If you’ve ever considered hiring a house cleaner, cleaning service or housekeeper, you might have come up with a list of reasons why you shouldn’t: it’s a luxury you can’t afford or it’s a sign of laziness. But have you ever thought about why you should?
Outsourcing your house cleaning is a way to manage your time more efficiently and it can be affordable, even for those on a tight budget.
Whether you’re busy with a family and career or just want some occasional help around the house, hiring a cleaner isn’t just practical ─ it can be beneficial in many aspects of your life. Here are some excellent reasons to hire a house cleaner.
1. Gain valuable hours outside work
After a busy day at work, using your time off to clean the house depletes your energy and limits your availability to enjoy other activities. You might not need a full-time housekeeper, but having a house cleaner or cleaning service come once or twice a month will give you more time to do the things you enjoy or need to get done ─ from spending time with family to exercise, leisure and self-care.
2. Enjoy more free time with your family
It’s hard to find time or energy for family outings or date nights when you spend your time cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids. If your schedule is already overwhelming, keeping the house in order becomes a daunting task that can take a toll on your relationship, as well as your health. What’s more, if there isn’t a balance of responsibility for household tasks between partners, this can cause resentment and ill-feeling that builds up over time. Hiring a house cleaner can take a common source of disagreement out of the equation, helping couples get on well.
3. Reduce (some of) the stress of new parenthood
A new baby in the house means lots of extra cleaning and laundry — more than exhausted new parents may be able to handle. A house cleaner or cleaning service can help pick up the slack while you get used to your new routine.
Do family or friends want to pitch in and get you a new parent gift? Instead of flowers, suggest they chip in for a cleaning service to help you out for a few weeks.
4. Entertain when you want with less hassle
Whether you’re putting on a larger event or just having people round, you don’t need to add cleaning to your to-do list. Save your time — and energy — for the party by hiring someone to clean your home before and after the event. Even if you’re just having people over for dinner or to spend the weekend, knowing that the house cleaning is taken care of takes the weight off your shoulders and leaves time to prepare for your guests’ arrival and enjoy the visit.
5. Spend more time doing what you like
Just because cleaning isn’t something you enjoy doing doesn’t mean you’re lazy. Why waste the precious free time you have every week doing something you hate when you can have someone else do it? If cleaning takes you hours and you despise every minute of it, hire a house cleaner or cleaning service and devote that time to something more productive or restorative. If hiring someone to clean weekly strains your budget, find someone to deep clean once a month. That way, you’ll be better equipped to keep the house tidy the rest of the time on your own.
6. Help older loved ones who need it
You might not want or need a cleaning service, but your ageing parents or other relations might need help with cleaning their home. As people get older, it becomes harder to take care of daily chores and housekeeping tasks. A disorderly home is a health hazard for older adults. A cluttered floor can cause them to fall, and eating from dirty dishes can make them ill.
And if your ageing parents need more help than just cleaning, consider hiring an elderly care assistant who can care for them, run errands and provide light cleaning around the house.
7. Boost your mental and physical health
You probably won’t find it hard to believe that a clean home is good for both the mind and the body — ahh, the euphoric feeling of an empty, freshly scrubbed kitchen sink — but here’s some expert-backed science to emphasise the benefits:
- Keeping a clean, sanitary home can help stop diseases from spreading.
- A cluttered living space was linked to procrastination, overwhelm and other negative emotions in young adults, according to a 2017 study published in Current Psychology.
- Women in dual-income households who described their homes as cluttered and unfinished have been found to have higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), which is associated with adverse health outcomes, than those who described their home environment as more restful and organised, according to a 2009 study.
- Regular cleaning boosts air quality and minimises dust-related allergy symptoms.
In other words, one of the best reasons to hire a house cleaner or cleaning service is because it’s good for your health in a number of ways.
8. Give yourself a break
Sometimes you just need a restful pause in your busy life. Manicures and massages are great, but you can also pamper yourself by hiring someone to clean every once in a while. It’s a nice luxury that will give you some extra time to yourself. Go ahead, you’ve earned it!
