One week old maid
Our helper has been living with us for more than one week. What can I say, well, the house is neater now, at least the floor is mop daily, dinner prepared on the table, dishes done and most importantly, I can rely on someone fetching things for me instead of having walking here and there, climbing up and down the stairs.
But she works really fast! See what she does daily:
5.30am (1 hour before hubby wakes up): Sweep & mop the floor, washing the clothes, wipe all the table and kitchen top. Go back to sleep.
7.30am: (After I wake up) Go out to hang the clothes, clean the car porch and water the plants. Wash the car (once a week). Clean my room, wash my bathroom. Shower and rest
12noon: Prepare lunch, fold and iron the clothes, eat and rest.
2pm (while my girl and I nap): Help QQ to shower, clean vege for dinner, do one of my weekly assign task (clean the cabinets, clean the grill, wipe the window & fan). Then rest & nap.
6pm: Cook dinner, wash kitchen, take shower and rest.
8pm: Eat dinner, wash the dishes and rest (I am fine with this since everyone need a rest by then).
Since the babies has not arrived yet, I also agree that there is not much to do or clean everyday (takkan take all the dishes out from the cabinets and clean everyday meh….). But I really feel uneasy seeing her taking nap during daytime, worried that she will grow lazy later. Maybe I should get her to help my neighbour to clean his Titleist golf set daily!
Any tips what to keep her busy? Anyone wanna take her from me in the afternoon?
maybe let her wake up at 6am instead of 5am ??
Min
She has to mop the floor before 6am coz hb will be up by then, walking here and there.
emm…memang susah jugak ahh being too efficient !!
lap kipas…….fold & arrange all the baju in d wardrobe……wash all d babies stuffs…..wash & sterilise qq toys……
change & wash curtains….. change cushion cover, bedsheet, blanket…….clean the fridge….wuah terrible hor me??
it’s true…maybe she started her schedule too early….perhaps change the moping to the time u & qq nap….
but gotta make sure the floor is dry & not slippery lar…..
Your maid’s task very relaxing leh. I used to have 2 maids like that, very relax finish the work very fast (don’t know do properly or not) then sit down there daydream. Initially I also thought don’t have to be so strict and they need rest, but boy…it was a mistake, because they were so free , they started cari pasal. Both didn’t last, one ran away, another I sent her back after 2 months.
With my previous maid, she shows me that they need to be worked up to occupy their time and mind. She finds her own work, almost never stop, only I realize so much can be done in my small house.
Our previous maid came during the school break, used to the light and relaxed schedule for a few weeks, so when the preschool reopen, she barked and cried about having too much work.
Then only I realized my mistake, I could never get her to work after that, she became such a burden, having to cook for her and took care of her 24/7, she could “forget” to do her daily chores i.e. mop the floor, eventually we let her go after 15 months.
Kept her busy with some light work if you don’t want to overwork her, she needs to get used to the pace when the twins are here….
hehe…eh why not mop the floor when u all nap, then she won’t have chance to nap lor. did u try the keyboard thing :P…that one will take on sometime LOL. vacuum car oso leh once a week.
Jaccs
all done wor….but those chores takkan do everyday mah…if not water bill also can kill me, haha
Elaine
Any schedule and tips to share?
Leah
what u said is true. that’s y i so worry about seeing her so free now. u oredi can imagine what life would be after the boys arrive!
jazz
haha…i only got laptop, no keyboard at home wor….
hi chinneeq,
first time dropping a comment here. Good to hear that your maid can work fast! Just to share a bit of my maid experience. I lused to et my previous maid nap in the afternoon, but she had problem waking up…hahahaha. Best not to let them nap cos she will be busy anyways when the twins arrive. This is a good time to spring clean everything b4 the twins are here. Cos later won’t have time. Enough time to maintain what has been cleaned. Clean all cabinets, store rooms, fridge, peel ikan bilis, peel dried chillies. I let her rest latest at 10pm else as early as possible cos she needs to wake up early ma. All the best!
Ya lor…….i think they will get used to “napping” so better give her more work to do. Clean your cabinets, clean your fridge, scrub the wall tiles in the bathroom, do some gardening?
wow..efficient n fast…
Not a good idea to let her nap now. Even if she’s got nothing to do, just ask her to sit ard. U can ask her to sweep n mop the floor 2x a day. Morning n a’noon. A’noon, jes downstairs will do, coz u spend more time there, n oso eat there. The window grilles oso can wipe daily. Wipe the cabinet doors or furniture. So her afternoons r more occupied.
lilchomel
Hi, thanks for dropping by. Problem is i nap too long, and d maid complete the given task too quickly, even the whole bunch of my ikan bilis also completed within 2 afternoons.
