All About Life Without Maids
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daisyt:
dear ladies, may i join this \"used to have maids but none now club\"? :oops:Hi mocharita, one thing we have to learn, from the stage of having maid to no maid, is to to lower our expectation. The house would never be sparking clean and neat as before. We have to bear with that, do our best and not tired ourselves up. Also try to get all family members to be involved in housework.
Don't be so stress up, its fine if the house is not sparking clean. Most important is the peoples who live in the house are happy.
after having maids for the past 4 years and now without one... i have learn to accept that the house is not going to be 100% clean 24 hours a day since i have no helper nowsaday...
and yes i do see the changes in my kid too, she used to be :- xxxx, i want water, xxxx i want to eat, nowsaday, she will help to set the table for dinner, get drinks for us, etc...and sincerely, after getting the family to be involved in housework with me, felt we are much closer now....do you felt this way too?
just wonder, any mummy got good recommendation for a student care? i am living in the east..
thanking all in advance...xie xie -
daisyt:
Daisyt,
Garlic, I bought those already finely chopped from supermarket, transfer into air tight container.
Ginger, I chop them finely myself, put in air tight container.
Onion, just cut and also put in air tight container - use for cook pork or fry eggs.
Potatos, for cooking soup, after cut into pieces, put in a container with water and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Carrots, for cooking soup, cut into pieces, put in plastic bag, poke a few holes for the carrots to breathe.
All the above, just put in the normal chiller, I prepare for one week portion too.
For garlic & Onion, my experience is that if you prepare them ahead and put in the fridge, it stank up the whole fridge and the smell lingers for days everytime we open the fridge door. This happened despite the fact that I put them in a few layers of plastic bags. I've resigned to preparing the ingredients only before I cook and this is the part I hate about cooking. I hate the smell on my fingers after working with garlic & onion. Dipping my fingers in lime juice does not help much. I tried wearing dispossable gloves but find them getting in the way when I am cutting/chopping.You mentioned air-tight container, any recommended brand?
For laundry, I wash the whites, the dark colours, the towels, the bedsheets & school uniforms in separate loads. We changed bedsheets everyweek and bath towels every few days. Sometimes, 2 loads per day also not enough.
Dust is my worst enemy. It's everywhere and accumulates almost immediately after i've cleaned it off.... on table top, display shelves, book shelves, TV...the piano is a magnet for dust.
I've been without a maid for the past 2 years (after having one for >10years) and still hating housework. Btw, this thread is fantastic. Thanks -
daisyt:
hi mocharita,
hi mocharita,
For meat, I season them and put in container, then to the freezer (the place we put ice, is it freezer ? Ya thats the place). I prepare for one whole week (4 days). Pork and chicken. The other day, I cook plain porridge, fry mince pork with egg, a vegi, sardin, salted egg and here goes a simple dinner.
Vegetables, I don't prepare on Sunday. I wash and cut in the morning, put in plastic bag, poke a few holes and cook them on the same night. No, it won't turn soggy leh.
Side dish like fish, always go for steam, so its easier. In the morning, just lay the ginger, add soya sauce, put on a plate, cover with plastic bag. At night, it just go straight to the steamer.
For other side dishs, I try to make it simple, steam beancurd with oyster sauce and shallots, fry tomato eggs, fry big onion eggs, steam egg with mince pork. All the ingredients are ready and fast to prepare.
Garlic, I bought those already finely chopped from supermarket, transfer into air tight container.
Ginger, I chop them finely myself, put in air tight container.
Onion, just cut and also put in air tight container - use for cook pork or fry eggs.
Potatos, for cooking soup, after cut into pieces, put in a container with water and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Carrots, for cooking soup, cut into pieces, put in plastic bag, poke a few holes for the carrots to breathe.
All the above, just put in the normal chiller, I prepare for one week portion too.
We put our clothings into washing machine every 2 days. I use 30mins quick wash with my washing machine (to save power and water), so before washing, I would soak the soil cloths for overnight.
Ironing, I never try steam ironing, so cannot comment much. And I am very lousy in ironing, always cannot get it very straight, but everyone accept this fact and just bear with it. My hubby is very good in this, sometimes he would help.
