Being a working mom is hard and time-consuming. There is just so much to do within so little time, both at work and at home. A majority of working moms find that their day jobs take up most of their time and energy such that they have none left at the end of the day for any meaningful or quality family time and personal care.
The situation can be made worse by additional house chores, making it especially hard for working women who have no house helps to help with housekeeping chores. Since a work-life balance depends on how a working mom manages her time, it is highly recommended to outsource some of these services and errands to professionals and others; if you can afford it.
Outsourcing household services is hiring an external service provider to offer household and general housekeeping services for you. In such a case you contract the services of a professional service provider who will do the varied services at your household.
Some of the household chores you may outsource as mom working full time include cleaning, laundry , cooking, gardening, shopping, tutoring and personal errands among others. The benefits of doing so is that it gets the work done, professionally while allowing you to save on the much-needed time and energy to use for quality family time and self-care.
Why you Should Outsource Household Services
- Professional Work. Service providers get the work done professionally to your specifications and satisfaction. Deep cleaning services are especially thorough and ensures your home stays neat for a long time before needing another clean.
- Saves you Time . It frees up a working mom’s time for other things. As a result it allows you to have more time for self-care, family and work that you would not have had before.
- Improves your Mental Health. Having an external service take charge of these tasks is mentally and emotionally liberating. It is a very crucial because it focuses on your well being.
- Saves you Money. Outsourcing household services is cost-effective in the long run. You become more effective in how you use your time and other resources. The saving in time allows you to engage in other income bringing tasks such as work and business.
- Chores Helps Moms avoid Burnout. Outsourcing house hold and errands lessens energy and time demands on a working mom. By doing so you benefit by being relieved the usual strain. As such you are less likely to suffer from fatigue and burnout.
Read: Top Time Management Tips for Moms Working Night Shift
While outsourcing house chores is costly, it is worth it. The mental and physical break you get from the theses demands and stressors is rewarding and crucial for your overall well being
Top Services Moms Must Outsource
1. Home Cleaning
Cleaning is one of the most time and energy-intensive house chores that working moms have to endure. It is so tiring and takes up so much time that working moms detest even the thought of cleaning itself.
Given that your house may need some deep cleaning once in a while, it is important that you hire the services of a professional cleaner for this. Professional cleaners come skilled and equipped with all necessary supplies and tools to leave your house sparkling clean, organized, and fresh.
They do all cleaning of the full house or designated rooms, dusting, baseboards, shower/toilet, oven, microwave, floors, etc. It is something that you may never get to do with all the kids around.
Coming home to a clean house is very welcoming and bound to lift your spirit any day. As such you should consider cleaning as one of the potential home chores that you should outsource.
How Often Should You Hire Cleaning Services for Your Home
How frequently you should hire professional cleaning services depends on several things such as the size of your home, level of usage, and your personal preference on cleanliness among other things.
If your house is big, you may need cleaning services more often as you cannot keep up with regular maintenance cleaning . Also if your house is prone to get dirty quickly, such as when your kids are being taken care of at your home, you may need more frequent cleaning services.
Also, some moms generally prefer to keep their house in a certain state of order and cleanliness, which will determine how often in a week or month they will need the services of a professional cleaner.
Read: How to Create Cleaning Routine and Schedule
2. Cooking Services / Meal Delivery for the Family
In addition to cleaning, cooking is another dreaded task. Generally, cooking can take up a lot of time to get the meal ready from preparation to actual cooking. While this depends on the type of meal, most full-course meals will take hours to get ready.
Further considering the required cleaning thereafter, the whole idea of cooking just does not appeal to many working moms. For this reason, many prefer to outsource cooking services to someone else. It is quite relaxing to come from the office to a ready meal that you do not have to cook.
There are a variety of options a working mom can consider when it comes to outsourcing cooking services
- Hiring a Professional Chef. The chef will be responsible for making the meals for the family. The meals prepared may include breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, most moms usually acquire the service for making family dinner alone.
The option is great as the hired chef will come to your home, giving you a lot of control and versatility on the kind of meals prepared. The chef will also clean up so you do not have to deal with cleaning up the mess after cooking.
- Ordering Ready Made-meals . You can do so by signing up for a meal delivery service. Meal delivery services deliver chef-prepared dinners that you just heat.
Already many service providers are targeting working moms with this service as it is a popular service due to its great convenience. All a working mom needs to do is identify a convenient and reliable meal delivery service and subscribe.
