Archive for October 3, 2012
Certainly Not a Frugal Decision
I want to thank everyone who commented on last week’s post Struggling to Spend Money on Myself. I’ve taken a lot of time over the past few days to consider my options. I thought long and hard about what I like to do, what I don’t like to do and everything in between. Although I need things like new clothes or new shoes from time to time I’m really not a big shopper. I also hate to have clutter in my house so the idea of buying new stuff to fill our home doesn’t really thrill me.
I quickly realized that I’d prefer to spend money on experiences and services rather than objects. I sat on the couch, closed my eyes and asked myself a question. What do I want this money to bring me? My first thought: relaxation. I want the money to ease my stress and worries. I want it to make me a happier, well rested, relaxed individual.
So in response to the feedback and my own desire for change I’ve decided to hire a cleaning crew to dust, mop, vacuum, scrub the tile in my bathrooms and do whatever else it takes to make my home shine. Given the fact that I am a stay-at-home mom who spends the majority of her waking hours in and around the house this is certainly not the frugal decision, but it is nonetheless the decision I’ve chosen to make.
While I love to organize and declutter I absolutely hate to clean it. I’ve splurged on a cleaning crew a handful of times over the past few years, (usually buying discounted service through Groupon or Living Social), but I’ve never consistently hired anyone to clean our house.
I’m not sure it fits the bill for ‘fun money’, but it will definitely help me feel more at ease and relaxed. While I don’t mind cleaning the dishes and wiping down the counter-tops I absolutely hate cleaning bathroom tiles and scrubbing toilets. We may keep our 1950s bathroom decor for the rest of our lives, but at least the grout won’t be dirty and the tub will be sparkly and white. My husband and I aren’t particularly messy people, but let’s face it dust and dirt accumulate pretty quickly in a house and I haven’t been happy playing with my son in a dirty, dusty house.
I’ve hired a cleaning crew to clean the main two levels of our house every three weeks. I thought about using them monthly, but I think things will get pretty dirty in a month.
Since house cleaning benefits the entire family and not just me, I also plan to schedule one massage a month and I’ll use the money I earn from this blog, eBay sales and other random forms of income to pay for it. (Thanks commenters for that great suggestion!)
It’s not a frugal decision, but it sure feels good to make it. What do you think?
