All About Life Without Maids

[koppie]

you don’t want to try the steam generation iron? Its quite good.

[hokkiengirl]

MintyMin:

Going maidless in a matter of months.. Thinking hw i can best handle the cleanliness of a hdb flat, 3 kids aged 3, 5, 7 and DH..


Reading the past posts.. a muz have gadgets to ease the time:

1) Roomba
2) Happy Call Pan
3) Thermal Pot
4) Zebra water dispenser (Kids can get their own water easily n minimise spills)
5) Steam Iron
6) A whiteboard to plan weekly meals
7) A fridge w big freezer to store a week's supply of food (have decided for greens will do it daily as i prefer the freshness of greens for kids)

:scratchhead: What else?

Anyone has solutions to curtains, toilets, windows and grills?
Juggling of revision time for the kids?

TIA

Hi, Minty Min!

I assume your kids are in school in the morning. The thing about toilets is that you just have to decide how often you want to wash them and stick to it. We used to get by by washing toilets twice a week. Then, my boys grew bigger and they have terrible aim!!! So, toilets are done every alternate day now. I hope your kids either have good aim or are girls.

Curtains can be washed twice a year in the washing machine, or you can use the Karcher steam / vacuum cleaner (Osim is another brand) to steam-clean the curtains as and when. Or switch to roller blinds. Just wipe. Errr, I don't care about windows. Life is too important and busy to do windows. Ha.

Regarding school-work, the only way to go at it is to be very militant about it. Since your eldest is in primary school, time has to be set aside in the afternoons for homework and revision, especially Chinese, if your kid takes that. I imagine myself to be a performer at getai shows. I run from one kid to the other and 'perform' my teacher duties. So I will be screaming at Boy No.1 for ting xie, and 5 minutes later, I will be reading to the baby and some time after that, I will be supervising Boy No. 2 as he plays the piano. It's a mad world but once you get into the swing of things, it's ok lah. Assign work to one child and move on to teach the other one.

And Sundays are our TOTAL REST DAYS. No work, no piano, no revision, nothing. It's the one day I don't have to yell at them very much. We all look forward to that and it keeps me sane.

Above all, keeping meals simple helps. As long as there is a veg, a meat and a carb, we're happy. It also means less washing up. Hope my contribution helps! Here's to many days of happy parenting!

[hokkiengirl]

SMH FOREST:

Hi,


Can experienced FTWMs share their weekly recipes here??

I've been maidless for about 2mths, and somehow, the cooking bit is what i still havent got around too successfully! I mean, i have a thermal pot which is used to cook 1 dish soup or stews, and a happycall pan that can churn out vegs and cook some stuff very neatly and quickly... but i fail to plan my meals and ensure that i am able to cook for an entire week... and also to be able to do marketing and prep food on the weekends that can last me a week, thus lessening my prep time on other weekends!! :slapshead:

I seriously think this can be improved lots... and hope to receive some tips and weekly menus that can be shared... TIA!! :salute:

Hi, SMH Forest!

Ok, I'm not terribly experienced and my cooking is edible but not soul-stirring, but here is what my weekly menu looks like.

For lunch, it's either porridge (fish, chicken and pork) or macaroni or noodles. With veg added, of course. Chinese spinach (peh leng) is very good. It's soft when cooked and dark green, so it's full of iron. Fuss-free, nutritious stuff. One pot, so easy to wash up. Just make a big pot of stock during the weekend for convenience.

For dinner:

1) One-dish meal: fried rice, spaghetti, bean curd porridge with minced pork and hae bee (I'm told this is a Hokkien family dish), bee tai bak with minced meat sauce, etc.

2) Something 'Western', usually with potatoes and veg: fried fish, pork chops, chicken chops, shepherd's pie. Most dishes are cooked with my trusty HC Pan! It's a lot easier to cook than it looks.

3) Meat stew and veg with rice.

4) Oven-grilled chicken wings and veg and tofu in soup

5) Steamed fish, an egg dish and veg

6) grilled / fried fish and veg

7) When the stars are aligned, I make things like breaded fish with Japanese bread crumbs and pizza. Not difficult, and the kids are super impressed! Heh.

Just make sure you have a colourful array of veggies every week: carrots, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, chye sim, kai lan, brinjal, gourds, celery, cabbage, etc.

And eat out once or twice a week! Every cook needs a break! Really, the easiest things taste pretty good. Just marinate a lot of chicken wings. And keep condiments in your pantry which can be used for a multitude of dishes: teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, Italian herb mix, HP sauce, etc.

