All About Life Without Maids
-
slmkhoo,
U r right about high standard, really can take up most of my time.
In fact I planned once a week task - wiping window grilles, wiping kitchen cabinets, wiping doors and fans, washing toilets & marketing. Floor - 1, 3 & 5. I have to lower my standard of cleaning so these task will not take up much time. My robot cleaner arrived, hope that it can ease my floor task.
Like u, I will spent about 1-2 hrs to overlook the kids homeworks. They are quite young - 8 years old and 6 years old. I have to cook simple as well. Yesterday cooking took me 2hrs. After that, I have to mop the oily floor and stove. These take up time as well. I have to mop the floor after cooking everytime so that the floor is not greasy to step on. And have to wipe the stove and wall around the stove otherwise seasoned stain will not come out and there will be an oil smell (in hokkien - cao you kao). Do you mop the floor and clean the stove after cooking? -
i’m new to this maid-less situation.
we’re second week into maid-less situation and i feel v stressed up.
the maid was repatriated because of the trouble she created. The last week of June was sheer madness because of her phantom medical ailments and she left a mess. the yard was a mess, her room was a mess, the sink pipe was dislodged and my gas burner is destroyed and will have to be replaced. she dumped a whole load of cleaning material without permission and i have had to re-organised.
it’s been a mess and i’ve the "undomesticated goddess" to borrow Sophie Kinsella’s term.
like babycutie71, i feel bogged down with the housework and the cleaning up after cooking is horrible. it is even worse that my children are slow and picky eaters.
the kids feel the difference because now i’m just short fused and have no time to sit down with them to run through school work/ revision or just read books.
upset. frustrated. -
Dekora:
Hey sorry for the slow reply. Have been busy these two days. Yes, I did hire another company - amahs on wheels. They are good. Office folks are courteous, always accommodating on cancellations and make up sessions, adopts the 'no matter what, customers are always right'.
Oh no! I didn't even get a trial session and the person on the line told me there haven't had any complains and they are v popular. Now I'm waiting for them to appear.. Suppose to come between 9am to 930am. Worried once money handed over, all hell breaks loose.
Btw imami, did u hire another cleaning company? Really need recommendations instead of those written testimonials on their websites
But the relationship turned sour after they kept sending me different china ladies for cleaning. can you imagine week after week you need to orientate different cleaning staff? :mad:
Also, the staff are just like problematic maids - fake illness, hid in toilets to eat snake (shd be la, if not you help me explain why they are in the toilet for one hour with their phones), ask for drinks etc.
Other than that, the price was a factor too. They are the most expensive in the market. But despite all these, I would still recommend them to anyone who have already decided to engage such companies to help out. -
For a start, lower the expectation - everyone's expectation. Everyone has got to accept that the home is not going to be that clean for a while and everyone has to help.
When I went without a part time cleaning lady or cleaning company, it was horrible for all of us. Nobody reminded me that our expectation needed to change and that somebody needed to help me.
I did everything single handedly - clean the windows, scrub the toilet, hand laundered my then 15 mth old child's chothes, ironing, mop and vacuum the floor. Oh yes, marketing and cooking too.
And oh, I hadn't mentioned - I clocked at least 11hrs work in office and at least 2 hours at home.It's a stage of life that I never wanted to revisit.
Then one day, I broke down. Literally. I was running fever for straight 4 days. Everything at home came to a stop. I woke up on the fifth day to see these - unwashed pots and pans, dozens of milk bottles and water bottles, smelly reguritations on the sofa/cot/playmat (my poor child fell sick from thinking that mummy was dying :slapshead: )toys everywhere, used tissues everywhere. And oh, mountains of laundry.
From then on, I decided everything in moderation.
I also decided my child must Learn to do his chores. His share of work was incorporated into learning - matching his socks, sorting out the fresh laundry into papa Tshirts, mummy tshirts, baby tshirts etc.
Now, he sets the dining table, brings his own cups and bowls to the sink, unpack and pack his childcare ctr bag, keep his toys and books and folds his own clothes.
Hubby cleans the windows and fans. Irobot vacuum the floor -
But I will manual sweep the floor once in a while since irobot could not reach the corners and certain spots. Mop once a fortnight or when required eg after a spill. Toilet still once a week.
I try to steam, bake or happycall all the cooking. Frying is too oily and I dread having to mop the floor and clean the cabinets. -
I cover the stove with alum foil. So when they are too dirty, I just remove them, wipe lightly and put on new alum foils. Easy. The foils will take the grease so that you need less effort to clean up.
Teach the children about keeping cleaning - eat with a bowl to hold the crumbs, use kitchen paper to soak up the liquid first for Spillage. It’s good training for the kids really. -
Inami, I have bought a Happycall Pan but yet to start using it. I hate the mopping aftee every cooking too. Can share happycall pan recipe?
-
Imami:
Can I know how u cover the stove? Do u have picture?I cover the stove with alum foil. So when they are too dirty, I just remove them, wipe lightly and put on new alum foils. Easy. The foils will take the grease so that you need less effort to clean up.
Teach the children about keeping cleaning - eat with a bowl to hold the crumbs, use kitchen paper to soak up the liquid first for Spillage. It's good training for the kids really. -
go to http://www.munchministry.com for the recipes for happycall pan.. they have facebook forum too, join them and get inspired to cook hee.. super good pan !
-
Been too busy with almost everything!for those interested in cleaning companies- i will do a short update on just relax cleaning company. Came in at 940am although stated 9-930. I’m quite particular because I will be going back work and I’m getting my mother in law to open the doors to them so dont want to waste her time. 2 aunties with cleaning materials- 2 mops, 2 pails, 2 cloths, 1 bottle of jif and 2 bottles of liquids( I know cos they are in my toilet) don’t quite like cos take up space in my already small toilet. Quite systematic as they clean room by room but really "dragonfly touching the water surface" ( direct translation from Chinese) really very surface cleaning. Didn’t have time to do ironing. 2 hours up and they left on the dot.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login