The calculations are based on research carried out by pricing website HaMuch.com , which was set up in 2016 by Tarquin Purdie to stop people getting ripped off by tradesmen. Cleaners are hired on average 8 hours a month (or 100 hours a year) while painter & decorators are taken on for average 280 hours a year and gardeners spend an average of 6 hours a month, or 72 hours a year, tending gardens.
This all add up to a lengthy list of jobs that can be outsourced and time that people can get back for themselves or for their families.
Tarquin says: “It may sound a bit old-fashioned these days to talk about ‘hiring help’ but in today’s world, time really is a precious, and ever-diminishing, commodity. In households where everyone works full-time, people can either try to carve out the time to get jobs done around their property and in their non-working lives, or they can get someone in to carry out these time-sapping tasks.
“When we did the research, it was interesting to find out just how much time people can really save by outsourcing the most common jobs. By getting someone in to do the jobs people simply no longer have the time to do, literally hundreds of hours a year can be freed up.
“That extra time banked can literally add up to a fortnight’s holiday, or additional precious time spent with family or friends, or simply enjoying that boxset you’ve been meaning to catch up on!”
Here are estimates of how many hours a year could be saved by outsourcing the top 5 common household tasks:
- Cleaning: 100 hours
- Gardening: 72 hours
- Painting & decorating: 280 hours
- Carpentry: 82 hours
- Removals: 6 hours