After putting it off for ages, I finally bit the bullet and hired a professional cleaner with Diamond Home Support last month. With two young children, a part-time job, and a partner who works long hours, keeping our home in decent shape had become an ongoing battle I was steadily losing. I’d been reluctant to take this step—partly due to the cost, partly due to the awkwardness of having someone clean around my mess, and partly due to the nagging feeling that I should be able to manage it all myself.

One month in, here’s my honest take on what it’s actually been like and the genuine benefits I’ve found.

Getting Over the Initial Awkwardness

I won’t pretend the first visit wasn’t slightly uncomfortable. I rushed around tidying before Sarah arrived (apparently everyone does this), made too much small talk, and felt oddly self-conscious about the state of our bathroom. Sarah was professional but friendly, asking sensible questions about my priorities and preferences. We agreed she’d use our own cleaning supplies and equipment, which saved her lugging things around and meant our home would be cleaned with products I’d chosen.

By the third visit, that awkwardness had largely faded. Now I just say hello, answer any questions, and get on with my day while she works.

Time Has Been the Biggest Gift

The most immediate benefit has been reclaiming several hours each week. Instead of spending my precious Saturday mornings cleaning bathrooms and hoovering, I took my kids swimming last weekend and managed to read an actual book the weekend before. The mental relief of removing cleaning from my to-do list has been significant—even if Sarah doesn’t clean absolutely everything (she’s human, after all), knowing that the basics are covered regularly has lifted a weight off my shoulders.

It’s Clean, But Not Miraculously So

Let’s be realistic—Sarah is good at her job, but she’s not performing miracles in the three hours she’s here each week. Our home gets properly cleaned but doesn’t maintain that just-cleaned sparkle indefinitely, especially with two children determined to test the limits of entropy. Toys still end up everywhere, breakfast crumbs still appear within minutes of hoovering, and somehow the bathroom sink always has toothpaste marks by evening.

What’s different is that we’re starting from a clean baseline each week rather than a progressively deteriorating situation. When messes happen (and they do, constantly), they’re manageable because they’re isolated incidents rather than additions to existing chaos.

The Unexpected Mental Space

I hadn’t anticipated how much mental bandwidth was occupied by the constant awareness of cleaning tasks. Before, I couldn’t relax in the bath without noticing limescale on the taps or sit on the sofa without mentally adding “hoover under cushions” to my never-ending list.

That background anxiety has diminished significantly. Our house isn’t perfect—there are still areas Sarah hasn’t got to yet, and plenty of clutter that’s our responsibility to manage—but the baseline cleanliness has created space in my mind for other things.

A New Perspective on Our Habits

Having someone else clean your space holds up a mirror to your household habits. I’ve become more aware of how we create mess and have made small changes as a result. We’re better about hanging up towels, wiping splashes from the hob after cooking, and doing quick daily tidy-ups. Not because I’m worried about what Sarah will think (though there was some of that initially), but because I’ve gained clarity about how our day-to-day actions impact our living space.

The Relationship Benefit

My partner and I no longer have those tense Sunday evening discussions about who did or didn’t clean what. The simmering resentment I felt watching him relax while mentally calculating how long the bathroom would take to clean has evaporated. We still share household responsibilities, but removing most of the cleaning from that equation has eliminated a significant source of friction.

Last weekend, we took the kids to the park together on Saturday morning—something that rarely happened when that time was earmarked for cleaning.

Financial Perspective

At £19 per hour for three hours weekly, the service isn’t cheap, but it’s not breaking the bank either. When I consider the time it frees up and the reduction in household tension, it feels like reasonable value. I’ve also noticed we’re less likely to resort to expensive takeaways on weekends now that I’m not exhausted from cleaning, which offsets some of the cost.

More Consistent Results

I’m fairly competent at cleaning, but Sarah brings consistency and thoroughness to the process. She works systematically through the house, doesn’t get distracted by a ringing phone or a child’s sudden demand, and doesn’t rush through to tick things off a list. The difference isn’t that she’s dramatically better at cleaning than I am—it’s that she gives it her full attention for a dedicated period.

The Housework That Remains

It would be misleading to suggest professional cleaning has eliminated all household work. We still have daily tidying, laundry, washing up, and the constant battle against clutter. Sarah focuses on proper cleaning—bathrooms, floors, dusting, kitchen surfaces—while the regular maintenance remains our responsibility.

In some ways, this division feels right. The daily tidying is connected to our ongoing living patterns, while the deeper cleaning happens at scheduled intervals.

Letting Go of Perfectionism

One unexpected benefit has been loosening my grip on how things “should” be done. Sarah folds the towels differently than I would and organises the cleaning supplies in a way I wouldn’t have chosen. Initially, this triggered my control-freak tendencies, but I’ve gradually recognised the freedom in letting these small preferences go.

The towels are clean and folded—does it really matter exactly how? This lesson has extended into other areas of home life, where I’m learning to appreciate results rather than fixating on methods.

Worth It, Despite the Initial Hesitation

One month in, hiring a cleaner with Diamond Home Support feels like a sustainable choice for our family. It hasn’t magically transformed our home into a show house, and we still have ordinary days of mess and disorder. What it has done is establish a manageable baseline that prevents the slide into overwhelming chaos, free up time for more meaningful activities, and removed a significant source of household stress.

For anyone on the fence about professional cleaning, my advice would be realistic: it won’t solve every household challenge, but the benefits—particularly the less tangible ones like mental space and relationship harmony—may surprise you. Start with clear priorities and expectations, be prepared for some initial awkwardness, and give yourself permission to offload this particular area of responsibility.

For our family, it’s been worth every penny, not because our house is now immaculate (it isn’t), but because we’re happier, less stressed, and spending our time in ways that matter more to us than cleaning the shower screen.