Enjoy the culinary adventure! One really does get an immense sense of satisfaction after a while.

[Vevey]

micollh:

Thanks Koppie.. i tot no need the ironing board will be better.. haizzz.. still no solution for ironing

I hate ironing so dh does it even tho I m the housewife. Hee..
Sometimes, I hv to tompang a pair of pants or a dress while he is ironing his working clothes n ds1' uniform top ( no need to bother about shorts since they r quite tough material n won't make any diff once seated once or twice).
Our iron is an old, no frill Philips but dh took <1hr to iron once a week.
The trick is to buy clothes that doesn't need ironing when possible. Dh says some of his biz shirt r easier to iron than others, so we take note n try to buy similar materials n avoid those difficult ones n they r of similar price range.

As for t- shirt , try to hang them on hangers once washing machine stops to prevent more wrinkles.
Fluff the shirt tails n sleeves to prevent the shirt dries like kiam chai n if u rem, fluff the shirt tails again when it is almost dry.
Saves alot of ironingwhen more attention is paid to the hanging !

Most imp is our mentality, do we really need ironed t shirts, polos, jeans, bed sheets etc?We chose not to, even when we had maid bcos there is more imp things in life than ironing n it also saves the environment mah. :imanangel:



s n polo t to dry on hangers immediately one :imanangel: onceonce the from washing

[Smurfkitty]

Recently the new maid I engage abuse my kids, I have decided not to have maid anymore… In the beginning, it’s tough cos have 2 kids - 2 and 6 years old… I have maid for around 5 years…


I am a full time working mum… And I do work late for my job… Nevertheless, I told myself and hubby, they are our kids and we can made it… I did not have maid for 4 mths since then… Now, I woke up early around 6.30 to prepare breaksfast, change and pack them to school… Place both at childcare… Even I have maid, she said cannot cope … I have placed my girl to childcare when she is 4… So my maid very good life only manage one …my hubby will drive them to school at 8am… My mum stay nearby me cook dinner for us and fetch my kids downstairs as they returned home by school bus. Then, by the time I m back… They have all bath and eat… Life without maid, children are more independent … Both unpacked their school bag daily, keep toys and books , fed by themselves… And my girl is learning to bath herself too… Of course delegate task to them like fold clothes and keep them. Etc… I engage a part cleaner to come to my house once a week or cleaning… Will wash clothes in the washing machine at alternate days… Do vacuum floor on every wed. Anyway, with planning, it can be done… I will cook on weekend if at home… My kids are a lot happier without maid and I feel the relationship has improved too…

[hokkiengirl]

Good job, Smurf Kitty! Way to go!

[autumnbronze]

deminc:

autumnbronze:

2. The elder boy is allergic to dust. Have yet to see with regards to the younger one. We have done everything in our capacity to minimize his reactions like discarding stuffed toys, getting an anti-dust mite mattress cover etccc. But the flat needs to be wiped consistently at least 3 or 4
times a week
:hugs:

Autumnbronz,
Dust mite is my pain as well. After throwing out all old beddings and sofas, and removing curtains and shelves in kid's room, my main anti dust mite routine is wet wiping kids' bedroom and play area twice a week. I also cover the sofa with a cloth and this is hot washed with his beddings (twice a week with his favorite stuffed toy).

The rest of the apartment is wet wiped once or twice a week, but if you don't have the time, just concentrate on the areas/ things your son uses the most.

Oh yes, we installed a dehumidifier in his closet as well. Otherwise clothes that have been left in there for too long will need to be rewashed again
before wearing.

:thankyou: deminc and to all the other mummies here who have shared your tips and strategies. I really appreciate it. I am now convinced that it IS workable. I am noting down all the necessary appliances to obtain as well as other tips like preparing ingredients in advance etc ... This is going
to come in really handy in the future.

:love: and :hugs: to all here.

And oh .... :salute: to you all for taking the plunge to go maid-less

[MintyMin]

hokkiengirl:

Hi, Minty Min!

I assume your kids are in school in the morning. The thing about toilets is that you just have to decide how often you want to wash them and stick to it. We used to get by by washing toilets twice a week. Then, my boys grew bigger and they have terrible aim!!! So, toilets are done every alternate day now. I hope your kids either have good aim or are girls.

