All About Life Without Maids
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Angelight:
Linayh, where do u get those sticky tapes to paste on the wall to trap lizards? I want to get some. Also, how to get rid of those tiny ants without using insecticide? I used ant traps but no use.
Hi Angelight you can purchae these sticky traps at ntuc. usually I place them where you see their shit(pardon me) is. After they got trapped, you need to remove them.
as for ants, there's this rooster brand of poison which I also got from ntuc. just sprinkle them at a corner where the ants were. leave the poison there and they will all be dead very soon. it's very effective. -
MintyMin:
My kids will self entertain while i cook.. ds will haf to do his revision as instructed by me while dds will read books or play toys.. usually dd2 will stick ard in kitchen to see me cook..
I cook lunch on weekends while hubby coaches daughter...time is not wasted. Son will get revision or other work done. Dinner packet from downstairs.
Kids' responsibility is to tidy house and vacuum eraser dust, set table before meals and bring dirty dishes to the sink. Daughter does help me to put clips on bamboo while I sort clothes. Without maid, there are less quarrels too...bcos hubby doesn't laze around watching tv or playing computer. There's something for everyone to do....save money and hassle w/out maid. -
janet_lee88:
I can understand the hanging clothes part. Putting up/out and keeping in. to me it's a tedious and time consuming job. worse when it rained.
It's a headache thinking what to cook everyday.jasmineong:
After work, I rush back, hardly have time to do all that then need to guide kids with their work. How do you all cope?
When we had a maid back then, she will cook and wash up. Then washing/hanging up wet laundry on bamboo when washing machine beeps, keeping dry clothes and folding them...hubby and I could spend that quality time coaching kids as these non-value added work takes up time.
That was indeed the biggest reason why we missed having a maid.
It's frustrating to have to coach daughter after starting the washing machine and then rushing to hang up clothes in the midst...my morning sun is very strong and that is why I have to wash at night. So with tingkat now, I have one less headache...mornings, I plan what to cook for lunch...usually a soup with meat and vege. Honestly I am still trying to think of a solution not to run off to hang clothes half way while teaching her...disruptive and frustrating to lose momentum.
My sis in law recently gave me a clothes dryer. I find it really useful and makes my life easier. It really help me cut down laundry time and it's esp useful for washing my bedsheet which is big and heavy, hence more challenging to hang it properly. now I also dont have to worry about the weather anymore. rain or shine, I can still wash. After washing and drying bedsheet, I just lay it back on the bed. It saves me time folding too. the only thing is, it consumes more electricity but I have no regret having this dryer
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I don’t have prob hanging clothes…wash towels often and bed sheet weekly for hygiene and to block the sun. Have a dryer but only use it a while to keep it working…but more often when it is the rainy season.
Only put clothes in dryer for 30 min as sun in the morn may not be hot enough. If it is used to dry clothes till ‘cupboard dry’, electricity bill will be very high. Did think of changing to a King size bed but folding bed sheet will be more troublesome…better stick to my Queen. -
Get the kid’s to help with the fresh laundry. I will bring them down from the bamboo pole. Sn would sort our who’s whose - hubby’s will go to the couch, mine will go to the bed, his will end up on his bed. Then he would help hubby to return the hangers to the poles. Hubby takes care of his portion laundry - he folds and keeps them.
Son would then fold his own clothes - sort the socks, pile the underwear neatly like pancakes, fold the pants and singlets. He’s still not that good with short sleeve tees, long sleeves and jackets, so I would handle those. Then he brings each pile and place them into his chest of drawers.
Train them step by step and they would become really great Hellers. -
Imami:
Hubby will keep and fold...kids will put their clothes in their own cupboards...neatly and according to the stack. Underwear and socks different drawers or else sure to have problem finding socks every morn.Get the kid's to help with the fresh laundry. I will bring them down from the bamboo pole. Sn would sort our who's whose - hubby's will go to the couch, mine will go to the bed, his will end up on his bed. Then he would help hubby to return the hangers to the poles. Hubby takes care of his portion laundry - he folds and keeps them.
