25 years in SoCal: nanny, Chinese tutor, gardener, house cleaner, pool guy, and dog walker/sitter as needed. Kids were 0-8. Nanny was hourly ($14-20 cash), tutor same, gardener $250/mo, pool guy $180/mo (2x a week), house cleaner $250 a week...dog sitter was the most expensive at about $100-120 per day (overnights).
Now Michigan: took a while to find the right help (previous owner of our house spent $18k just on gardening the year before we bought........).
1. I did the mowing (zero turn rider) first two years but no longer this year now that we have cleared and planted grass in adjacent lot (we are on two acres) have a service that does lawn for $60/per, and another service that does the fertilizing/weed control for $50 a visit (4x a year).
2. I spent all last summer tearing out railroad tie retaining wall + about 1000 SF of bluestone & installing a 300' retaining wall (blocks) & grading/installing 200+ yards of stone + slag & then 3500 SF of bluestone....that really, really sucked but bids were $100k and I did it for less than 30% of that.....but paying someone to do the mortar/tuck on the last 100' of capstone b/c I just can't/won't.
3. We took out about 20 trees, and paid pros to do that, but I'll take down the others as needed as grew up with a chainsaw & enjoy it. I spent a day last summer splitting firewood (rented splitter & had 100# maple logs.... won't do that again.
4. Pool guys here are ridiculous---$120 per visit. I use him maybe 2x a year if the pool gets away from me or if I'm traveling....and definitely once in fall when leaves just go nuts. He opens/closes the pool as well for about $600 total. I'm teaching the kids (10 & 12) to skim/vacuum the pool but the two pool vacs we have do 90% of the work.
5. House cleaner here is $300 per visit.
6. Sprinklers & lighting I maintain, but if it requires digging up a broken line we have a guy. He closes up the sprinkler lines for us each fall as well.
7. Koi pond I maintained last couple of years, aside from the 1x a year fall cleanout, but re-doing entire pond this summer & probably will have them do it as they are moving the skimmer/pump to a bottom well....and well life is too short.
8. Chinese tutor: 2x a week and that is about all that is the same with CA pricing..
My to-do list/fixes around the house is now down to about 4-5 hours each weekend, plus there is a full fall & spring weekend (winterizing + spring uncovering/mulching). Mulching we do on one weekend day---22 yards of mulch, 2 kids/wife & a $300 Home Depot tractor rental is 1/4 what the pro's want, and I get to drive the tractor all day. Fall I'll still do the leaf pickup---with quotes at $1k per visit....I bought a tow-behind leaf shredder for $3k when we moved here & its paid for itself about 4x over. That being said my summer to-do list is still about 30 items, with some joy-joy items like gutter clean-out & gutter guard install come September......
Midwest definitely has a MUCH higher maintenance rate than CA. Getting competent pros to show up is $$$$ here.....CA was much, much easier & cheaper.
I also try and do more here myself, as my wife has a tendency to go down the "while you are here" rabbit hole....
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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers
Now Michigan: took a while to find the right help (previous owner of our house spent $18k just on gardening the year before we bought........).
1. I did the mowing (zero turn rider) first two years but no longer this year now that we have cleared and planted grass in adjacent lot (we are on two acres) have a service that does lawn for $60/per, and another service that does the fertilizing/weed control for $50 a visit (4x a year).
2. I spent all last summer tearing out railroad tie retaining wall + about 1000 SF of bluestone & installing a 300' retaining wall (blocks) & grading/installing 200+ yards of stone + slag & then 3500 SF of bluestone....that really, really sucked but bids were $100k and I did it for less than 30% of that.....but paying someone to do the mortar/tuck on the last 100' of capstone b/c I just can't/won't.
3. We took out about 20 trees, and paid pros to do that, but I'll take down the others as needed as grew up with a chainsaw & enjoy it. I spent a day last summer splitting firewood (rented splitter & had 100# maple logs.... won't do that again.
4. Pool guys here are ridiculous---$120 per visit. I use him maybe 2x a year if the pool gets away from me or if I'm traveling....and definitely once in fall when leaves just go nuts. He opens/closes the pool as well for about $600 total. I'm teaching the kids (10 & 12) to skim/vacuum the pool but the two pool vacs we have do 90% of the work.
5. House cleaner here is $300 per visit.
6. Sprinklers & lighting I maintain, but if it requires digging up a broken line we have a guy. He closes up the sprinkler lines for us each fall as well.
7. Koi pond I maintained last couple of years, aside from the 1x a year fall cleanout, but re-doing entire pond this summer & probably will have them do it as they are moving the skimmer/pump to a bottom well....and well life is too short.
8. Chinese tutor: 2x a week and that is about all that is the same with CA pricing..
My to-do list/fixes around the house is now down to about 4-5 hours each weekend, plus there is a full fall & spring weekend (winterizing + spring uncovering/mulching). Mulching we do on one weekend day---22 yards of mulch, 2 kids/wife & a $300 Home Depot tractor rental is 1/4 what the pro's want, and I get to drive the tractor all day. Fall I'll still do the leaf pickup---with quotes at $1k per visit....I bought a tow-behind leaf shredder for $3k when we moved here & its paid for itself about 4x over. That being said my summer to-do list is still about 30 items, with some joy-joy items like gutter clean-out & gutter guard install come September......
Midwest definitely has a MUCH higher maintenance rate than CA. Getting competent pros to show up is $$$$ here.....CA was much, much easier & cheaper.
I also try and do more here myself, as my wife has a tendency to go down the "while you are here" rabbit hole....
____________
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers