Home help at hand for busy Britons

On top of work, the kids, friends and the occasional moment to yourself, you've got to find time for those niggling household chores -- if a life wallowing in dust and grime doesn't appeal to you, that is.

A grand total of 97 per cent of Britons do at least some cleaning -- more than the rest of Europe, according to new research by Mintel.

Not surprisingly though, the women are doing the majority of it. Around eight in 10 women, compared to just over half of men, say they spend a lot or a fair amount of time cleaning the home.

But help is at hand. From cleaning, gardening and cooking to paying the bills and walking the dog, there's a professional near you ready to take the strain and free up some precious spare time.

Home help is not just for millionaires any more -- 30 per cent of people earning less than £20,000 say they bring in the professionals on a regular or ad hoc basis.

In fact, according to Government figures we spend more than £4 billion annually on domestic services including home help and childcare.

"There has been an increase in the number of households who can't afford to live on just one income, and that makes it difficult to do some things that we take for granted -- meaning many families need someone to fill the gap," explains Alexandra Jones, senior researcher at campaign group The Work Foundation.

"And there's also the ageing population. More and more families are in the situation where they have children who need looking after and they have elderly parents, and they're really struggling."

So if you could do with a hand around the house, here's some of the help for hire.

lCleaners

"CLEANING has grown an awful lot," says Alison Devlin, owner of one of Merry Maids' cleaning franchises. The firm has 105 franchises across the country, servicing around 3,000 homes each week. In some areas it even has a waiting list of prospective clients.

"Time is usually the first reason people come to us," says Alison, who has run the company for four years. "Women are working more and more and the last thing they want to do when they get home is clean the house. And weekends are spent with the family."

Justin Brooks, from Supreme Cleaning in Bolton, agrees: "People just don't want to clean, so they pay somebody else to do it. Also, we have quite a lot of elderly clients -- I suppose people are living longer and living in their own homes longer, so they tend to need help with the cleaning.

"We've certainly seen an increase in business over the past year -- more people than ever want a cleaner and they don't have to be millionaires."

Call Merry Maids (01257 795029) or Supreme Cleaning (01204 526403) for more information.

lIroning

THERE are not many people who would greet a pile of ironing with anything less than negativity, so it's not surprising that an increasing number of householders are employing somebody else to press their smalls for them.

Roger Wilson owns Clean Scene Solutions Ltd and operates an ironing service around Bolton and Bury.

"We collect the pile of un-ironed laundry," he says, "and return it all crisp and pressed the following day."

Getting someone to do the ironing for you used to be the exclusivity of the elite, but Roger says it's very different today.

"People think differently these days. Women who work refuse to spend their precious free time doing ironing -- they want to spend it with their children and families. Time is something that is lacking in people's lives and we're here to make it easier."

Clean Scene Solutions Ltd (01204 887513).

lPersonal Shopper/Wardrobe Weeder

CHRIS Barbour runs Color Me Beautiful in Bolton and thinks women, and men, have less time to organise their personal lives -- partly because their children take up most of their time.

She says: "Our children tend to have better social lives than we do and parents spend much of their free time ferrying them about, so time for ourselves is limited and precious.

"A lot of my clients use my wardrobe weeding service where I go to someone's house and go through their wardrobes discarding clothes they haven't worn for a while. It's brutal but it works.

"My aim is to create a capsule wardrobe where they don't have to think about putting outfits together from an eclectic range of clothes. I also offer a personal shopping service, so if someone is going to a special occasion but doesn't have the time to look for an outfit, I will do it for them."

Color Me Beautiful (01204 593443).

lButlers

THERE has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of people employing butlers over the past decade, according to the Guild of Professional English Butlers.

"It has been estimated that in the UK there are up to 15,000, or more if you count the people who basically perform the function of a butler but don't use the formal title," says director Robert Watson.

Butlers will take responsibility for meals and entertaining, making bookings for restaurants, supervising outside contractors in the household, maintaining the house, perhaps chauffeuring their employer, even. "In fact, anything that needs taking care of," adds Robert.

Unfortunately they don't come cheap -- a butler's wage will typically start from around £25,000, often on top of food and accommodation.

Visit www.guildofbutlers.com

lHelp At The Touch Of A Button

AT the moment the domestic services sector is booming, but new technologies are being developed which could perhaps change the way our chores are done.

Automated vacuum cleaners and lawn-mowers which need little or no human intervention are already on the market, and German firm Siemens is due to launch a hands-free ironing machine by the end of the year.

