All About Life Without Maids

[shine_fs]

matrix0405:

shine_fs:

I will be going maidless after this weekend...so happy..

You can do it. BTW any tips to simplify daily chores: folding and sorting out washed and dried clothing? Any tips to ogranise the workflow to simplifly this manual task?

Hi there,

I don't have tips to share :imsorry:

[psle2011mum]

slmkhoo:

psle2011mum:

I am putting in 3 hours of housework before work and 3 hours after work; house is clean and laundry all done with dinner and breakfast homecooked etc but I still can't squeeze in time to get a lunch done for kids :sad: Great to hear from anyone with ideas. Thanks!

You work very hard and your standards must be high! I am a SAHM with 2 teenagers, I prepare (not 'cook') breakfast and cook dinners, do all shopping and housework, and pack lunches for my kids to bring to school. But I don't spend that much time on it - maybe just 3 hrs a day on average? I guess I must cut a lot of corners compared to you. Maybe you can find ways to reduce some areas so you can do lunch? Often I cook more at dinner and let my kids have thate excess for lunch the next day. That might help.

Thanks for this

No lah, standards not high by any measure. Just clean and neat, got food, can do.

Oh dear! I knew I wasn't very efficient... hmmm... must strive to do double time now and review the work processes!

My cooking is really simple especially for breakfast - scambled eggs, omelettes in various style, make a minced meat topping for store bought chee cheong fun, sometimes sunny side up eggs - that sort of thing.

Do you get complaints from the kids if they eat the same thing for dinner and then lunch the next day? Or do you freeze and serve it up another day or two later?

[piney]

znzyzyzx:

I recently bought a zojirushi induction heat rice cooker. It has the timer for the rice to be cooked at a scheduled time. It can also be used to cook Gaba brown rice. The Gaba brown rice came out like the normal whitw rice (the texture, i meant). Gaba brown rice means germinated brown rice. It is supposed to be more nutritious.

I love the porridge that is cooked by it too. (but it takes quite a long time , i think, slightly more than one hour)

Thanks znzyzyzx for sharing! I am also interested in the Karcher steam cleaner that you have just bought. Is it effective on cleaning lines in between tiles?

Also, do you need to vacuum first before steam cleaning? What types of vacuum cleaner would you suggest? Thanks!

[piney]

Any good suggestions on vacuum cleaner that is water-based but light-weight? I saw Karcher has a steam vacuum cleaner (SV 1902) that can vacuum and steam at the same time. Anyone has this model? Is 2-in-1 better?


Also, is Rainbow/Delphin really necessary?I suppose normal vacuum cleaner can be used to vacuum mattress right?

[micollh]

need help, on ionaid electrolux dryer… yest i tested, medium load, cotton, but the waisteband of my kids uniform like not completely dry, must still hang dry… how come huh? i din put full load some more…


another headache q… how to get rid of those irritating ants in the kitchen ? wipe n wipe… still come back… kill many ants liao… very sad… but bo bian… keep coming back… any tips??

[dasalo]

micollh:

another headache q.. how to get rid of those irritating ants in the kitchen ? wipe n wipe.. still come back.. kill many ants liao.. very sad.. but bo bian.. keep coming back.. any tips??

Looks like ants in season now! Haha.... my place also has lots. They'll keep coming out when the weather is hot. I've learnt to ignore it as long as they are not the biting sort. Mine are the tiny one seemingly black but not sure..busted their nest twice and they are still back. So now keeping my house as clean as possible esp the kitchen. There will still be afew lurking around for crumbs. *hiaz..

[micollh]

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall… the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead …so still hesitate to buy this type… how how?

[BeContented]

micollh:

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall.. the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead ...so still hesitate to buy this type.. how how?

I HATE ants......really hate so much that the moment I spot them appearing, I spend hours monitoring and sniff out their nest :oops:

I think different type of ants succumb to different ant killer food. So you might have to trial and error a little. I have tried using both the dried kind (sand-like) and the more sticky type. I will first see where are their normal 'path', then plant the ant-killer at those spots. Next will find out where are their nest/outlets and sprayeeeeeeee (a lot) insecticide (normally they have >1 outlet). Dun just spray at the outside, aim the nozzle into the hole.

My DH and MIL cannot understand my 'obsession' over the need to get rid of ants (cos' I'll really watch/monitor them to see where is the nest). My kids are more amused and will yell for me whenever they start seeing ants around.

Anyway, I have done the above ~4 times over a 12 yr period....so the house is relatively cleared of ants 70% of the time. Some of the things I try to ensure are
1. Food are not left open or accessible to ants
2. See 1 kill 1.
3. Whenever you bring stuff home, check for ants (my MIL was the main culprit .... she would bring back some paper boxes during marketing to contain her groceries. And by the time I noticed, some ants already found and started a new nest... and the whole cycle started)

PS : Generally, ants travel everywhere....so dun have to place high.....they will find the ant food. But if you have young kids, then make sure it's at places unaccessible to them and also, will not drop into food.

[znzyzyzx]

Is better to vacumn or sweep first before steam mopping. I wont say that it is 100% effective in cleaning the lines in between. I guess if you really want those clean, probably have to do a few times ?


But I do feel my floor much cleaner when I step on it.

As for vacumn cleaner, I am only using an ordinary one.

piney:

znzyzyzx:

I recently bought a zojirushi induction heat rice cooker. It has the timer for the rice to be cooked at a scheduled time. It can also be used to cook Gaba brown rice. The Gaba brown rice came out like the normal whitw rice (the texture, i meant). Gaba brown rice means germinated brown rice. It is supposed to be more nutritious.

I love the porridge that is cooked by it too. (but it takes quite a long time , i think, slightly more than one hour)

Thanks znzyzyzx for sharing! I am also interested in the Karcher steam cleaner that you have just bought. Is it effective on cleaning lines in between tiles?

Also, do you need to vacuum first before steam cleaning? What types of vacuum cleaner would you suggest? Thanks!

[puff]

BeContented:

micollh:

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall.. the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead ...so still hesitate to buy this type.. how how?

I HATE ants......really hate so much that the moment I spot them appearing, I spend hours monitoring and sniff out their nest :oops:

I think different type of ants succumb to different ant killer food. So you might have to trial and error a little. I have tried using both the dried kind (sand-like) and the more sticky type. I will first see where are their normal 'path', then plant the ant-killer at those spots. Next will find out where are their nest/outlets and sprayeeeeeeee (a lot) insecticide (normally they have >1 outlet). Dun just spray at the outside, aim the nozzle into the hole.

My DH and MIL cannot understand my 'obsession' over the need to get rid of ants (cos' I'll really watch/monitor them to see where is the nest). My kids are more amused and will yell for me whenever they start seeing ants around.

Anyway, I have done the above ~4 times over a 12 yr period....so the house is relatively cleared of ants 70% of the time. Some of the things I try to ensure are
1. Food are not left open or accessible to ants
2. See 1 kill 1.
3. Whenever you bring stuff home, check for ants (my MIL was the main culprit .... she would bring back some paper boxes during marketing to contain her groceries. And by the time I noticed, some ants already found and started a new nest... and the whole cycle started)

PS : Generally, ants travel everywhere....so dun have to place high.....they will find the ant food. But if you have young kids, then make sure it's at places unaccessible to them and also, will not drop into food.

I like your 'see 1 kill 1 ' :hi5: coz me also the same if they escape I will feel frustrated .