How To Get Out Of Doing Your Own Housework On A Limited Budget

If you were to ponder the lifestyles of the rich and famous, chances are that one of the characteristics separating you from them is your lack of a house cleaner. While famous singers, actors and politicians get to hire someone to do the nitty-gritty cleaning in their homes, you have to roll up your sleeves and scrub your own toilets, wash your own windows and do your own laundry. No fun, right?

The good news is that even if you are working with a moderate income, you might be able to have a squeaky-clean house without having to do it all yourself. Here are some tips on how to make that happen.

Teach Your Children Well

Why did you have kids, if not to clean your house for you? While that's an exaggerated premise, realize that you're not doing your kids any favors by doing everything for them. They're going to need to learn how to operate the washer and dryer, scrub out dirty pans and mop floors at some point, so it might as well be when they're small, so it can become second nature.

From the time they're knee-high, your little ones should be pitching in. Toddlers can throw recyclables in the bin (with you standing right there, of course!). Preschoolers can help clear the table, and elementary-schoolers can, despite their protesting, clean a toilet. By the time your children are entering their teens, they should be able to handle just about any clean-up job that you can.

Kids are likely to work for much less than you'd have to pay a maid, so you're definitely going to be getting your money's worth, here; the rich and famous certainly aren't able to pay their housekeepers in stickers or extra video game time on the weekends.

Barter Your Skills

So, maybe your kids have flown the coop or you didn't have any little mess-makers to begin with. Although you're not stepping on stray Lego pieces or wiping up spilled milk for the umpteenth time, you will need to do something about grimy floors and slimy bathtubs.

You need to cultivate a skill that other people envy, if you don't already have one. Can you knit the softest scarves that anyone in your circle of friends has ever touched? Perhaps you can whip up an airy souffle, or maybe you've got a knack for entertaining other people's children so they can go out for the evening.

If any of these apply, offer to trade services! You can utilize a local bartering community (check Craigslist, Meetup.com, or even a local Facebook page) or just bring it up informally among your friends. Wouldn't you rather spend the afternoon baking up batches of beautiful cupcakes for a friend's party while she dusts your ceiling fans? It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Hire Out the Big Stuff

Finally, if you can get some money together each month, you can handle most of your own housecleaning yourself while hiring out the bigger, dirtier jobs. Hire a window cleaner if you're having a hard time seeing your yard through your filmy panes.

Or see if you can get a maid to agree to just scrub the tile floors and bathtubs each month, while you do a quickie job each week. Knowing that you will have help with some of the yucky stuff, even if it's only occasionally, can help keep your cleaning duties to a reasonable level.

Don't envy the rich and famous; emulate them in a way that you can afford! Having someone handle some of your cleaning for you is something that's doable in most situations with a bit of brainstorming and creativity. For more help, contact a company like Crystal Clear Window Maintenance Service Inc. to learn more.

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