Other new products are also on the horizon. Friendly Robotics, an Israeli-based firm which makes the Friendly Vac cleaner and the Robomow lawn-mower, counts among its future plans a "personal helper that can bring your meals to the table, clean after you and even dispose of your garbage".

Watch this space.

WOMEN'S WORK: Back in the 1950s it was considered normal for women to stay at home and do the housework... but not any more!

HOME help is not just for millionaires anymore -- 30 per cent of people earning less than £20,000 say they bring in the professionals on a regular or ad hoc basis.

In fact, according to Government figures we spend more than £4 billion annually on domestic services including home help and childcare.

"There's been an increase in the number of households who can't afford to live on just one income, and that makes it difficult to do some things that we take for granted -- meaning many families need someone to fill the gap," explains Alexandra Jones, senior researcher at campaign group The Work Foundation.

"And there's also the ageing population. More and more families are in the situation where they have children who need looking after and they have elderly parents, and they're really struggling."

So if you could do with a hand around the house, here's some of the help for hire.

lCLEANERS

"CLEANING has grown an awful lot," says Alison Devlin, owner of one of Merry Maids' cleaning franchises. The firm has 105 franchises across the country, servicing around 3,000 homes each week. In some areas it even has a waiting list of prospective clients.

"Time is usually the first reason people come to us," says Alison, who has run the company for four years. "Women are working more and more and the last thing they want to do when they get home is clean the house. And weekends are spent with the family."

Justin Brooks, from Supreme Cleaning in Bolton, agrees: "People just don't want to clean, so they pay somebody else to do it. Also, we have quite a lot of elderly clients -- I suppose people are living longer and living in their own homes longer, so they tend to need help with the cleaning.

"We've certainly seen an increase in business over the past year -- more people than ever want a cleaner and they don't have to be millionaires."

Call Merry Maids (01257 795029) or Supreme Cleaning (01204 526403) for more information.

lIRONING

THERE are not many people who would greet a pile of ironing with anything less than negativity, so it's not surprising that an increasing number of householders are employing somebody else to press their smalls for them.

Roger Wilson owns Clean Scene Solutions Ltd and operates an ironing service around Bolton and Bury.

"We collect the pile of un-ironed laundry," he says, "and return it all crisp and pressed the following day."

Getting someone to do the ironing for you used to be the exclusivity of the elite, but Roger says it's very different today.

"People think differently these days. Women who work refuse to spend their precious free time doing ironing -- they want to spend it with their children and families. Time is something that is lacking in people's lives and we're here to make it easier."

Clean Scene Solutions Ltd (01204 887513).

lPERSONAL SHOPPER/WARDROBE WEEDER

CHRIS Barbour runs Color Me Beautiful in Bolton and thinks women, and men, have less time to organise their personal lives -- partly because their children take up most of their time.

She says: "Our children tend to have better social lives than we do and parents spend much of their free time ferrying them about, so time for ourselves is limited and precious.

"A lot of my clients use my wardrobe weeding service where I go to someone's house and go through their wardrobes discarding clothes they haven't worn for a while. It's brutal but it works.

"My aim is to create a capsule wardrobe where they don't have to think about putting outfits together from an eclectic range of clothes. I also offer a personal shopping service, so if someone is going to a special occasion but doesn't have the time to look for an outfit, I will do it for them."

Color Me Beautiful (01204 593443).

lBUTLERS

THERE has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of people employing butlers over the past decade, according to the Guild of Professional English Butlers.

"It has been estimated that in the UK there are up to 15,000, or more if you count the people who basically perform the function of a butler but don't use the formal title," says director Robert Watson.

Butlers will take responsibility for meals and entertaining, making bookings for restaurants, supervising outside contractors in the household, maintaining the house, perhaps chauffeuring their employer, even. "In fact, anything that needs taking care of," adds Robert.

Unfortunately they don't come cheap -- a butler's wage will typically start from around £25,000, often on top of food and accommodation.

Visit www.guildofbutlers.com

lHELP AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON

AT the moment the domestic services sector is booming, but new technologies are being developed which could perhaps change the way our chores are done.

Automated vacuum cleaners and lawn-mowers which need little or no human intervention are already on the market, and German firm Siemens is due to launch a hands-free ironing machine by the end of the year.

Other new products are also on the horizon. Friendly Robotics, an Israeli-based firm which makes the Friendly Vac cleaner and the Robomow lawn-mower, counts among its future plans a "personal helper that can bring your meals to the table, clean after you and even dispose of your garbage".

Watch this space.