Time is Money

Something that I'm consistently lacking is time.  I wish I just had a few more hours in the day.  I need more time to study.  More time to workout.  More time to cook and/or bake.  But mostly, more time to spend with P.  I know that this has got to be one of the #1 complaints of every mother, or woman, for that matter, in the world.  I feel like no matter how hard I try, I simply never get ahead.  There's never a moment where I can actually relax without the feeling that there are 20 things that I haven't gotten to on my neverending "To Do" list.

We were talking about this back in October when we had our two day long session with our professional coach at my firm.  Every single person there admitted to wishing they had more time for themselves, or with their families.  It was certainly the prevalent theme.  We began brainstorming about things that tend to suck up our time on the weekends, and it was almost unanimously agreed upon that house cleaning was at the top of the list.  We came up with the idea of having a goal of being able to hire a housecleaner for every member of our team, if we were able to meet our performance numbers by the end of the year.

Ever since we had that discussion I began thinking about  how much it would mean to me, not to have to spend time cleaning my house each and every weekend.  Just today I've already spent at least an hour dusting, unloading the dishwasher, folding clothes, and vacuuming my hardwood floors.  And I'm not even finished yet.  The entire time I was rushing to get these things done, P was playing outside by himself.  After I put him down for his nap I really started thinking seriously about potentially hiring a housecleaner.  Perhaps someone to come in for two hours, two times a month, to help with the most tedious, labor intensive duties.  Based upon the research we've already done through my firm, this would likely cost a mere $60 a month.  While that amount probably would have been out of the question a year ago, things are not as tight with my budget as they once were.  And, more important than the money I would be spending, would be what I would have to gain by hiring someone to clean my home.  I would have more quality time to spend with P, without the nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me to go scrub my toilets.  I would be able to come home on a Friday evening and actually relax, because I'd be walking through the door to a spotless home.  The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.  Even though the cost would be a bit of a splurge, the benefits I would gain would more than make up for it.