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I stay at home and we had housekeepers for a while, we just stayed out of the part of the house they were cleaning. This was fairly easy as we had a 2 story.

Just stay out of the way and don't do anything too messy is my vote

We have cleaners and when they came and I was on maternity leave I just stayed in the living room watching tv until they came to clean that room and then I went elsewhere while they cleaned that room. No big deal.

I work at my office 3 days a week and from home 2 days, and I actually scheduled the cleaner to come when I'm there. I like to be able to chat with her about where to pay particular attention, and make sure the door is locked before/after she's there. She doesn't usually clean our playroom, so the kids will give her a hug when she arrives and then go straight to the playroom.

@Silva: anytime we’ve been here overlapping for a few minutes with her, my son yacks her ear off. Tells her spots to clean. Plays wh her stuff. It’s very counter productive;

I think you just have to find the right kind of cleaning service. We have a 3000+ sq foot house with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and the downstairs is all hard flooring while the upstairs is carpeted. But DH works from home and there's often a kid home from daycare sick and needs to take a nap in the afternoon, so we can't have someone there for 4 hours.

So our housecleaning service comes every other week, we ask them to come in the morning or when DH takes lunch, and its a team of women - usually 2 ladies, but as many as 4 people depending on what their schedule is like. They usually never take longer than 2 hours. We have a rotating schedule of 1 higher maintenance service each time, like wiping down cabinets, cleaning the baseboards, and cleaning out the fridge, on top of the usual cleaning/dusting they do. They mop, vacuum, disinfect surfaces and stoves, deep clean bathrooms and showers, dust all the furniture and blinds, and even make our beds if they are unmade. They also take out the garbage and recycling on the way out.

We DO expedite the process for them because we pre-clean the night before they come. We make sure to clear the floors and surfaces, we tidy up the kids' toys, and throw out any obviously gross food in the fridge, so they can get going as soon as they arrive. Our housecleaner actually told us she charges us less than other families because her team can get done faster than other homes.

So I think if you can find someone to come clean your house quickly in about 2 hours you can definitely time it to take your kids out to a park and get some lunch.

We also have a solo person come 1x/month, she's here from 9am - 2ish and we're gone most of the time. I'd really rather it be 2 people and half the time, but we make it work. We first take the dog to doggie daycare (she is anxious of strangers and vacuums!), then usually a coffee shop for a special muffin treat, and then the park/story time/errands, and then go out on a lunch date. When we get home, my 2 year old goes right up for his nap while she finishes up downstairs.

I hear you on the guilt, but I absolutely cannot manage the deep clean she does on my own with my current schedule of working part-time and taking care of a toddler, and my mental health is 1000% better for a good week after she gets here.

I WAH and have had a cleaner for the last few years. I'm just here doing my thing while she cleans and it's not a problem. It was definitely awkward at first, but I've gotten used to it. When the kids are home during school breaks, I try to get them out of the house. We usually do boring things like errands/grocery shopping, but occasionally we'll go to the park or do something more fun. If the weather is uncooperative, we'll stay home and I'll have them watch videos in my bed so that they stay out of her way.

I’m a SAHM with 3 kids and finally gave in and hired a cleaner this past year. I still feel so awkward when the girls come, like I’m a lazy slob! But she always says this is a exactly why she started her cleaning business, so she can help busy moms! We have 4000 sq feet, 5 bedrooms 6 bathrooms and her and another girl spend 4 hours either bi weekly or monthly. I’m finding bi weekly is too frequent but monthly is too spaced out so I might ask her about every 3 weeks if that works for their schedule. I prefer to be out of the house when they come but lately she comes in the afternoons and it’s hard with the babies nap. Sometimes we just hide out on our 3rd floor loft where the kids can play. Looking forward to summer when we can just swim out back while they are here! Anyways don’t feel guilty!! Spend some quality time with your kids while the cleaners are there - go out to the park or out for lunch or whatever! Enjoy!

Our nanny is usually home with the kids when our cleaners come... they try to get out of the house if they can (and i try to book her visits during school/activities so they're out anyway, but its hard to do this)... like others said, they'll switch parts of the house and go wherever they are not. Or down in the basement.

If I'm at home for some reason, I always seem to go to Costco while she comes. It takes me about 20 to get there, I meander around with the kids for about an hour, maybe eat a piece of pizza and drive home. She can clean our house in about 2 hours max and I seem to be able to find enough errands. Usually I'm at work while she comes though.