I almost never advocate paying money to do something that you can do for yourself with minimal effort and a little bit of elbow grease, but every time I realized that it's about time that I get cleaning my apartment, I'm tempted to change my tune.  To put it plain and simple, I hate to clean.  Well, more specifically, I hate to do particular types of cleaning, like cleaning the bathroom, dusting, and most of all doing my laundry.  I don't mind so much cleaning up the kitchen or running the vacuum for some reason though.  What is even worse about the laundry is those times about once a month when you start running low on clean bath towels and cloths for the kitchen, so you have to end up doing extra laundry with sheets, pillowcases, etc.  Man, those are the worst days!  Anyways, I've recently been juggling the option back and forth in my head about paying someone to come by once a month for an hour or two to do the part of the cleaning of the apartment that I just can't stand to do.  In the past, when it started to get really warm at the beginning of the Summer, I had thought about sending my laundry out to get cleaned, but then I realized that I wouldn't trust the proper washing and drying of the majority of my garments to anyone besides myself.  Anyways, I wasn't thinking that I would waste all that much money to hire a professional cleaning company to send someone over to clean the apartment.  I thought that it would be better to ask one of my friends who I know likes to do cleaning on the side.  That way, I would know who was in my house, and I would be helping out a friend financially while still getting my chores done around the house.  I first started thinking that this might be a good way to spend twenty dollars or so of my money when I learned that most of the people in my family actually hire my aunt and cousin to come to their homes once every other week and clean.  I was surprised to learn that my aunt was doing this in her spare time, but she informed me that it's a great way to make some good extra cash.  I guess that I'm not the only one who doesn't like to do housework in my family...hey, maybe it's genetic?!  This whole thing is just really puzzling to me because as you know, I'm probably about the least lazy person that you'll ever meet.  However, when it comes to seemingly unproductive and time-wasting ventures like cleaning the bathroom, I would far rather pay someone to come and do it for me so I can concentrate on more important things.  Besides not wanting to waste my free time cleaning up the place, after everything is said and done with working three different part time jobs during the week for the Summer, I'm just one hundred percent exhausted and totally unwilling to fend of my will to nap on the couch every so often.  These little hour long naps that I get to indulge in every so often are something that I've realized is very necessary in order to make it through the day.  Having to get up and do somewhat manual labor at five o'clock in the morning five days a week is tough work, then having to worry about getting home, not resting, and then running up to work with either of my two professors is a little bit stressful.  Combine that with my daily regimen of exercise to try and lose a little bit of weight, and you can easily see how my day is lacking a time for deep scrubbing the bathroom and the kitchen.

So, I'd really like to know all of your opinions on the subject.  Do any of you find it unacceptable to dole out the dirty work, so to speak, on others for a price?  Do any of you actually use a cleaning service or maid?  The thing is that I know that many people do so, but it just makes me feel like I'm going to underline some mark of laziness next to my name if I actually go ahead with the whole thing.  I also try and think of other things that I might be able to spend the money on that would be better suited for me.  An extra twenty or thirty dollars each month on the credit card payment or even a new book for school might be a better way to spend my money.  On the other hand, I do work very hard to be able to pay for things that I don't want to or don't really have to do, so why not sign up for a cleaning service?  Oh gosh, I am really torn about the situation.  It's another one of those times where I work hard for my money but then feel guilty spending it rather than saving it for a rainy day.  It makes me think of my grandfather who always told all of us kids that he didn't mind spending money because he would just go to work and make some more the next day.  I try to make that my mindset about money, because I know that my grandfather lived a life of comfort and happiness, though too short of one.  I then think about my father, who on the other hand always had enough money but squandered it and lived miserably worried about what needed to be paid on a day to day basis.  I suppose that looking at it from those two perspectives, the choice is easy to make, but the habit of saving rather than spending is hard to break.  Wish me luck with my decision!