I recently returned to work after a lovely 10 week sabbatical. I also just started to travel again after an 18 month travel hiatus due to covid. My DH also started a new job a few months ago and is traveling about 2 weeks per month. Thankfully he can work around my travel and we don't (currently) have childcare coverage issues.
On my sabbatical I feel like I had this realization of how much of my life is spent running in circles to keep everything going at home with two careers, two kids now in two different schools, their activities, both our travel, ongoing construction projects at the house etc etc. I immediately changed our cleaning service from once a month to every other week cause I just no longer have the time or desire to clean.
I want to think about what else I can outsource to make our lives easier and I am curious what people outsource so I can get ideas on how I can simplify my life to allow me more time back for myself and my family. Tell me all the things that make your life easier!!
We just hired a new cleaning service to do a deep clean (first time since we moved in over the summer) and biweekly cleanings to follow. We used to have someone, but discontinued about a year ago as the pandemic was escalating, and our cleaning lady was starting to be unreliable anyway. I honestly can't believe I made it a full year without a cleaning person, with 2 FT careers, two unvaccinated little kids, while we sold our house and moved, during a global pandemic. Madness.
Our last person was our 2nd independent cleaning lady who was great for a while... and then got unreliable. This time we went with a local company. We're paying a little more, but they provide their own supplies, are pet friendly and vaccinated, and if the person/team who usually cleans our house can't for whatever reason, finding a sub (or doing without) is no longer my problem. House cleaning is great, but house cleaning that I don't really have to participate in/monitor supplies/scheduling is even better.
We're trying to outsource some of our house projects, although we're struggling with finding people with availability. I enjoy the ideas portion, and I actually enjoy the execution too, I just don't have time. One thing we want to outsource is that all the baseboards in the house came up when the hardwood floors went in back in June, and they still need to be sanded, painted, and reinstalled.
We toyed with outsourcing lawn care this summer, but didn't. Instead we're buying a riding lawn mower so we can get it done faster. (We have 2/3 acre, and don't have time to spend 2-3 hours every weekend cutting the grass.)
Post by InBetweenDays on Oct 15, 2021 9:11:42 GMT -5
We have a lawn service that we've used for years. I'm still working from home (H is full time in person) so sometimes I think we could do it ourselves. But like you with work, coaching, kids, and sports 7 days a week I don't want to be spending my free time mowing the lawn.
We also use Blue Apron twice a week. It isn't a big deal, but it means only having to meal plan for 4 days each week (we do takeout on Fridays).
We have a cleaning lady who comes every other week, and a lawn service (they don’t mow, but they aerate and fertilize, spray for weeds, etc).
We also use a handyman on occasion for larger tasks that we could do ourselves, but would rather outsource (hanging new light fixtures, put up a tile backsplash, installed a barn door, etc).
ETA: we also do Home Chef for three meals each week, not sure if many would consider that “outsourcing” but it does save me a considerable amount of time and energy. We also do curbside grocery pickup.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Oct 15, 2021 9:21:45 GMT -5
If my H or I traveled regularly I would do mowing and cleaning. We used to have both, but when we moved, we dropped both and never started back up. I realized I didn't care either way.
I started doing Hello Fresh over the summer and it's a game changer. I hate meal planning and shopping, and this is so much easier. I get 3 meals a week, and between various activities and events, that usually covers us. If we are home other days, I might do something like grilled cheese or a big salad. But there are a lot of nights (like last night, for example) where we are going in a million directions and everyone just pieces something together for themselves when they are hungry. Before that I was spending a stupid amount of time meal planning and shopping and now I don't.
For breakfast/lunch foods, I try to do an online order for pickup which also saves a lot of time.
I started doing Stitchfix for myself because I needed nicer clothes but don't have the time or interest to shop. It has been really helpful.
Post by hbomdiggity on Oct 15, 2021 9:57:27 GMT -5
Cleaning lady. Comes every week. In addition to cleaning, she changes and launders sheets/towels and folds clothes.
Lawn service. Comes every other week (March - Nov).
Groceries. I mostly use clicklist (pickup). When I was traveling much more I used instacart, but I actually cancelled my subscription because I wasn’t using it as much (the higher prices and tipping made it really pricey).
I don’t a ton because of my balance right now — biweekly cleaning and grocery delivery are the main things (along with eMeals for recipe planning). I also pay someone to post things on FB marketplace for me (50% of sales). One of my BFFs does a ton and it’s so helpful for their super busy schedules. She has someone pick her kids up from school and take to sports practices. She has a weekly house cleaner. Family assistant that comes 2x a week and does organizing, general house projects, whatever she needs. I have another friend that pays someone to do her meal planning and prep (another mom who does this PT — she plans the menu, reviews with you, grocery shops, then comes to your house to prep all so they are ready to go day of, then cleans up the kitchen).