Curtains can be washed twice a year in the washing machine, or you can use the Karcher steam / vacuum cleaner (Osim is another brand) to steam-clean the curtains as and when. Or switch to roller blinds. Just wipe. Errr, I don't care about windows. Life is too important and busy to do windows. Ha.

Regarding school-work, the only way to go at it is to be very militant about it. Since your eldest is in primary school, time has to be set aside in the afternoons for homework and revision, especially Chinese, if your kid takes that. I imagine myself to be a performer at getai shows. I run from one kid to the other and 'perform' my teacher duties. So I will be screaming at Boy No.1 for ting xie, and 5 minutes later, I will be reading to the baby and some time after that, I will be supervising Boy No. 2 as he plays the piano. It's a mad world but once you get into the swing of things, it's ok lah. Assign work to one child and move on to teach the other one.

And Sundays are our TOTAL REST DAYS. No work, no piano, no revision, nothing. It's the one day I don't have to yell at them very much. We all look forward to that and it keeps me sane.

Above all, keeping meals simple helps. As long as there is a veg, a meat and a carb, we're happy. It also means less washing up. Hope my contribution helps! Here's to many days of happy parenting!

Hi Hokkiengirl,

My kids or rather.. my ds is in morning session, while both my dds attend full day child care.. hmm.. aiming ah.. DS also at times kena scolding frm me.. but so far still ok lah.. :evil:

Eh.. windows impt also mah.. if not clean.. the dust all fly into hse leh.. i like the roller blinds idea.. may get tat instead.. since m shifting soon

OMG!! The madness.. I go crazy handling tis.. as they will b shouting for me at the same time.. n if either of them took a longer time to understand a certain topic.. jialat liao.. all hell loose... :frustrated: tatz y i feel i still nid to learn a lot from parents here hw to cope..
U mentioned abt chinese.. great! My ds is in P1 nw.. but feedback frm Chinese Tr was quite bad.. esp his hypy.. i nid a tutor... any recommendations? Prefer 1 to 1.. to suit my schedule.. TIA

U balanced it out v nicely.. Very nice.. i also prefer sundays to be a free n easy day..

Thanks for ur very detailed feedback.. Will definitely haf a lot to learn from u and everyone here.. :grphug:

[gladyschan]

I don't have a maid before and don't think I will ever need cos' my girls are all grown up now I have 3 girls, one 20, one 25 and one 27 this year.


I am a housewife, so I guess that's a really important point as I make time for my girls. I don't believe in outside food (unhealthy!) and always cook 3 homemade meals for my family everyday without fail. Some may think it's difficult but I don't have a job so it's not that tough for me.

My hubby also helps out a lot around the house, so communication & teamwork is vital in not having a maid.

For those career mums out there, I think it'll be a toughie not getting a maid to help out if your child is <4!

[AuntieKiasi]

autumnbronze:

Thank you for starting this thread, watervapourbaby!!


I am a SAHM of 2 sons - a 9 mth old and a 4 and a half year old.

I am also considering going maid-less. Although my DH thinks it's impossible at this point of time and persuaded me to get a new maid after my current one ended her contract with us. She had to return home to get married and couldn't commit to another renewal. She has been with us for 4 years and was more of an assistant than a maid.

My concerns:

1. I have to cook 2 meals cuz of my young kids plus DH prefers home cooked meals.

2. The elder boy is allergic to dust. Have yet to see with regards to the younger one. We have done everything in our capacity to minimize his reactions like discarding stuffed toys, getting an anti-dust mite mattress cover etccc. But the flat needs to be wiped consistently at least 3 or 4
times a week.

3. How do/can I find time to spend with my elder boy. He constantly
comes up with project ideas and insists on engaging my help. Right now, he is pestering me to help him build an elevator. :yikes:

4. I cannot depend on my DH as he works long and irregular hours.

Is this workable??

So if any maid-less mummies have some tips to share on how to make this
work, your input will be much appreciated.

MTIA :hugs:

Hi there, I am SAHM 2 & have bn 1 4 the past 10 yrs. Here is how I improvised on my hsewk:

1) get urself a pack of Dettol wipes (50 sheets). Use these to clean off the dust. No cloth so save time on rinsing.
2) get urself glass wipes from Japan Home. Easy to use. No nid to spray windex. No nid to use cloth or newspapers.
3) use floor wipes (wet & dry ones). Mopping can be done every 2 or 3 days if floor wipes are used.

I hope that you find these tips useful. After all, it works for me.