I feel a little guilty about hiring someone to clean my apartment once a month, but I reason that as long as I pay her very well, above average, then it's okay. I pay her $120 for a 1 bdm. apartment, and she usually spends 2-3 hours on it. That's a professional wage. Without this additional help, my husband and I would be living in a much dirtier apartment, because we're both pretty sloppy and don't really notice the mess.

I've also read that since housework is "woman's work," it's devalued. People expect women to do it for free. But when you pay someone to do it, that confirms it has value. So it's a feminist decision to pay to get your housework done. If a man were living alone, he wouldn't think twice about hiring a housekeeper, and no one would fault him for that. As long as men are still doing less housework, women need to work against the idea that they should do all that extra work for free.