Right now we have Hello Fresh 2x/week. I love it. Once DS is vaxxed I want my twice yearly cleaner back. It's my birthday & Mother's Day gift every year.
Post by starburst604 on Oct 15, 2021 10:21:11 GMT -5
Cleaning service every other week is number one for sure. I also subscribe to Freshly or Metabolic Meals for my lunches. I just suck at any kind of food prepping or lunch planning. I need to grab and go. Since we live in a townhouse we don’t deal with lawn maintenance or other yard work so I would guess that’s another for a lot of people.
I also do grocery pickup, so I place the order through my app and they bring it out to my car. It’s only $3.99 in addition to groceries, much cheaper than Peapod or Instacart.
ETA: not an outsource but more of an investment was creating a home gym for myself. I save time with not having to travel to and from a gym or fitness center and I do it on my own schedule, I don't have to get to a certain class time. Sometimes I miss working out with others but I love not caring if my socks match!
We essentially outsource “everything.” My husband does our laundry, I do a little cooking, my husband takes out the trash, I deal with homework. I also manage most of the outsourced resources other than the yard crew. But honestly, we mostly outsource.
1. I pay someone 36 hours a week to get my kid’s to school and then be my SAHW essentially. She does errands, kid laundry and cooking. She gases up cars, buys and wraps gifts, etc. She doesn’t deep clean.
2. We have a cleaning service every other week.
3. We have a weekly yard service.
4. We hire a handyman for anything that is more than changing a lightbulb or plunging the toilet.
5. We have a ton of caregiving for our special needs kid.
Eventually, we won’t have #1 anymore. It will change things tremendously. My husband is deeply afraid of this change. 😀
Post by keweenawlove on Oct 15, 2021 10:28:01 GMT -5
We're about 2 months into having a biweekly cleaner and it's glorious. We haven't outsources routine yardwork yet but have had someone come to pull out some bushes and stump grind. Haven't gone to grocery delivery yet but Target pickup has been wonderful, especially when we're out of town. I tend to add everything to my cart while we're on the way home so I can swing by and get it quickly.
I didn't read all the responses. I think outsourcing can be great, but also acknowledge that there is work in finding a service and managing it.
We don't outsource cleaning anymore, but we have 2 robot vacuums, and a robot cat litter. We also have pet food dispensers on timers. We still have to fill up the pet food dispenser but it is weekly or biweekly instead of daily.
I also outsource to the kids which only works when they are older. Mine are 11 and 8. They set and clear the table and do dishes nightly. DH does the cooking. The kids and I do the menu planning and grocery lists every Sunday.
We do grocery delivery. We used to do Peapod, but they left our area. So now we do Oberweis for breakfast and milk products, and we do Whole Foods delivery or shop at our local grocery store. We also do target pick up instead of going in if we are short on time.
I also limit the kids activities so I am not running all over the place. The kids have soccer and scouts. Soccer is at the same time and place for both of them. Cub Scouts is heavy in the fall, but it will taper off in December.
Our yard is small, so we don't outsource the weekly mowing because that only takes 1/2 hour. But we do outsource fall and spring clean up because we have a ton of leaves.
In the past I have ordered all Christmas presents from Amazon and had them wrap them. I also skipped Christmas cards. I have more time now, so I have taken those back on, but it was good when the kids were infants/ toddlers.
We used to use aftercare at the school. Since DH is working from home now, he is aftercare but the kids basically manage themselves now, so that is good. It is also nice that they are old enough to leave alone for short periods of time to run errands. My next thing I need to outsource to them is laundry, but we aren't quite there yet.
Post by turkletsmom on Oct 15, 2021 11:11:03 GMT -5
We outsource lawn mowing. I want a cleaner but it's not in the budget right now. I also do grocery drive-up at Walmart, Target and Sams Club. For every other store, if they offer drive-up I do it. It's the one good thing to come out of COVID since now almost everywhere has it. Going into a store is such a time suck. Prescription delivery Putting kids on the school bus lol
-Bi-monthly cleaning -Weekly lawn service -Weekly pool service -Dog daycare once a week -Freshly delivery for a few lunches a week plus HelloFresh -Amazon Fresh groceries once a week
I've got a toddler, workout 5 days a week, & work outside the home about 50 hours/week and I truthfully do NOT feel stressed most of the time. We enjoy our weekends, I'm able to get up by 5:30 am daily to work out (because I'm able to get to sleep by 9:30 pm) and I live a balanced life. So to me, it's worth it.
