TIP 17
HIRE A HOUSEKEEPER
Invisible, repetitive, exhausting, unproductive, uncreative—these are the adjectives which most perfectly capture the nature of housework.
One quick and easy way to clean up your act is to get someone else to do it. If you love cleaning the house, this suggestion is not for you. However, if you are like me and don’t particularly enjoy scrubbing the toilet, even if you could find the time for it, then hire a housekeeper. I didn’t think I could afford to hire a housekeeper. After graduation, I was paying off credit card debts and student loans, living in a small one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. I was brought up to do chores, and my mother never had a housekeeper. I resisted this idea and kept thinking that I should be able to do it myself. One Saturday I realized that my weekends were precious and that I deserved to relax and play all weekend. I also realized that I was never going to find the inclination to clean the place myself.
I broke down and hired a housekeeper to clean once a month. This was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I would come home from work, and everything was sparkling. I didn’t have to clean! Then I found myself doing a little straightening before she came, and I realized that I had too many knickknacks around. I put them in a box in the closet. This spawned an uncluttering process that lasted a year (Tip 11). A few months later, I hired her to come in twice a month. Now my home is always clean, and I never have to worry about inviting guests over. This is a gift to myself, a way that I take extremely good care of myself. I decided I couldn’t afford not to hire a housekeeper. Even if you think you can’t afford it, it will free you up to find a higher-paying job or get the training and education you need to earn a better salary.
Traditionally women have been in charge of keeping the house clean and tidy, doing the shopping and cooking, and looking after the children. But now that most women are working full or part time, something has to give. Men and women should either work together to pick up the slack together, or women should hire help to do what they no longer have the time, energy, or inclination to do. Chores can be done all together as a family or delegated out entirely. Before I married my husband, I very clearly told him that I don’t clean the house, I don’t iron, and I don’t file papers. I wanted him to know he wasn’t getting a housewife. I’ve occasionally had to remind him of this when he comes home and complains about the kids’ toys being out. Now if something bothers him about the house, he tidies it up himself.
Stop trying to do everything yourself and start delegating everything you possibly can both at home and at work. The peace of mind and the sense of being taken care of is well worth the money spent. Some people say they enjoy cleaning the house. The danger of cleaning your own house is that it may give you the illusion that you are accomplishing something, when in reality, your time would be better spent working on your big goals and dreams. You could spend your whole life just cleaning the house and never get around to writing that screenplay, taking sailing lessons, or spending time with friends and family.