Paik Ling
may get her start with some gardening soon, like cili padi so we get to eat, hehe…
Chanel
how nice can pass my maid to help you with spring cleaning to save your workload
Ginie
I don feel good about seeing her nap too. will ask her to mop twice a day now. good practice once the kids are out, later crawling too….more hygenic that way….
my 1st time giving my views here.
just to let u that i oso have a pair of twins now entering 31 months old and already in nursery I. Noticed that ur maid schedule is too relax. There is no nap time for my maid. Just to share some tips:-
5am - wake up and prepare light breakfast for hubby, me and my twins. Sweep the floor and wash 2 cars daily.
6.45am - hubby, me and twins wake up. Maid will help twins to brush teeth and wash up and will prepare milk in cup for twins to drink and then feed them with toast. Change their pyjamas to nursery uniform and all ready for school.
Once the twins r at school, she will do the kids laundry, then our laundry. Change the bedsheet once a week and the curtain once a month. Clean bathrooms 3x/week. Wipe all tables, cabinets, wardrobe (external part) daily. Wipe all displays, figurines, hanged paintings, grilles, toys daily.
Clean the internal kitchen cabinet once a week, which means she has to take out all pots and pans, cuttleries, and place back all things in order and this has to be in order at all times, this also applies to the internal part of wardrobe, all clothings to be in order. All bottles of sauces and oil must be oil free and clean.
Wipe window panes alternate day. Clean and moisturise the sofa set once a month. Clean the fridge once a month and fridge stuff to be in order.
Other daily chores will be prepare dinner, do laundry, sweep and mop the floor daily but weekend has to sweep and mop twice. Iron and fold the laundry. Clean the patio and balcony, water the plant, trim and do replanting if the garden weeds has overgrown. Clean the shoe rack once a week. Sun and air the pillows and blanket once a week.
Once the twins and myself are back home from nursery and wrok respectively, she has to shower the kids, feed them dinner while i take my shower and have dinner. Then she has to clean up their water tumbler and prepare for the next day.
Once i m back from work, she has to let me what she has done and i will check on all items at times and at time i will just spot check on her, so she knows me very well and cannot curi tulang. I learnt all this from bitter experience from my previous maid. Do not pamper the maid, else in the end you will be the one crying. Hope this helps, good luck.
We used to have a maid to take care of my grandma when we was sick. Like the others said, have to keep her occupied with tasks, if not her mind will wonder.
What about airing out blankets, pillows, dusting everything in the house, cleaning those hard to get to places? When think about it, there’s plenty to do around the house until the twins arrive!
goodness, all the comment, i wish i have a maid lar! o.O
cus im a clean freak! soriii.. ter-submit the earlier comment too fast! hehe…
well chin nee, slowly learn from all the maid expert here, you will be fine
for me, i ask her to do gardening and cook her own food. i told her i wanted to try their “country” dishes. so she took her time to cook nice nice. besides i ask her to do baking.
It must not be easy being a maid!
Must let her know what is your level of cleanliness coz diff person diff measurement of level of cleanliness. I took 2 days off to clean and arrange the whole before the maid arrive. So once the maid arrived, i told her at all times the arrangement of all stuff has to be in this manner and the level of clealiness has to be the same as what she saw on the 1st day of arrival and has to maintain as that. I oso make sure that every nite she wash all kitchen cloth with hot water and detergent. I am oso a clean freak!!! I told her that i can take k of the twins and at the same time keep the whole house clean and in order at all times all by myself, so i don’t see why she can’t do it.
since she is already taking nap in the afternoon, why wake up still go back to sleep after 5.30am. did u tell her that when the babies come, she wont be able to be so senang?
my suggestion is that once bb arrive, she can wake up at 6am, then nap 30-1 hr in the afternoon, and dont get to sleep till 9.30pm or 10pm or once she has finished washing and sterilizing the bottles.
but since she is very fast in doing things, the most important one is that she doesnt thau gai. but if she can finish all the chores and not thau gai, then i guess its ok for her to sleep more kua. she is only a human being…
just my2 cents. anything happen dont blame me ah!! kekeke!!!
Wah… she rest too much leh.. Car can be wash daily lah.. I read all the comments and find Shirley’s comment very useful!! Think you have to adjust yours…
Exactly the reason why i think i won’t get a permanent maid. I just don have enuf to keep her fully occupied all day. And both hubb & I are too nice to be strict with the maid. I think we will be bullied by the maid in the end.
When i discuss with the mothers at my workplace abt Indo maids, they all warned me never to be too lenient or nice with them. Must keep them busy or they will start playing hanky-panky or get lazy.
