Change in Lifestyle
The downsizing of my contract work means an immediate downsizing in my monthly expenses. I'm working on a new, leaner budget. The first thing to go: household help.
When I was working like a crazy thing, I estimated I was putting about 5 hours/wk into household chores. If I spent $80/month, I could cut that time to around 2 hours/wk. In those regained 8 hours, I could sit at my desk and make 5 times the cost of the cleaning service. So I signed up.
Tomorrow I will be calling to cancel the service indefinitely. Who knows? I may be moving out of here before I can afford them again, to another city or another state.
This weekend was my first weekend getting back to those old chores. I've never minded household chores; maybe because of all that Zen training. I like being in touch with my worldly goods. And there's no question that I'll have the time.
One thing that pleases me is that, while the service kept the place tidy and reasonably clean, they missed a lot of details that matter to me, like grime around light switches and cabinet handles. Now I can do it my way. I also used to cringe when they'd sweep the detritus from the bedroom and bathroom into the hallway and then onto the living room CARPET, where it would get vacuumed up in the final step of their routine. Yeah, it maybe saves a couple of seconds over sweeping the stuff into a dustpan, but it just seems like an icky trick to me. I just don't feel confident that they get 100% of that stuff into the vacuum bag. I had to tell them every week not to use polish on my furniture, and I know the cleaners they used were not the kindest to the environment.
Still, if I could afford it, I'd keep them, and use the hours to hunt for a job. Am I being penny wise and pound foolish? Or am I being prudent? What's your opinion?
When I was working like a crazy thing, I estimated I was putting about 5 hours/wk into household chores. If I spent $80/month, I could cut that time to around 2 hours/wk. In those regained 8 hours, I could sit at my desk and make 5 times the cost of the cleaning service. So I signed up.
Tomorrow I will be calling to cancel the service indefinitely. Who knows? I may be moving out of here before I can afford them again, to another city or another state.
This weekend was my first weekend getting back to those old chores. I've never minded household chores; maybe because of all that Zen training. I like being in touch with my worldly goods. And there's no question that I'll have the time.
One thing that pleases me is that, while the service kept the place tidy and reasonably clean, they missed a lot of details that matter to me, like grime around light switches and cabinet handles. Now I can do it my way. I also used to cringe when they'd sweep the detritus from the bedroom and bathroom into the hallway and then onto the living room CARPET, where it would get vacuumed up in the final step of their routine. Yeah, it maybe saves a couple of seconds over sweeping the stuff into a dustpan, but it just seems like an icky trick to me. I just don't feel confident that they get 100% of that stuff into the vacuum bag. I had to tell them every week not to use polish on my furniture, and I know the cleaners they used were not the kindest to the environment.
Still, if I could afford it, I'd keep them, and use the hours to hunt for a job. Am I being penny wise and pound foolish? Or am I being prudent? What's your opinion?
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