It may seem like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want someone cleaning their home? But it’s not always worth the money to hire a cleaning service. Like usnews.com says, cleaning services aren’t cheap, and you need to weigh the pros and cons before considering getting a service. Several websites list the average cost per house cleaning visit from $121-$175. It really depends on how many rooms you want cleaned.
Some questions to ask and answer yourself before hiring a cleaning crew:
1- WILL IT REDUCE FAMILY STRESS?
If you have relatives visiting often, or you just can’t keep up with your neat freak spouse, hiring house cleaners might be worth it just to reduce the stress. If you have a roommate and can split the cost, hiring a cleaning service is definitely is a good idea!
2 - WILL IT REDUCE SELF-INDUCED STRESS?
Juggling work and home life can be a challenge, especially if you have kids. If you’re used to being meticulous and can’t stand a messy house, hiring a cleaning service might be worth the money to relieve the stress and give you hours of time back each week. Or maybe you can have the cleaners zero in on certain areas or jobs you don’t have as much time to focus on.
3 - HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE CLEANING?
Make a list of the tasks you enjoy doing or cleaning around the house and the items you just despise doing. Many of us like doing at least a few cleaning tasks, like folding laundry or maybe dusting. If that’s the case, it might not be worth hiring a cleaning service. But if you hate pretty much all aspects of housework and it takes you a long time to do each task, it’d probably be worth the money to hire a cleaning service.
4 - BY CLEANING YOURSELF, WOULD YOU LOSE MONEY?
Figure out how much time it would take you to clean your house, add in what you make hourly at your job vs. the cost of hiring a cleaning professional. For example, if you make $50 an hour at work, and you figure it takes you 5 hours each week to clean, then that’s $250. If you can find a cleaning crew for around $100-$150, then it’s probably worth it to hire a professional. On the other hand, if you’re making $10 an hour, it might not be worth spending the money on a clearing service. Might be best to do it yourself.
5 - HOW BIG OF A SLOB ARE YOU?
If you’re not a complete slob, a cleaning service might work for you. In order for you to get the most out of your money from cleaning professionals, though, you have to at least be willing to make an effort to do some cleaning in-between when the cleaning crew comes to your house. Many services ask you to do some pre-cleaning or at least clutter removal so they can clean better. Basically, you’ll want to prioritize so the crew, for example, doesn’t spend a third of the time on doing the dishes when you really want more time spent on cleaning the shower.
The best way to tell if it was worth having a cleaning service is whether, after a few days, you regret spending the money. If not, it was probably money well spent!