Barb, i have a woman that comes once a week and does things like vacuuming, mopping and other things i can't do. I pay her $32.00 a week. It takes her about 4 hrs.She also does whatever dishes and other minor housework there is.

I have 2 dogs also. She works for my DD too and DD has 2dogs and 3 cats. Don't expect as good a job as you would do. We put an ad in the local paper and i hired her. It's a small town tho and easy to check on references.

Good luck. it can be a lifesaver.

If you contact a cleaning service, just ASK for the services you want, and see if they can provide them. Don't be shy -- you're paying for what you want, so you should GET what you want.

Sue

I'm at that point also. Back, neck and now hip with a little knee joining in! And I'm just going to be 52! Dang!
Oakleif, $32 a week is nuts! In CA even illegals charge a min of $12 per hr! Bringing it to about $48 per week! Hmmmmm, might be worth it! Nancy

i know its cheap for here too but she set her price. She also drives 32 mi. to get here but does my daughters house the same day. She says she loves us and we're easy to work for. I do the things i can do,like washing clothes, loading dishwasher.

I've had help once a week for several years now. It's not because I CAN'T do it, but because I'd rather be doing something else. Plus there's the Hubby factor. He just doesn't see dirt. Me, I can't stand a dirty house. I can stand a little clutter, but not a dirty house. After constant arguing about it, we decided the solution was to have someone clean the house. That was about 10 years ago, and we haven't had an argument about it since. With my first cleaning lady, I sat down with my list of everything I wanted her to do, and she gave me her price. Over the next few months, she added a few things I had missed, and we were so pleased with her work, we gave her a raise. We were sorely disappointed when she and her husband moved away, but she referred us to a friend of hers who also cleaned houses for a living, and this woman has been so wonderful. I am positive she cleans BETTER than I would, and she's done in about 4 hours. She's also very kind and responsible. She now cleans for my mother-in-law, who is 79, and will call me if she thinks there is a problem. She will check the house if we're away, and one time, when she checked in the middle of winter, the furnace had died. Her husband came over and tried to get it going, and when he couldn't, the two of them stayed there, keeping our fireplace going, until the furnace people could come and fix everything. There have even been days when she has swung by on her way to another job just to let my dog out. She's just a saint and I'd trust her with anything. I'm just grateful that she's quite a bit YOUNGER than I am, because I'd hate to have to replace her any time soon! I guess the main point of this post is to encourage you to go ahead, as it can be such a wonderful experience, and to see if you can find a reference from someone for your worker. If you use something like "The Maids", be sure to check their references too. And write down everything you want done. I'm sure you will find that, after being relieved of those chores, there will be more you will want to let go of as well. As for me, I am still doing the "everyday" stuff. Hubby still leaves dishes all over the house, crumbs all over the counter, food out everywhere, etc. He still thinks you can go a whole week without sweeping the kitchen floor or wiping out the kitchen sink. Sigh! Well, I've trained him as best I could. But the thing is, I know that one day per week, my home will be pristine, and all I have to do from there is "keep it up". It makes a HUGE difference, and I'm not crabbing at hubby for all the little habits I know will never change. MacThayer

Maids and companies like that work in teams to get as many houses cleaned in a day as possible.They "skim" the top and go.

I'm in northern California & was put in touch with an organization called "By The Book Enterprises".The owner/manager came out, I showed her what I wanted done and she evaluated time & cost. I have two ladies come every other week and go thru my home as per instructions from supervisor. They are positive, polite, no nonsense & when not sure, they ask! The cost is $50.00 per visit for the two of them, they are bonded & they whisk thru in about 1- 1 1/2 hrs.They provide all the cleaning materials & tools.

I've wanted to hire someone to help with the house cleaning, too, but have been afraid to do that. What if they get hurt? Does homeowner's insurance cover that? How does one know you aren't getting someone who is going to sue the pants off of you? My fear of that has stopped me from getting help and I really need it since I physcially can't do it all anymore. Angie

I can't afford a maid, and hubby is also disabled. I heard on the news that there is a service where folks will come in and clean for 4 hours every other week for people going through chemo. (We're not, so aren't eligible.) Also, sometimes you might be able to get free help, if you're a senior citizen. (Umm, we're not that either, but give us 4 more years, and hubby might qualify.) Anyway, check for disability assistance for your county and state, to see if you'r eligible for anything at discount or free rates.

As for legal issues, again, no experience here, but I do know you might be eligible for free legal consultations, since you're disabled. We got our free legal help through welfare, when we were on it in that time period between hubby becoming disabled, too, and winning his disability case. Our health insurance people were screwing around with us, hubby was on chemo then, he needed his next treatment, and it was 2 days before Christmas. ("Lucky" him, the needle had to be given on Christmas Eve day, but, since we have no kids, we just postponed Christmas for 6 days, since his best day was the day before the next xshot.) What I had been trying to accomplish for three weeks, took the lawyer five minutes to do, and, sure enough the drugs came in the mail on Christmas Eve, special delivery!

(He's not on chemo anymore, but got one of the worst side effects possible from it -- polyneuropathy, and either CFS or Fibro. That's why he's still disabled, although, sure beats the alternative -- death! Just in case, you're wondering!)