Good for you! It is one of life's little luxuries.

I have a team of two come in once in a while. They were here last week. I find a place to be out of the way, then another place when they reach my first spot to clean it.

What do you pay? Two gals for two hours here is a little under $200. (And I tip them $20 each.)

Oh what a luxury for you. I keep saying next time I receive a raise in pay, I'm going to get me one of them. I've had countless of raises and darn, I'm still cleaning my own home. Oh well, maybe next time. lol

I am in rural Illinois and will pay $20 a hour. She has me down for 4 hours. After today she can come an afternoon every three weeks. I think that will be about right. I have a big house and it will take a few times to get all the deep cleaning done. On the surface my house looks pretty good but as we all know dust and dirty windows will always be with us

Oh, hooray for you! I'm so glad you are treating yourself and I'm sure you deserve it.

I'm still doing mine, but considering at least getting someone to come in and do floors - maybe every other week. I'm cleaning, washing, the hard surfaced floors one day, vacuuming those carpeted another or I'm spending half a day doing nothing but floors, and some of that on my knees. Gets tiresome when there are other things I'd like to be doing and it does make my back ache even if I haven't moved all the furniture.

This is somewhat rural too. I think $20 an hour for a single cleaner is a little below the going rate here.

Mine comes once a week while I am at work.Not sure how many hours it takes $80 a visit well worth it.

I had a lady come in after I had knee replacement surgery...it really helped, I had her come over for about a year then decided I could do it myself, the house is not that big.

Why are you staying home while they are cleaning? I have two women who come every other week. Once a month was not an option.

I have some arthritis in my hands and some back issues. I never liked cleaning but deferred to my husband who didn't feel comfortable having someone go through the house. He is now on board! Loves, like I do having the house cleaned from top to bottom twice a month.

I usually walk my dog while they clean. Then, I stay with the dog in my laundry room, to stay out of the way.

I don't feel comfortable when people are working in the house either, jkayd. It's wonderful to have help, but I'm always glad when they leave. Like eld, I walk the dog, go to an exercise class, grocery store, putter around in the yard.

In the past I've tried 'a cleaning lady' who came weekly or alternate weeks, but after a few visits, they tended to slack off. I had a 'service' -- run by a Polish lady with only a few non-English-speaking workers -- here on visas? One of her women 'polished' a silver antique with a Brillo pad. (I hadn't asked for polishing; she was just trying to help, but I knew she couldn't afford to have the pitcher re-silvered.) Another broke an imported tile and 'replaced' it with something from the dime store. I went back to doing my own cleaning.

A few years ago I interviewed someone recommended by a neighbor, but when she told me she and her DH were here illegally -- had been for over a decade -- no thanks!

Now, after 50 years of marriage, I'm hiring 'as needed', using Molly Maids. It's more expensive than just 'a cleaner', but they can cope with hiring, firing, and taxes, and they are bonded and insured. I don't know what each worker gets, but the women I've seen are well trained, do good work, and seem happy to have the job.

I enjoy having my place cleaned! Gal cleans the condo clubhouse, and I trust her when I'm gone to do her cleaning. She usually comes when I'm at the gym, then come home, dress and I am gone again. Have had her for a number of years.

I am home when she cleans usually. I just move from room to room out of the way. Now it's going to be a while before I can have her back. We still talk on the phone. She works next door too. I told her not to forget me I want her back when the house is ready.

I've finally got a cleaning lady that my daughter recommended. She charged $80 for the first time, and now that the deep crud is gone she charges $60.. I felt a bit ashamed that I didn't want to clean my small (1100 sq ft) house anymore, but neither my hub nor me wanted to do it any more.

We are not early risers and she comes at 8:30 am, so we hustle around and when she comes we go out for breakfast and then do a bit of shopping, maybe at Costco or such. I love coming home to a clean house. She even changes our bed which was one of my pet hates.

Most of my many sisters as well as my mother all have house cleaners but I've never even considered it. It's not that it's too expensive or we can't afford it, it isn't and we can but it's just the two of us and we do our deep cleaning on a rotation. I hate clutter and we tend to pick up after ourselves so the house is always presentable. Just as we do the outside together, my husband and I have always done the cleaning together too. Neither of us would feel comfortable with someone else cleaning up after us or doing our laundry like some do. With as popular as it is, I feel like an odd ball but....

I should say I know for some people they are a great help for a variety of reasons especially health related, so I'm not judging, I just couldn't do it myself.

We live in a big house, on three levels, and I always did my own cleaning...until 18 months ago. I was having abdominal surgery, so I hired a cleaning service on a temporary basis. Temporary became permanent. It is 3 ladies (sometimes 4) and they are here more than 2 hours. I don't have them clean the guest suite since it is seldom used. But they are still cleaning a large area, including two kitchens and four bathrooms. They charge $135, which I think is very reasonable. They come once a month--I wish they would come every third week, but they won't do that. Every other week is too often, since it's just the two of us here. Stan and I are home and just get out of their way.

Cleaners generally work from upstairs, down, so you can just choose a room that they will get to later, then move.

I usually get caught up with emails and other internet stuff, or walk the dogs.

I also have a downstairs bedroom that I don't pay for them to clean because it's barely used, so I take the dogs and hide in there!

You might do a load of laundry while she's there if you want to be "busy". You can stretch out the folding and hanging to last as long as you want it to and while the machine is doing its work and when she's not looking :) you can sit and read the paper or watch tv. Its what I used to do and I felt more comfortable being a little "busy".

The first person I called when I "got the job" was the housekeeper.

lurkish -- You mention a living mother and several sisters. I suspect you are not yet old enough to actually *require* household help.

We are also just two adults, and we have only started to hire help -- two or three times a year, not weekly or even monthly.

We 'kept house' quite well until this year. We still don't need an 'upstairs maid' (light chores like changing linens, dusting, vacuuming, laundry). We have wood and tile floors throughout our one-level home. Wool 'Orientals' go out to be washed. (Gosh! $3/sq ft this year!) We are a pair of former 'only children', and we don't have a 'fussy' house. We value 'neat and clean'.

Now, though, I'm edging into COPD and have osteoarthritis. I can no longer do 'hands and knees', nor can I wipe laterally without shoulder pain. In our mid-seventies, we've decided it's time to draw from the money we didn't spend on cleaners for fifty years to hire some help now. We also have weekly lawn service, snow plowing and hire a window washer.