Hmm…perhaps you should take out all the dishes from the cabinet and wash them everyday :p
Your hb wake up at 6.30am? Maybe ask her start at 6am wash the clothes and wipe the table and kitchen top. Once your hubby left home she can start sweep and mop the floor.
more suggestions : clean fans, clean air-con (she can take out the mesh and wash), wipe plant leaves, clean all cupboards, cut grass with shearers (very hard work that one), wipe shoes, wash clothes by hand,
wakakakakaakakakakakakakaka….slave driver *whip sounds*!!!
hmm at this moment there wont be much for her to do… b4 i had my 2nd n samuel oredi in school, my maid oso nothing to do, reli do nothing in the morning, she just walk around
maybe she can do gardening? maybe you can teach her to crochet? I taught my helper to crochet, and that’s what she does when she’s not doing any household chores. She has finished doing a bedspread already
I was surprised that she naps so much too as I read your post :S And why does she have to go back to bed after mopping the floor in the morning? It will be more tiring to sleep for 1 hour and then wake up again.
My maid never sleeps after she wake up at 5.40am or 6am… in the evening after her dinner at about 8pm I will leave her to clean up the dishes and then she can go and rest or do whatever she want.
Eh, how come my maid has not so many things to do and she still have no time?
Chinnee, I think you may try to let her play with QQ when she has nothing to do, let her get used to taking care of QQ (a child) so that when your twins arrive, she can help you with QQ when you are breastfeeding or at least she would have some experience with children.
I will scold my maid if she naps, you shouldn’t so lenient to your maid otherwise one day she will climb over your head. Chineeq, why not you send her to nanny house do some simple housework (eg. clean toilet, clean kitchen, mop floor, etc) when the time you and qiqi naping during afternoon time.
Shirley
Thanks a lot for sharing your duty roaster. It is really helpful that i m now readjusting her schedule again.
Cc
Forgot about airing the pillows and mattress!!
Irene
really shiok wor to have a live in helper
Rachel
yeah..she is making her country food for us daily
LB
indeed it is, i really pity her sometimes….
Shirley
wow….to the extend of doing that yourself? I tot of it, but no energy since I am heavily pregnant by the time she arrives.
Wen
talking bout maid, bila your maid arrive? wanna hear your story, hehe….
Jasmine
hubby drove the car. the one at home, he won let anyone wash except himself
Shooi
Got maid also susah, don have also susah yeah….haha….
Vicky
yeah…but must also train her to get up early coz once the boys arrive, she will be tied up like mad woman
Mott
u really make me laugh when u said making her wipe the leaves…HAHAHAHAHA
Alicia
I think the same too….wait till the boys arrive!!
Girlie
At least u can sew. Love those bedspread !! How i wish I could, but I can’t
Sue
she din nap for one hour i think. prob just a few mins….before i wake up.
Jo-N
QQ wont let her help her, even though she likes her. maybe need more time to warm up with the maid. Thank goodness she is young, and easier to get closer to QQ.
Michelle
U know auntie. She doesn’t want.
since she is so free, maybe can ask her to do some gardening work but you need to supervise her in case she wanna run away, hehehe…
another thing maybe spring cleaning (top of cabinets, ceiling fan, desk fan, etc…) before the arrival of babies…
The comments are an eye opener for me.
Suggestions : wipe the inside of your drawers, cabinets in your rooms, kitchen cabinets, shoes cabinet, wipe the ceiling fans, staircase railings, wipe QQ’s toys every other day, teach her to make soya bean milk, cut grass, etc. Plenty of chores to do wan…. Just don’t let her nap too often, it will make her lazy, from my experience with my previous maids.
oh man..it is really not easy being a maid…hehehehehe. i do pity them for having to do so much work but i also pity the employers when the maid tries to be funny.
Chin Nee, don’t pamper her too much. She will turn to evil later. I guess she has too much nap in between.
Martini
Really got to supervise her to do the job. All done but not clean one…
Mumsgather
Really hor…these comments really good ideas la….
Barb
Not easy to be human afterall….
LiLi
Learnt my lesson liao.
I don’t mind having her for afternoon, but, then, you stay too far away from me lar…same goes to my sis..we can’t share one maid
…I don’t need full time, except part time maid
take care on your self & be alert to your maid ya. is not easy to get a satisfied home helper. if cann’t tahan (after rectification), better change it.
glad you make your pregnancy to this stage.
btw, i leave comments here and there few times, but all missing. dont know why… kek si lang leh…
i just want to tell you that, i took my girl see eye specialist who has her records since born. and she is confirmed developing short sighted with power of +50. no spec required but attentive care.
i thank you your blog and advice. i sincerely wish you a smooth delivery.
When you tuck your babies in their comfy duvets tonight, look into their faces and hope all’s well in their future.
Few years ago, this ‘maid’ was also a baby and treat her well as you would like your babies to treated in future.
No one can predicit the future. I bet she has a guardian angel as well, so be kind to her. Do not dismiss her to spite but treat her kind. Kindness has it’s own reward, you will find.