All About Life Without Maids

[just888]

Chu Liu Xiang:

24hr-mum:

any recommendation of thermal cooker, or something that can help

u fry vege without hving the oil splattering (cos there's a cover) and hving to mop the floor?

You can try this item, HAPPYCALL PAN, which can cook without oil splattering. It's cheaper to buy from this singapore website.

I don't own one. I rather let my maid do some housework

http://list.gmarket.com.sg/gmkt.inc/Category/Default.aspx?gdlc_cd=100000018&gdmc_cd=200000124&gdsc_cd=300000441

I was about to share this on the HappyCall Pan too. I just received mine yesterday and made my breakfast in it. Bagel, hashbrown and ham all at the same time. Turn out good.
This is where i got mine: http://list.gmarket.com.sg/gmkt.inc/Goods/Goods.aspx?goodscode=404253124&jaehuid=200004249%27%20style=%27color:#4189AD;

Usually i will cook soup using slow cooker or pressure cooker.
Cook long hour brew soup in slow cooker in the morning dump all stuff inside and set auto, ready to serve in the evening.

For those others simple soup, i just cook in the evening using pressure cooker. Now I also use pressure cooker to cook my rice.

Thermal pot is also good which u can cook in the morning and it keeps the food warm serve to be serve the afternoon and evening.

For hubby who is always late for dinner, I would just transfer his share of food to food warmer, hence I do not need to reheat the food when he returns.

[24hr-mum]

thanks to all who share abt happy pan.

wat’s the difference between pressure cooker and thermal cooker?

[just888]

24hr-mum:

thanks to all who share abt happy pan.

wat's the difference between pressure cooker and thermal cooker?

Pressure cooker:
shorten cooking time, for example I am using the WMF pressure cooker, I turn off the fire when it reaches 2 rings indicator (about 20 mins). After 30 mins when the ring just goes down, i opened the cover, the soup is still in boiling stage. NOTE: you can only open the cover when the pressure is slowly released by the pot.


Thermal pot:
After the soup reaches boiling stages, i still need to leave it to continue to cook for 30 mins or so...like our normal cooking. After then transfer into the thermal device. The soup will continue to keep warm even after 6hrs. The rate of heat loss is slower.

[SMH FOREST]

Am wondering… for FTWM, how do you cope when your kids get sick and needs to skip cc/school?


I’m contemplating going maidless now, after the 3rd maid change since May… the current one is not getting better after repeated chances given, counselling and training.

My hubby and I have talked and am thinking about going maidless, and asking our old part time helper to come in once a wk to help with the chores. However, it is when my boy gets sick that I’m worried about. My parents are in their 70s, and last time before my boy went to cc, he was under their care but will definitely need a maid to help around. Otherwise, my ears are never peaceful as they will keep complaining abt his behaviour etc. Just 2 weeks back, my boy was kept at home for a week cos he was sick, and my parents were at my plc watching him with the maid. My boy has sensitive airways, is childhood asthmatic and gets the cough really frequently. I am anticipating that I will get an earful if he needs to be kept at home again after I go maidless.

How best can I settle this?? It’s a big dilemma cos the current maid’s main task is only housewk and she already cannot do it well. Been teaching her cooking for 2 mths, and she hasn’t cooked a meal for us herself yet either. My boy doesn’t like her, so she can’t even help out when we are getting ready for work in the mornings. All these makes me and my hub feel that we are probably better off w/o her.

Any advises will be appreciated!!

[24hr-mum]

it seems u really shd get rid of ur current maid.

in the first place, avoid getting maids who cant cook.
cooking is one big chore.

as for the sick child, i suppose student care centre also cant accept him during the sick period right?

the earful is becos hving to take care of the child or becos the parents dun like the maid??

if want go maidless and parents cant help, next alternative is student care for workg mums. maybe can ask the student care whr they can still take in the sick child but just quarantine him or her…
i really hv no answer except that one parent got to take leave. so its wise Not to both parents whose job need to travel. one parent can travel, and it will be gd if the other parent need not travel in his or her work.

[SMH FOREST]

hi 24hr-mum,


for new maids, chances of landing one who can cook is really not easy! the one i had, couldn't even iron clothes when she first landed!! that's a whole lot of training that we've gone thru w her, but she can still use 1 big pail of water for 1 rinse of 2 cc uniform and 1 small towel... and she needs to rinse it 3-4times to get rid of the soap... and she separates the white one and the red one, these each goes on their own rinses. can u imagine, 4 full pails x 3 daily! all these even tho we have taught and instructed her, and her rules in paper indicated to not waste water cos' its an expensive resource in SG... the reason for her doing that?? she is plain lazy to even stand up and turn off the tap while she rinses!!

sigh... my son attends cc, and when he is sick, he definitely cannot go back to sch... only if the fever breaks or what not, then he'll be allowed back to sch..

the earful is cos' my parents find my boy too difficult to care for... he is a hyper active boy.. and is at that tantrum throwing stage..

i guess, maybe need to get consensus frm the boss to allow work from home if i go maidless... dunno how receptive he might be to that... but it can become a sticky point if i end up maidless.... :sad:

[24hr-mum]

if u get a maid, try to get transfer maids - becos u get to see them in person, interview them and feel for yourslf their suitability, or interview their bosses. even if what they say may not be true, its still better than trying out luck like a blind date (点秋香）. or one wif experienced. and older ones. not those below 28, in my opinion. older ones hv their problems - old habits, demanding, stubborn habits or attitude, but if u just wanna get the job done without hving to teach them, prob better than new ones. but too experienced i also dun want. cos their pay wil be so high too…


boys are tough. my boy already 6, still like a bb, and still hyper…

i think hard for u to be maidless cos even at our age we dun hv so much energy to run after our kids…

prob change maid will be the best…try transfer ones… at least u get to see first before u take the person…

[Pen88n]

I had a babysitter looking after my gal when she was young. Later, when she went childcare for the whole day, we continued with her taking sch bus to the babysitter’s place. She showered my gal and gave her dinner. We picked her up after work. I liked the fact that my babysitter was a SAHM with primary sch kids and she provided wholesome, balanced, home-cooked meal.


At times when my gal was sick, she would not attend childcare and babysitter would look after her instead. My babysitter was very easy going and her whole family treated my gal like their own kid. Luckily my gal was not the sickly type, at most a day or 2 of absence a month.

My babysitter is now looking after 2 (and at times 3) babies at home - she is that popular!

[24hr-mum]

ha ha, so all SAHM here, if one day their kids are big enuf already, they can consider being a baby sitter. after so many years being a sahm, i really dun fancy gg back to the corporate world…taking care of kids is hard work but better than ofc politics??

[LOLMum]

when my kids are older and i dont have to worry about their school work, then maybe i can spend a bit more time in the kitchen.


very irritating to have to drop whatever 1 is doing to do school run or send for tuition etc. especially when both are in different schools have different dismissal time and different time slot for tuition at different places.

dont fancy being a permanent babysitter. too tired already...