We have a deep inherent lifestyle problem affecting many Australian households – there’s not enough time in the day. How often do you mumble that mantra beneath your breath?
The high cost of living requires longer working hours, leaving little time for self-care or time with those you love. It’s a modern-day epidemic that’s on the rise and leading us in a direction of unhappiness, stress, and burnout.
We need to start looking at alternative ways to bring a sense of balance back in our lives without the additional cost associated with hiring help. Many households have an existing resource that isn’t being used – the spare bedroom. Often only slept in a few times a year, it mostly sits idle or is used as a storage room.
One use for the spare room is to rent it out to short-term holiday guests, but you might find it’s not worth the effort of getting the entire house hotel ready for $50 a night. However, there is one major benefit the room could provide you other than money – time.
What if you could use that spare room to gain an extra two hours every day? What would you do with an additional 14 hours a week? Go for a walk, visit friends, do a yoga class or read a book? The list is endless. But how do you find an ideal guest who matches your location, values and household personality?
The Room Xchange is an online platform that connects busy, time-poor households with guests who provide two hours of domestic help around the house each day in exchange for food and accommodation. The host gets the precious gift of time and the guest reduces their cost of living. It’s a win-win and it’s changing the way people live. Below are two stories of how Xchanging is changing the lives of some of our hosts and guests in Australia.
Entrepreneurs Catherine and David – Hosts
Catherine Moolenschot and David Pagotto are a young, professional couple in their 20’s. Catherine is a book writing mentor and published author. She is currently writing the biography of Jim Penman, the founder of Jim’s Mowing, now the Jim’s Group. Her partner, David, is the Managing Director of the Melbourne-based digital marketing agency Sixgun, which delivers marketing solutions to organisations. Catherine and David prefer spending their time working on business growth, rather than doing domestic chores. They also like to eat healthy meals, but they’re not fond of cooking. Being vegan, they were finding meal times a challenge. Catherine and David realised they needed help. After some quick Googling they found The Room Xchange. They quickly created their profile and shortly after connected with Sally.
Wedding Photographer Sally – Guest
After a long marriage and having raised four adult children, Sally and her husband divorced. Sally needed to find a new direction in life and a way to financially support herself. Sally’s passion is wedding photography. She has been trying to build a sustainable business but working to cover her living costs would leave her with very little time to work on her business. Finding The Room Xchange has significantly reduced Sally’s living expenses and given her more time to focus on building the next phase of her life and financial future.
Sally’s presence in Catherine and David’s lives has transformed their lifestyle in many ways. They now arrive home from work to delicious vegan dinners, a clean house, and the laundry done. On top of that, they love Sally and have grown very fond of her. The sharing of ideas around the dinner table has also helped Sally with her business goals and improve her marketing.
Tiffany Cherry, Media Personality and Presenter – Host
Tiffany Cherry is an Australian sports presenter and media personality. Tiffany is also the mother of a three-year-old. She’s had experience with demi-pairs before but prefers our approach because it creates long-term consistency and a more meaningful relationship with the Guest. Tiffany’s work schedule and irregular hours keep her very busy, so she was looking for someone who could fit in with her schedule and have some flexibility.
Li University Student – Guest
When we first met Li, she was lonely living on her own. Apart from the isolation, she also struggled with university fees and the overall cost of living. She now lives with Tiffany and is enjoying living rent-free in the luxury of a beautiful home in the inner city of Melbourne. It’s provided her with balance, the space to concentrate on her studies and a family that she is connecting with in a meaningful way.
The Gift of Time
By sharing your spare bedroom, you can devote more time to building your business or career, get some balance in your life and gain much needed practical help. At the same time, you also get the “feel good” factor by contributing to someone else’s life and you open yourself up to other cultures, new ideas, and experiences.
These are just a few of the stories coming out of The Room Xchange. It’s changing the way people live right across Australia. What would you do with an extra two hours a day?
Become a Host today and start living again. It’s free to sign up.
Website: theroomxchange.com Social Media: @theroomxchange
About Ludwina Dautovic
Ludwina Dautovic has been a successful entrepreneur for over two decades and is the Founder and CEO of The Room Xchange, an online marketplace that matches busy people with a spare room in their house (Hosts) with guests who provide a couple of hours of help around the house each day in exchange for food and accommodation.