We just hired a new cleaning service to do a deep clean (first time since we moved in over the summer) and biweekly cleanings to follow. We used to have someone, but discontinued about a year ago as the pandemic was escalating, and our cleaning lady was starting to be unreliable anyway. I honestly can't believe I made it a full year without a cleaning person, with 2 FT careers, two unvaccinated little kids, while we sold our house and moved, during a global pandemic. Madness.
Our last person was our 2nd independent cleaning lady who was great for a while... and then got unreliable. This time we went with a local company. We're paying a little more, but they provide their own supplies, are pet friendly and vaccinated, and if the person/team who usually cleans our house can't for whatever reason, finding a sub (or doing without) is no longer my problem. House cleaning is great, but house cleaning that I don't really have to participate in/monitor supplies/scheduling is even better.
We're trying to outsource some of our house projects, although we're struggling with finding people with availability. I enjoy the ideas portion, and I actually enjoy the execution too, I just don't have time. One thing we want to outsource is that all the baseboards in the house came up when the hardwood floors went in back in June, and they still need to be sanded, painted, and reinstalled.
We toyed with outsourcing lawn care this summer, but didn't. Instead we're buying a riding lawn mower so we can get it done faster. (We have 2/3 acre, and don't have time to spend 2-3 hours every weekend cutting the grass.)
I think lawn care is going to be added in the spring. I think we will finish out the fall with DH doing it but he just doesn't have the time anymore. We do outsource plowing already cause we have no time to shovel, though we don't get a ton of snow.
I like the idea of outsourcing more home projects. I just recently decided to hire out someone to hang wallpaper for me, but we were toying with the idea of doing a DIY closet upgrade and a DIY mudroom update but maybe we just need to hire it out for ease.
We have a lawn service that we've used for years. I'm still working from home (H is full time in person) so sometimes I think we could do it ourselves. But like you with work, coaching, kids, and sports 7 days a week I don't want to be spending my free time mowing the lawn.
We also use Blue Apron twice a week. It isn't a big deal, but it means only having to meal plan for 4 days each week (we do takeout on Fridays).
I think lawn care needs to happen for spring. That is DHs wheelhouse but he just doesn't have the time to properly keep up the lawn. We didn't have a lawn at all in our old house but moved a year ago and it just hasn't worked with him doing it. For Spring I am pushing this.
We have a cleaning lady who comes every other week, and a lawn service (they don’t mow, but they aerate and fertilize, spray for weeds, etc).
We also use a handyman on occasion for larger tasks that we could do ourselves, but would rather outsource (hanging new light fixtures, put up a tile backsplash, installed a barn door, etc).
ETA: we also do Home Chef for three meals each week, not sure if many would consider that “outsourcing” but it does save me a considerable amount of time and energy. We also do curbside grocery pickup.
So I used curbside grocery pickup for the first time when my whole house was quarantined from covid in late August and I feel like I should pick that back up. That way I can fit in grocery "shopping" with a quick pickup around my workday.
We don't outsource much but the two things I insist on are a meal planning service (we've been using Fresh 20 for years, but there are so many out there that might work better for you) and I happily spend $4.99 a week for online ordering/ drive-up grocery pick up. We tried Walmart grocery pick up but they would substitute items without communicating and the substitutes were often things that either didn't make sense (they were out of onions, so they gave me celery?) or the substitutes contained allergens that we can't have in our house. The slightly more expensive grocery store assigns a personal shopper who texts us to ask if we have any last minute additions to our order and they text us to ask about substitutes if they're out of something. They offer delivery to our house for an additional $10. Something like that may be worth it to you, especially on weeks your spouse is traveling.
I like the idea of the meal planning service. I tried marley spoon a while back and liked it but dropped off cause no one but me would eat the recipes. I think I need to look into other options that have things the whole family will eat.
Cleaning service every other week is number one for sure. I also subscribe to Freshly or Metabolic Meals for my lunches. I just suck at any kind of food prepping or lunch planning. I need to grab and go. Since we live in a townhouse we don’t deal with lawn maintenance or other yard work so I would guess that’s another for a lot of people.
I also do grocery pickup, so I place the order through my app and they bring it out to my car. It’s only $3.99 in addition to groceries, much cheaper than Peapod or Instacart.
ETA: not an outsource but more of an investment was creating a home gym for myself. I save time with not having to travel to and from a gym or fitness center and I do it on my own schedule, I don't have to get to a certain class time. Sometimes I miss working out with others but I love not caring if my socks match!