Ai yo ! I don't iron bedsheets and pillow sheets lah. Anyway, once you lay them on the bed, just straighten with your hand and its straight enough to sleep lor.
daisyt has some fantastic advise here. I used to do exactly the same thing b4 I had a maid and a kid. I used to work from 7 am to 7pm, come home and do marking somemore.
It also helps if you can plan out a weekly or monthly menu. That way, you do not end up throwing away stuff that has turned bad ....
I used to iron bedlinen and home clothes too, but had to give up cuz no time lah ....
You know, reading this thread, I am so motivated to stop engaging full time maids when kid(s) are older
You mummies out there are really an inspiration
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Fairy:
hi fairy, i put them in tuppleware, those very tight containers, OK leh, no smell. Garilc would leave the smell on hand but not onions lah. That's why i said, I buy those ready chop garlic from supermarket. I also hate that smell.
Daisyt,
For garlic & Onion, my experience is that if you prepare them ahead and put in the fridge, it stank up the whole fridge and the smell lingers for days everytime we open the fridge door. This happened despite the fact that I put them in a few layers of plastic bags. I've resigned to preparing the ingredients only before I cook and this is the part I hate about cooking. I hate the smell on my fingers after working with garlic & onion. Dipping my fingers in lime juice does not help much. I tried wearing dispossable gloves but find them getting in the way when I am cutting/chopping.You mentioned air-tight container, any recommended brand?
Dust is my worst enemy. It's everywhere and accumulates almost immediately after i've cleaned it off.... on table top, display shelves, book shelves, TV...the piano is a magnet for dust.
Dust, yes agree with youm the are always there. You can try those 3M magic cloth, wipe off dust very well when the cloth is dry. Ai ya, I also has to bear with the dust, only wipe once or twice a week.
For piano hor, I cover it with king size fitted bedsheet. Initially wanted to buy those piano cover, full cover type, amost $300+. Buy a plain colour bedsheet, only $30+, although don't look so nice lah.
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2ppaamm:
hi 2ppaamm,
Yes, I would like to know about this couple. I need someone to clean my windows and change the bedsheets. Preferably someone really strong!
i've pm-ed your their contacts already. sorry took so long to reply. i'm down with flu now, i feel like sleeping the whole day!
just to share my experience with regards to 'cleanliness standard'...
in my opinion, it's all a matter of getting used to the new standard of cleanliness.
i grew up having 2 maids at home (back in jakarta). i never had to lift a finger doing anything. i'm used to clean house, pressed clothes, yummy food, fresh towels, crisp bedsheets, etc. then i came to singapore to share an apartment with my friends. that's when things start to turn around :lol:
in the beginning, we cleaned the apartment frequently, esp the kitchen. but some of us started doing OTs at work and the cleaning became less frequent. plus, some people weren't chipping in :x and we retaliated by not doing any cleaning at all haha! i also found that i washed my towels and bedsheet less frequently too. time to time, i'd think to myself, shd i change the bedsheet? shd i wash the towels? and then i looked at them and said, ah, they still look clean to me :oops:
before the landlady came for a visit, we'd try to do some cleaning up and that's when i found that, hey!! i could actually live with all this dirt! hahaa...
so okay... the process would probably take a few years. but we can get used to it, if we let ourselves be.
i'm just so lucky i have a husband who has less tolerance to dirty house than me. :love: he does most of the mopping after work, even if it goes well into the night. and it gives him a sense of satisfaction too. -
daisyt:
i get my 4-yr old girl to do the dusting for me :lol: and she loves it!
