Cleaning the house? Yard maintenance?

[RJC]

I was wondering for those that live without an able-bodied partner how you manage cleaning the house & maintaining your yard (grass/snow) if you have one?

If you pay a housekeeper to clean in your house how often do you get them to come, what do you get them to do, and how much does it cost you?

[christopher]

I can put a shovel at my feet and clear my front ramp of snow to the sidewalk with my power chair. $60 once a week for cleaners, 2 people for 2 hours. They clean, fold laundry, take out the garbage/recycling/compost. My partner takes care of the garden and does her part. When I was single in a semi-accessible apartment, I had a caregiver clean and help with my care 3x a week.

[baldfatdad]

I have the dusting lady in when needed, maybe once a month. ROOMBA does most of the cleaning. I cut the lawn. I've made the landscaping as simple as possible. Slow growing bushes. Just enough tomato plants to feed me and the caterpillars. Snow? what is this snow? you speak of?

[August West]

I want Christopher's deal. Rate around here are $80 per cleaning for twice a month or $100 per cleaning for once a month. That includes cleaning floors, bathrooms, kitchen counters/cabinets, dusting, and garbage removal. That doesn't include laundry. It's a 2-person crew for 90 minutes.

$100 per month for weekly yard maintenance, which includes mowing and edging the lawn, watering in necessary, trimming bushes, and blow-cleaning the sidewalks and patio.

$35/hour for handyman.

[Oddity]

This is the only reason I had kids so spaced out in age. Slave labor for a couple decades.

[christopher]

This is the only reason I had kids so spaced out in age. Slave labor for a couple decades.

Haha, I'm moving my two adult boys upstairs! We live in the most densely populated neighbourhood in the country so we don't have any grass, just plants and flowers.

[August West]

It's the snow that really take a toll on a person in a wheelchair. It's depressing not being able to go outdoors half the year. What's worse is that you have to pay extra to remove it. Moving to so Cal was the best thing I did for my happiness and wallet. East cost may seem less expensive. But it's not because houses and lots are larger and cost more to maintain. For what? Houses don't go up in price. Prices may even fall after considering inflation. But we like people to keep on believing that it's expensive and miserable in so Cal to keep the traffic down. Be very afraid of earthquakes, fires, floods, mud slides, and riots.

[RJC]

thanks for the replies

[triumph]

After calling a couple of large "cleaning services" companies, I found an ad in a small rural newspaper and hired a local two person team. Over the several years I have had them I paid $90 up to $110 biweekly. They clean about 5 rooms, two bathrooms and change sheets each visit, about 2+ hours - coming bi-weekly. I have a good relationship with them and have hired them for separate days for window cleaning and organizing a storage room (paid about $60 for each extra service). Sometimes when small extra stuff comes up and I suggest a payment amount, they insist on doing it free.

Lawn mow fellow gets $40 per week. Handyman for outdoor chores gets $50 to $100 for maybe 2 or 3 chores over a 3 to 4 hour visit. Have not "paid by the hour" as it doesn't seem to fit the work that's being done, and don't want to keep track of hours.