Stop Trying to do It All – Hire a Professional Cleaner!

If it’s one thing the women’s movement has taught us, it’s that we can do it all! But while we truly can do it all, the real question is: why would we want to?!

Time is finite, and it’s also a commodity. How we choose to spend our time has a direct impact on our happiness and mental health, physical health, and relationships with our family and friends.

I think it’s pretty common for women to feel like they’re constantly juggling a million things (does the above scenario look anything like you?). In my case, since quitting law and starting to work for myself at home, this juggling act has actually intensified! I somehow simultaneously have to:

• Do all intake & admin, project & campaign management, creative direction & content creation, writing, scheduling, strategy, and finance for my business
• Clean my home and do laundry (incidentally, messes are pretty hard to ignore when you work from home)
• Do meal planning, groceries, and cooking
• Take care of our dog (and when you work from home, it’s the equivalent of bringing your dog to work with you every day)

Sadly, I do this all with minimal help (that is, until I hired a professional cleaning service – more on that below). I love my husband, but the division of labour in our household has always been a sticking point. I’ve opened up about this struggle in my 15 Hard Truths About Marriage post.

Truth is: it’s NEVER 50/50. Historically and to this day, women carry the bulk of the load (careers, housework, childcare) and assume the role of project manager for the household. The sooner this hard truth is accepted, the easier it will be to manage expectations and, in turn, find solutions.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my life is to delegate and relinquish control, wherever possible! What’s one major thing that can easily be delegated to someone else? CLEANING!

You see, I used to be STAUNCHLY opposed to hiring a cleaning person. I used to think: we live in a 1-floor, 900 sq. ft. loft – if we can’t handle it between the two of us, then we surely are NOT succeeding at life! But cleaning was easily the biggest source of contention between us. I tried everything—making lists on our chalkboard wall, spreadsheets, email reminders, daily verbal reminders—all with very little success. Over time, I came to realize, it was like fighting a losing battle.

 “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”

Benefits of Hiring A Professional Cleaning Service

We recently had Adèle House Cleaning come into our home and, can I just tell you how much of a RELIEF it was?! Have you thought about hiring a professional cleaning service?

When a group of Torontonians were surveyed, 41% said that time is the number one barrier to maintaining a clean home? When their homes are messy, 28% said they feel overwhelmed, 34% said they feel unhappy and 22% said they feel unproductive (I can definitely relate!). Lastly, 45% of Torontonians feel the cleanliness of their home has been the source of conflict in their relationship (glad we’re not the only ones!)

While saving time, having peace of mind, and relieving tension are some of the major benefits of hiring a professional cleaning service like Adèle, there are so many other benefits, like:

• Improving physical health. Dust, bacteria, mould, and fungi can cause respiratory and other health problems. Regular cleaning can minimize these dangers and prevent allergies.
• Saving money that you would have spent on cleaning products.
• Improving efficiencies. Some jobs are better left to the professionals. Apart from doing the things you wouldn’t want to spend your Sunday afternoon doing (like cleaning a toilet), professional cleaners do a better job, clean faster, clean places you wouldn’t necessarily think or know to clean, are more thorough and patient. This obviously frees you up to do more important things.
• Ensuring that the products used in your home are eco-friendly and pet-friendly.

Advantages of Using Adèle House Cleaning

We had a very positive experience with Adèle and would definitely recommend. Our cleaner, Lucas, did a great job. After our appointment was booked online (the Adèle website is incredibly easy to use, btw), Lucas communicated with us via text – both to touch base before the appointment and on the day of. He was prompt, wore an Adèle uniform, was courteous, professional, experienced, and efficient. He was also patient and kind to Douglas (who likes to chase and bark at the vacuum cleaner, when it’s on).

As advertised on its website, Adèle’s service was turnkey. What I have disliked about using other cleaners in the past was having to provide cleaning supplies. Not only do the Adèle cleaners come with their own cleaning supplies, but they also use eco-friendly, ECOLOGO® certified products, which I understand have the highest international environmental certification. There was also a lot less waste after Lucas was done because he used reusable cloths (all of which were washed and disinfected before being used in our home), rather than leaving a trail of paper towel!

Adèle is relatively new to Toronto, but has 20 years of industry experience (it’s a Montreal-based company). Adèle is currently available in Toronto and Montreal. All of Adèle’s staff members are thoroughly trained, fully insured, and vetted. So, you can feel safe about a new person coming into your home (and if you like your cleaner, you can request him or her the next time too!).

If want to try Adèle House Cleaning out for yourself, head to their website and use code KRYSTLE30 for $30 off your first cleaning (valid for first-time users).

So, with allllll that said, if you’re anything like me, here’s the thing: STOP TRYING TO DO IT ALL! There’s no benefit to trying to do it all alone, and no need, unless you want to work yourself into the ground!

It’s time to reclaim our time. It’s time to start putting ourselves first. It’s time to stop perpetuating the erroneous and unrealistic belief that we need to be super wives, super moms, super…EVERYTHING!

Photography by: Laura Clarke Photography

*This post was done in partnership with Adèle House Cleaning. However, all opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.