Dust, yes agree with youm the are always there. You can try those 3M magic cloth, wipe off dust very well when the cloth is dry. Ai ya, I also has to bear with the dust, only wipe once or twice a week.
i bought this neon-coloured cleaning glove from ntuc, not sure abt the name, but it's easy to spot, thanks to the color.
she'd put the glove on and dust the tv, tv console, dvd player, bay windows (we have grilles installed), coffee tables, study table, dining table, shoe rack and such. ok. it's not perfectly dustless, but as long as she gets used to the notion, i'll have one less housework to do in no time. -
flim:
Hi flim,
i get my 4-yr old girl to do the dusting for me :lol: and she loves it!daisyt:
Dust, yes agree with youm the are always there. You can try those 3M magic cloth, wipe off dust very well when the cloth is dry. Ai ya, I also has to bear with the dust, only wipe once or twice a week.
i bought this neon-coloured cleaning glove from ntuc, not sure abt the name, but it's easy to spot, thanks to the color.
she'd put the glove on and dust the tv, tv console, dvd player, bay windows (we have grilles installed), coffee tables, study table, dining table, shoe rack and such. ok. it's not perfectly dustless, but as long as she gets used to the notion, i'll have one less housework to do in no time.
you mean can just wear the gloves and \"wipe\" over the areas to clean ?
Sounds good lei....
I must go look for it in NTUC. -
dear ladies, may i join this \"used to have maids but none now club\"? :oops:
after having maids for the past 4 years and now without one... i have learn to accept that the house is not going to be 100% clean 24 hours a day since i have no helper nowsaday...
and yes i do see the changes in my kid too, she used to be :- xxxx, i want water, xxxx i want to eat, nowsaday, she will help to set the table for dinner, get drinks for us, etc...and sincerely, after getting the family to be involved in housework with me, felt we are much closer now....do you felt this way too?
Hi, all \"Used to have maids but now no more club\"....
I feel ever since my maid is gone, my mil she started talking to me again. I was slow to realise something was wrong with my 1st maid of 4 years around. Now we are closer, and less barrier in communication. My kids they are more independent because they have to go Full day childcare. I am more busy but all this are worth it. -
“We put our clothings into washing machine every 2 days. I use 30mins quick wash with my washing machine (to save power and water), so before washing, I would soak the soil cloths for overnight.”
:shock: Must soak soil clothes for overnight?? I didn’t, I threw everything in the washer. That was what I did during my college year. Threw everything in and slot coins in the machine. Oh dear, silly me.
“For laundry, I wash the whites, the dark colours, the towels, the bedsheets & school uniforms in separate loads. We changed bedsheets everyweek and bath towels every few days. Sometimes, 2 loads per day also not enough.”
Separate laundry?? Oh dear, I threw towels, toilet mat, kitchen towels, clothes..everything in! I thought the washer is good enough for doing the washing. No wonder my ex-maid did 3 loads a day. I thought I had it easy by doing once a day.
“It also helps if you can plan out a weekly or monthly menu. That way, you do not end up throwing away stuff that has turned bad .... “
You are right about menu planing. I threw away a lot of veggies this morning. They have turned soggy and watery (yellow liquid, eeiks!). I wore gloves and hold my breath while cleaning up the mess. Lesson learned. Must remember not to over buy, don't want to clean smelly fridge again.
Thank you all. -
mocharita:
I'm very fussy about mixing. The whites won't retain its whiteness for long if you mix it with other colours. I don't mix towels with clothes, especially the dark coloured ones. The 'hairs' from the towels will be all over the clothes if you wash them in the same load. Every time I change bedsheets, bolster & pillow cases, I do so for all the beds. Therefore, this alone is usually more than a load. Toilet/bath mats - I stopped using them after I'm maidless. We used to hand wash these. So, to save myself the unpleasant job, I started using rags (old T-shirts/towels) as bath mats. Just use & throw.
“For laundry, I wash the whites, the dark colours, the towels, the bedsheets & school uniforms in separate loads. We changed bedsheets everyweek and bath towels every few days. Sometimes, 2 loads per day also not enough.”
Separate laundry?? Oh dear, I threw towels, toilet mat, kitchen towels, clothes..everything in! I thought the washer is good enough for doing the washing. No wonder my ex-maid did 3 loads a day. I thought I had it easy by doing once a day.
I threw away the toilet-bowl brush after my maid has left as I can't bring myself to use it because using it means I have to wash the brush after use! :!:
I pour clorine-based toilet bowl detergent after every use and use high power water-jet to spray at the toilet bowl. In this way, I try to keep it as clean as possible to avoid having to physically brush it. I also keep used toothbrushes handy. In instances when I really need to give it a brush, I used the recycled toothbrushes & immediately disposed them - more hygienic.
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