Hiring a maid or a house cleaning service may seem like the ultimate luxury for many of us. But your time is worth money, and the time you spend scrubbing the kitchen floor might be more profitably, not to mention more enjoyably, spent elsewhere. To borrow a term from economics, it's a lost opportunity cost. In this article, we rev🎐iew the ꧅basics of hiring a cleaning service and when it makes sense.

What Does a Maid Cost?

House cleaning costs range from $45 to $50 an hour on average in 2024, according to home services company Thumbtack. This can change, though, based on the city you live i𒊎n and the type of home you have.

The total cost could range from $100 to $125 for a small apartment to $100 to $200 per square foot for a 2,000-square-foot house. Some charge per hour while others base their fee🐭s on the square footage of the home. If you have a maid come more often, you may get a discount of $5 to $10 per visit. Weekly visits💦 will cost less than monthly visits.

Keep in mind that a local 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:freelance cleaner found through word-of-mouth might be considerably less, or in some cases, more.

What Is Your Time Worth to You?

Every choice we make in life has a cost. Some of our decisions are strictly financial while others require us to give up other assets, such as time.

You can use opportunity cost as a way to decide what your time is worth to you. If you earn $40 to $50 per hour at work, you might consider your time to be worth that much. If your time is worth $50 per hour♉ and the maid charges $40 per hour, you may conclude that your time is better spent elsewhere.

However, if you decide your time is worth $40 per hour and the maid charges $50 per hour, you probably should clean your home yourself because It's simply more cost-effective.

Do You Want a Cleaner Home?

If you clean your home regularly (or at least once in a while) and are unhappy with the results, a maid could be worth a sh꧒ot. Some people are just better at cleaning than others, which is why a professional may make sense, especially when you consider the deep cleanings you may have to do that take time and a lot of elbow grease.

But, there is an in-between choice. You could limit the professional services to once or twice a month, and promise yourself to keep the place reasonably neat and clean between visits. A few minutes a day devoted to routine pickup can't hurt. And with a little professional help, your home could be cleaner than ever before.

Consider Your Budget

Before you even consider hiring help to clean your home, it's important to review your financials. If you have any outstanding credit card balances or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:high-interest loans, you should focus on paying those off first before spending on a maid service or an🦹y other discretionary expense.

The same goes for meeting other priorities including basic living expenses, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:emergency savings, and retirement savings. No matter how you ඣanalyze the expense, a maid is not a need. Rather, it is a want.

Independent vs. Corporate Maid Services

If you decide you can afford a maid and want to hire one, you have several options to consider. One of the most important is deciding between an independent maid or a home cleani♕ng company.

Independent maids generally cost less, and 100% of the money you pay goes to the serv🐭ice provider. A friend or neighbor might be able to recommend an ideal candidate.

A professional services company, on the othe🐬r hand, may come with insurance, proper background checks, and greater reliability. Scheduling is typically flexible since these companies have multiple employees.

The Bottom Line

Hiring a cleaning service may make your life simpler, giving you more time to get other things done. But it has to make sense. After all, not wanting to clean the kitchen and bathrooms on your own isn't enough. But, if you are determined to give up the cleaning and hand the reins to someone else, make sure you can afford it. In some cases, hiring someone to clean your home once a month may be a better idea than having someone come over every week.