Son would then fold his own clothes - sort the socks, pile the underwear neatly like pancakes, fold the pants and singlets. He's still not that good with short sleeve tees, long sleeves and jackets, so I would handle those. Then he brings each pile and place them into his chest of drawers.
Train them step by step and they would become really great Hellers.
Occasionally I will check their cupboards to see which clothes are tight.
At this age, they can be trained to help out. -
Prob w dh is… he still lazes ard, watch tv n play his PC games…
he will hang the clothes when every one goes to slp… or sometimes he dun even remember… haiz… can’t hang the clothes out coz no one at home to keep in case it rains… usually will hang on the racks n put in kids room where there’s fan or aircon to dry it… -
We’ve never had domestic help so everyone does something. My kids are old enough to vacuum and mop their rooms. They are also in charge of dusting the study cos they use it the most. Occasionally I collect eraser dust etc and deposit them in their rooms as a reminder, if they’ve been slack. It’s easier and more effective than yelling my head off.
For laundry, they sort clothes into the appropriate laundry baskets upon changing so I don’t have to separate whites etc when I wash. I do laundry daily, usually in the morning, and can’t live without the dryer. I leave clean clothes on my bed and the kids collect, fold and keep. If I find what I call orphan clothes at a certain hour, I don’t return them to the owner; they get donated. After a few scares, everyone remembers to collect their clothes.
I detest ironing so my dh deals with his business wear. And… we usually don’t iron school uniforms! No one can tell hahahahahaha. I hang the uniforms up immediately after laundering, and have found that without the final spin, they don’t get creased.
For meals we tend to use a multi-layer steamer to save cooking time. Rice, meat and veg get cooked simultaneously. Recently we acquired a dishwasher and it’s fun for the kids to load their dishes in when they’re done eating. I run a cycle when the dishwasher’s full; it’s great not to have to stand at the sink for ages. We require the kids to clean the dining table as well.
They scrub the bathroom floors when they shower. I figure there’s soap on the floor anyway so might as well clean it! -
Morning mummies! I survived my 1st week without maid.
My dh still stick on his games, with or w/o maid. At times he does help to look after them. Lucky most of the time both kids can entertain themselves while I do housework. Now, my mum cook dinner for us and fetch kids from CC so that I don't have to rush home daily, thanks god I have her!
I realised my 7kg front load is too small for 2A2C. Need to use daily. Should have got a dryer too. I find hanging the clothes is the most troublesome work, I spend 30min to use hangers to hang the clothes before I place them over the pole
Though tired, I am happy that I have my privacy back. -
It is almost close to a year since we went without maids (and no part time maid either).
Initially, I washed the school shoes for my children (this year 10/12/14 years old). But after I realised that they were lazing around and not making effective use of their time to do their homework or revision, I made them wash their own shoes. They also have to vacuum (there is a very portable one which I highly recommend) and mop their own floor weekly, made their own bed and washed their own plates daily. Sometimes, their plates are not washed properly, so I call them back to re-wash again.
For laundry, I sorted them into the children’s piles and put on their bed. They are expected to fold themselves. No. 2 is quite untidy and sometimes she stuff her clothes into her drawer (I close my eyes and don’t see what is inside. See no evil, hear no evil).
For bedsheets, I changed fortnightly alternating between 5 beds, so each bedsheet is changed once in 4 weeks. For daily cleaning of the floor, the iRoomba is a life-saver. We only mop our floor once a week.
On Sat, while hubby send the children for classes and do the marketing, I will clean the toilets, pop the clothes into the washing maching and wash their socks.
My mum helps me iron the clothes and cook lunch/dinner for the children during weekdays. Steam fish and eggs are done with microwave in about 5 minutes, while the air-fryer takes care of nuggets/pop corn chicken/fried fish cake/fries (less the oil, so it’s a healthier version).
Weekday/Sat evenings are spent on supervising or revision with the children if they need help with their school work (while hubby takes care of mopping floor on Sat afternoon/Sun morning).
Of course there are still many nooks and corner that probably needs cleaning (window grill/wall fan), but we only clean them when there is time. Can’t be too perfect or we tire ourselves out.
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