this. However after a deal with my step-daughter... she will be doing our ironing now #win. 

So that leaves the garden. My lawnmower just died for a second time and I decided I'm either going to get somebody in to tend to the garden once every 2-3 weeks.... or maybe even just hip the lot and put on a log & pots display. Maybe then I can sit down and play my guitar again like I used to. What do you think - keep the grass or chip the lot lol?  

dindude

Not ashamed to admit I have all three services bought (well cleaner doubles as ironer), and our house isn’t big and our garden is what you’d call small, but all three are the last things I want to do when I make it to another weekend!

lovestrat74

My garden is 100 ft long and it takes me less than 10 mins to cut. The secret is to make sure your paths and borders are under or level with your grass so you can mow the lawn without the need for a strimmer

Roland

In Britain we are proud to do our own maintenance. In India they are proud to be able to afford to pay someone else to do it. You employ a housekeeper who employs a cleaner who employs someone else to clean the toilet.

Legionreturns

It all comes down to simple economics. 

How much is your time worth? If you'd rather pay someone else to do chores for you because free time is worth more, then go for it.

How many people wash their own cars now? 

I used to spend 3 hours of a weekend doing a meticulous polish and detail on mine. Now I drive it through my local hand car wash and pay the guys £5 to spend 5 minutes cleaning my car. They do it far more efficiently than I could do, I no longer need to get a hose out onto the road or buy loads of cleaning products. 

VimFuego

3 hours a weekend cleaning your car? feck me, don't think I've done that this side of the millennium. 

Sassafras

Do you lot live in Downton Abbey?

Electro_Ham

Keep the grass. Weeds will just grow up through chips and you'll need to do weeding. I'm considering laying turf on all the pebbled areas of my garden. Mowing the lawn is the easiest out-door task I need to do. 

thomasross20

Time vs money, defo!! 
It takes me aaages to clean my bathroom never mind do the garden etc, which I've been doing for nearly two years now. 

I used to think this sort of thing was for rich folk but stuff it lol.

What if hardcore is put down first...? So undecided on this point. Will see what quotes I get!

skunkwerx

I'll ask my butler what my matron thinks. 

thomasross20

@dindude how much do you pay for these? Just curious - I have no reference point.

Iamnobody

Yes to a gardener! We’ve had one for years - he only comes once a fortnight for an hour so if I’m minded to in peak growing season I can mow the lawns on the weeks he doesn’t come. If I beat him to the lawns he’ll still come and do the borders or vegetable patch.

I don’t think I could have a cleaner - I’d have to clean before they came as I’d be too embarrassed about leaving it messy for the cleaner. That sounds odd I know...

Nitefly

Ten years ago we had both the lawns (front and rear) ripped out, membrane put down and the lot covered in stone chippings - we did this because I don't do gardening and Our Maud was fed up of mowing the weeds and moss masquerading as "lawn".

The membrane keeps the weeds out.  It took 7 tons of stones (3 at the front, 4 at the back) at £65 per ton.  She planted several shrubs in strategic spots by cutting the membrane just enough to be able to dig them in.

Ten years on it still looks good (well, it suits us!) and we have no weeds.  The shrubs need pruning at appropriate seasons, but that's not much of a chore.  Low maintenance gardening FTW!

starwarsnosebleed

Me and the wife both own a cleaning company each.
We use eco friendly cleaning products and have fantastic staff that do cleaning, ironing and general care work.

We charge customers £15 per hour, but that is is about to go up.

Revolting1

Shetland ponies or rams are great organic lawnmowers.

strtdv

Getting a cleaner is the best money I've ever spent. We both work long hours and have better things to do than cleaning the house. We also pay someone to do our ironing.
I enjoy gardening but would have no issue with paying someone to do it if I didn't enjoy it

stickyfiddle

We have a cleaner one day a week who cleans & irons immediately before the weekend so we get maximum benefit for the days we're actually going to be at home. I don't mind cleaning or ironing when needed, but as a time/money consideration it's a no brainer 

We don't have a garden

Jalapeno

We both work, so a cleaner/ironer means we have more time at weekends.

We flip-flop with gardeners, I like mowing lawns, I don't like cutting hedges. Mrs J loves digging, but gets narked that I don't. - Gardener does resolve the tension, but not as much as the Cleaner/Ironer.

When we were first together I did the ironing - and used it to watch the Telly, and I was pretty damn good at it

Grumpyrocker

We do have a very large garden - thanks to living in a big vicarage (my wife being the vicar) - but neither of us has any interest in gardening. So we do pay a gardener to keep the place tidy. It'd be a jungle in no time otherwise. 

RandallFlagg

"Hello Ted"

Kebabkid

We lose so much time at the weekend doing necessary household chores, and that's with me working from home most days and being able to chip in and run a hoover around the place, put on a wash, prepare food and I'm no slouch.

We recently came to the conclusion that a cleaner is needed and that £30-40 a week/every 2 weeks will improve our lives and we'll get some much-needed downtime and family time.

Thomas - do it