Summary - Maid to Order

In the article “Maid to Order” Author Barabra Ehrenreich talks about the growing trend of hiring household “help”. In the past two or three decades housework had gone from being strictly women’s work, to having slight help from the men, to being the work of someone deemed of lower standards. Though, this statement isn’t entirely true. Now-a-days hired help is made up of both a great deal of men and women. This article starts off as being about gender inequality, but then turns into an issue of class and moral standards, with some of her own opinions from spending a few years in the house cleaning business herself.

                The effects of the house cleaning businesses flourishing are hugely affecting corporate America.  Companies like Merry Maids have come to stay. Merry Maids are in one of the biggest corporate chains around, the Service Master conglomerate, which includes companies such as ChemLawn, Terminex, Rescue Rooter, and Furniture Medic.  The starting of cleaning companies has seemed to start a chain reaction with other companies offering similar services. There are chains that will do your grocery shopping, take care of your house or pets, and even pick up and deliver dry cleaning.  With companies like that its no wonder that people are pawning off their floor sweeping and toilet scrubbing to someone else as well.

                It’s not just the ultra-wealthy are spending their money hiring house hold help, but does it send the wrong message to the children living in households where “cleaning ladies” are present? In her article Ehrenreich talks about the wealthier class somewhat creating a prolonged existence of the “servant class” of people in this country.  The children in families like these are being raised with the attitude that the people that clean up after them are “lower” than everyone else.  

                It’s likely that the hiring of house cleaners will easily make its way down into many middle class homes. With the hours of working parents rising instead of decreasing the reliance on hired help will surely increase as well. Not only are the parents hours at work growing longer, but the children, who were one expected to do a great deal of work around the house are getting busier as well. From sports, to clubs and other extracurricular activities kids just aren’t around to help out as much as they once were.

                The trend of hired help is more than likely going to continue on to future generations. Morally Americans are losing quite a bit when they hire people to help them do everything. Americans do nothing for themselves anymore. For the most part we buy our clothes from name brand stores, and buy our food from stores. We look for every possible way to put the most minimal amount of effort into everything that we do. So why should our house cleaning routines be any different?