How to Choose the Right Hours for Your Housekeeper or Nanny - A Practical Scheduling Guide
You’ve decided it’s time for help at home, but where do you start? Hiring a housekeeper or nanny can transform daily life, but only if the hours and structure truly fit your household. Get it wrong, and even the best candidate will struggle. Get it right, and your home will run smoothly, quietly, and with less stress every day.
This guide offers a no-nonsense, professionally informed breakdown to help families across London, Surrey and the Home Counties create practical, effective staffing schedules, whether you're hiring a full-time or part time, housekeeper, nanny or blended nanny-housekeeper
Start With What Needs Doing, Not Just Job Titles
The best way to structure hours is to think in terms of tasks, not just job titles. Begin by listing exactly what needs doing each week:
- Cleaning and tidying
- Laundry and ironing
- Bed changes and deep cleans
- School runs and childcare
- Meal prep, cooking, groceries
- Pet care, errands or admin
Then ask: How often do we want each task done? This becomes your base schedule.
Typical Time Requirements by Task
| Task |
Estimated Time |
| Clean a bathroom |
30–60 mins |
| Deep clean kitchen |
2–4 hours |
| Daily tidy of main rooms |
1–2 hours |
| Laundry & ironing (family of 4) |
4–6 hours/week |
| School run + childcare (afternoon) |
3–4 hours/day |
| Meal prep (daily family dinners) |
1.5–2 hours/day |
Popular Schedule Structures We Place
- Flexible 2 or 3-Day Housekeeper : Any three consistent weekdays. Great for working parents who want a well-run home without the cost of full-time help. Flexibility on which days makes this much easier to fill, as it dovetails with other part-time jobs.
- Morning Housekeeper: 4–5 days per week, typically 9am–1 or 2pm. Ideal for laundry, cleaning, errands, and keeping things ticking over while children are at school.
- Afternoon Housekeeper: 1/2 pm to 6/7 pm. Popular with families who need help after school but don’t require full-time care. Also allows professional housekeepers to work another morning role — a win-win.
- Full-Day Housekeeper or Nanny-Housekeeper Usually 9am–5pm or 10am to 6pm. Best suited to households needing all-round support — cleaning, laundry, childcare, simple cooking. These roles attract the strongest candidates and provide unmatched consistency and stability.
Our advice? If you have the budget and the need, consider a full-time housekeeper. These roles are easier to place, retain better long-term staff, and deliver the most value to busy households.
Real Case Studies: What Works in Practice
A Confident Full-Time Housekeeper in Guildford
One of our standout placements this year was a full-time housekeeper for a large Arts and Crafts property in Guildford. The role required complete household oversight, from complex wardrobe management , designer clothing care to include delicates, to everday and deep cleaning, and dog care. She understood the principal’s preferences and worked with quiet confidence and discretion. The result? A well-run home and a stable, trusted placement.
A Housekeeper-Nanny in Wimbledon With Fixed Hours
We recently placed a housekeeper-nanny with a professional couple in Wimbledon, both doctors, one working in A&E. Their household needed someone reliable, calm, and flexible. We structured the role as Monday to Friday, 1pm–7pm, with pre-agreed evening babysitting built into the schedule. This gave them the after-school support they needed while making the role sustainable for the candidate.
A Live-In Housekeeper for a Retired Couple
Another excellent match was a live-in housekeeper placed with a retired couple in the countryside. With adult children and grandchildren visiting regularly, and the couple frequently travelling, they needed a discreet, warm presence to keep the home running smoothly. The housekeeper managed guest rooms, laundry, and seasonal organisation, helping the home stay calm, cared-for, and always ready to welcome family.
Don’t Try to Fit Everything Into One Role
Many families ask:
"Can we have someone who cleans, cooks, walks the dog, does school drop-offs, and helps with admin, all in 4 hours a day?"
The honest answer? Probably not.
High-quality household staff expect clear, realistic expectations, and appropriate pay for their skill set. Trying to combine five different jobs into a short shift often results in high turnover and underperformance.
That said, blended roles like housekeeper-nanny or housekeeper-cook can work brilliantly, when hours are well structured and each task has enough time to be done properly. We help families design those roles with care.
Read our guide to blended roles →
Need Help Structuring Your Role?
Every home is different, and that’s exactly how we work. At HomeOrganisers, we build household roles that reflect real daily life, not generic job titles. Whether you need full-time support or someone part-time and flexible, we’ll help you get the balance right from the start.
Contact us today for expert, personalised advice on planning your household staff hours, and finding the right person for your home.