Read: Benefits and Disadvantages of Meal Delivery Services
How Often Should You Use Cooking/ Meal Delivery Service
How frequently you can order out or have someone make a meal for you is dependent on you. If you have no time at all even for making breakfast, you can exclusively outsource all the meals for the day. If you only need services for dinner, then you can do so for dinner alone.
You also have room for creativity as you may choose to make some meals yourself such as lunch or dinner for the family during the weekends or on some special occasions. Such factors will determine how often you need the meal delivery or cooking services.
3. Laundry Cleaning Services
Without a doubt, the amount of laundry that needs to be done in the house can be a stressor for a working mom. Whether it involves hard tasks such as manually washing the clothes or as simple as running the washing machine, it is a constant energy and time drainer for most working moms.
It is therefore recommended, to outsource laundry services, especially if the amount of laundry in your house is huge. There are two options for outsourcing laundry services that working moms can go for.
- Using the Services of a Professional Dry-cleaner. In this case, you take the clothes that you need to be cleaned to the dry cleaner. The option may be costly and time-consuming given the drop-off and pick-ups. However, it is the best option for certain types of fabric that needs special care during the cleaning.
- Hiring a Professional Laundry Cleaner. As an alternative you can hire a professional laundry cleaner who will come to your house to do laundry for the family. Hiring a laundry cleaner is convenient and efficient as they will come to wash the clothes from your home, eliminating the need for laundry drop off or pick off.
Read: Home De-cluttering Guide for Working Moms
4. Private Tutoring Services for the Kids
Quality education is very important for our children but needs constant monitoring and follow-up from the parent. If your baby is school-going you may have noticed a need to be personally involved in your child’s education while at home.
Such is mostly through helping in the take-home exercises that the kids are given from school. It is one of the crucial areas that you should consider outsourcing if you do not have time for it. As a working mom, your odd office hours and energy deprivation do not allow you to be adequately involved and valuable to your child’s learning and development.
You may also miss out on key developments on how your child is academic-wise. For these reasons many working moms consider hiring a private tutor for their kids.
While it is not a popular option, a private tutor comes very valuable to a working mom with school-going children. A professional private tutor will ensure that your child’s academic needs are met and honed after school. They will make sure that they monitor and assist your child in their take-home assignments among other academic-related tasks.
Nonetheless, it is no excuse to distance oneself from the child’s school work. It is important to personally check up on how your child is doing academically once in a while.
5. Grocery and Basic Shopping Errands
Grocery shopping can be quite a task. It is cumbersome and time-consuming, especially if you are tagging the kids along. Judging from the amount and frequency of shopping needed, the errand can be quite time-consuming for a working mom, affecting your day’s schedule.
To avoid the chaos of grocery and other necessity shopping, most working moms find it easy to outsource this errand to someone else. You simply create a detailed and exhaustive list of all required groceries and items and have them shopped and ready at home by the time you are out from work.
Alternatively, you can order your items online and have them delivered to your house. Outsourcing this core errand allows you time and even get you inspired to even make dinner for your family. It also greatly improves the value of food that your family eats since you are not limited by the availability of groceries at the house.
Read How to Save Time and Money on Grocery Shopping
Read: Solutions to Time Stealers that Working Moms Need
6. Gardening and Outdoor Work
Outdoor management has become another service that working moms with a garden/lawn/outdoor can consider outsourcing. Gardens and lawns are a big deal too for families. They create an aesthetic and welcoming environment for that relaxed afternoon, hosting guests or family outdoor activities.
While we enjoy a nicely done outdoor, most of us don’t have time or the energy to do the gardening or lawn mowing ourselves. Especially not after an intensive workweek at the office. For this reason, consider outsourcing garden work to professionals. It is quite affordable as it does not need much frequent care.
You can also hire a landscaper to do an overhaul of the yard care once in a while to improve the look of your garden/outdoor.
7. Daycare Drop Offs and Pickup
Daycare drop-offs and pick ups come up as one of the key errands where working moms spend quite some time every day. It is especially so for daycares that are way too out of where you live or where your office is.
It is time-consuming, whereby some working moms drive up to an hour in the morning and evening to do daycare drop off and pick-ups. The errand ends up eating into your office or personal time, the reason why some working moms dread the trips. If your daycare drops and picks ups are time-consuming and you can afford it, you should outsource this service to someone else.
Some daycares do have these pickup and drop-off services. They are very reliable and convenient, giving you peace of mind as you work or run other errands.
If your daycare does not offer this service, look around your neighborhood for someone who does. It is a good earning opportunity that many are taking up to pick up and drop off kids between daycare and their homes.
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