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Sat 03 Mar 2007Helping hands Want your oven cleaned? Looking for a dog walker? Need your clothes ironed? Time-poor consumers are ready to pay to avoid doing the jobs they hate, writes Michael Kelly.I heard a primary-school teacher tell an alarming anecdote on the radio not long ago. A "mess" was made in her classroom when she stepped out of the room. When she came back she tried to find out who the culprit was by asking the children who they thought should clean it up. After some soul searching, one little boy said: "The cleaning lady?" I was driving along, wondering how a child picked up such a strange attitude, when a van marked "wheelie-bin cleaning service" went by - and I had my answer. Over the past decade, as our affluence has increased, we seem to have become less interested in menial tasks, and all manner of unpleasant chores have been taken on by service providers.