I did get a pandemic peloton and have added a number of other home gym items and I totally agree it helps me stay on track to have it all at home literally IN my office staring at me so I do it.
I didn't read all the responses. I think outsourcing can be great, but also acknowledge that there is work in finding a service and managing it.
We don't outsource cleaning anymore, but we have 2 robot vacuums, and a robot cat litter. We also have pet food dispensers on timers. We still have to fill up the pet food dispenser but it is weekly or biweekly instead of daily.
I also outsource to the kids which only works when they are older. Mine are 11 and 8. They set and clear the table and do dishes nightly. DH does the cooking. The kids and I do the menu planning and grocery lists every Sunday.
We do grocery delivery. We used to do Peapod, but they left our area. So now we do Oberweis for breakfast and milk products, and we do Whole Foods delivery or shop at our local grocery store. We also do target pick up instead of going in if we are short on time.
I also limit the kids activities so I am not running all over the place. The kids have soccer and scouts. Soccer is at the same time and place for both of them. Cub Scouts is heavy in the fall, but it will taper off in December.
Our yard is small, so we don't outsource the weekly mowing because that only takes 1/2 hour. But we do outsource fall and spring clean up because we have a ton of leaves.
In the past I have ordered all Christmas presents from Amazon and had them wrap them. I also skipped Christmas cards. I have more time now, so I have taken those back on, but it was good when the kids were infants/ toddlers.
We used to use aftercare at the school. Since DH is working from home now, he is aftercare but the kids basically manage themselves now, so that is good. It is also nice that they are old enough to leave alone for short periods of time to run errands. My next thing I need to outsource to them is laundry, but we aren't quite there yet.
I can't wait till my kids are a little older and I can outsource things to them! They are 4 and 6 now so I think we are getting closer with the 6 year old.
I do def limit the activities, I do one thing per kid at a time. Right now they chose soccer and its 2x a week with practice and games and I think going from 1x a week activities to 2x a week is a lot for me to manage. The next season they are doing learn to skate with is down to 1x a week on Sundays so I think not having an afterschool practice on two different days will make my life much easier.
I would love to outsource laundry but then I just can't figure out the logisitcs of that. Like do they come and sort and just like hang out while they do it? I feel like that is weird but I want someone to do that hah.
-Bi-monthly cleaning -Weekly lawn service -Weekly pool service -Dog daycare once a week -Freshly delivery for a few lunches a week plus HelloFresh -Amazon Fresh groceries once a week
I've got a toddler, workout 5 days a week, & work outside the home about 50 hours/week and I truthfully do NOT feel stressed most of the time. We enjoy our weekends, I'm able to get up by 5:30 am daily to work out (because I'm able to get to sleep by 9:30 pm) and I live a balanced life. So to me, it's worth it.
I would love to feel more balanced. I got such a wonderful taste of balance on the sabbatical and now I want it all the time!!
preppy, When I've outsourced laundry during crazy times, I just bring a few loads to the laundromat for their wash/dry/fold service. You pay by the pound. I don't use it frequently, but it's been a game changer during especially busy seasons of life.
We have our house cleaner come every two weeks. We have a pool guy come come once a week. I get salads for lunch delivered from Thistle, meal kits from Blue Apron, and Whole Foods groceries through Amazon.
Probably the most time-saving thing I do is have a Shipt membership to have stuff from Target/other stores delivered within 2-3 hours (that's super helpful when the kids come home from school and need something for the next day, to not have to run out to get it). You can also use Shipt in other locations (like for groceries while on vacation) or to deliver things to other people using the same membership.
Pre-pandemic, we had out babysitter pick up the kids twice a week so we didn't have to rush home, especially when I was traveling and DH was on his own. Now we don't do this anymore because we're both WFH and I'm not traveling as much. Eventually we'll definitely need more help for driving the kids around to activities in the afternoons - that was my job in college for other families.
preppy , When I've outsourced laundry during crazy times, I just bring a few loads to the laundromat for their wash/dry/fold service. You pay by the pound. I don't use it frequently, but it's been a game changer during especially busy seasons of life.
I hadn't thought of it until seeing this post, but I even wonder if it would even be worth it to take all of the laundry to a laundromat to get it all done in one fell swoop when I get behind (like right now). Then you're stuck at the laundromat instead of at home, but now I'm sort of dreaming of stripping all of my beds and taking every dirty piece of laundry and getting it all done at once.
We have a house cleaner every other week. Lawn/garden service every week. Dry cleaning is home pick up/delivery. Grocery delivery. Doggie daycare (with pick up and drop off) when we are really busy. Peloton so i don’t need to go into the gym anymore.