M.A.I.D

I’m in a dilemma. Maid punya cerita lah.. apa lagi.

My current maid’s contract is coming to an end this November. She’s been with us for almost 2 years now, replacing our previous maid who had worked for us for 7 years.

I like her, she’s very clean. I don’t have much complains about her except her penchant for shopping and grooming herself incessantly. But she’s young and uses her own money anyway to buy those things. So I let her be.

I have asked her a couple of months ago whether she wants to extend her stay or go home when her contract expires. At that point of time, she said it was still too soon to tell. Now that the time is drawing nearer, I’m afraid to ask her again.. afraid that she would give me a negative answer.

But I have to ask her soon. If she said no, I have to look for a new maid. Sigh…. and you know how difficult it is to get a reliable maid these days. Although the going rate is so expensive (someone told me it’s RM12k now!), there’s no guarantee that the maid is good and will not lari panjat pagar.

Can I do without a maid? I suppose I can. Let’s see… how would my schedule look like:

6.00 am : Bangun, run the washing machine, bagi kucing makan, feed the bird and goose
6.30am : Mandi & solat
7.00-7.45am: Sidai baju, prepare Nizzar’s bag & food, siapkan budak kecik tu, get ready for work, kemas bilik.
8.00 am: Send Nizzar to school
8.30am: Drop Nabila at office
9.00-5.30pm: At work
6.00pm: Pick up Nizzar from school
7.00pm: Angkat kain, cook dinner
8-10pm: Kemas rumah, lipat kain, etc.

Problem is, I’ll be doing all these chores alone while my husband works in JB. If he’s around, he could lend a hand. Well, I suppose I could delegate some of the jobs to the older kids.. at least it won’t be too bad.

Don’t know… don’t want to think about it. Maybe I’ll ask her the big question this weekend. I hope she’d say she’ll stay. Please, pretty please..!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh pening kepala tu kalau maid nak balik. I have been without maid for the last 2.5 years. My youngest age 8 then, I sent to daycare. I distributed the house work to my 3 other children. Mula2 tu memang nak clean macam mana we instruct the maid to do. Lama2 i dah tak larat tutup sebelah mata je. Buat mana yang patut. Memang penat.

Ummi365
Naz in Norway said…
Oh! you'll manage...and you know what, you will have less headaches too :)
MrsNordin said…
Ummi,

How did you manage without a maid for so long? And your kids are still young. I suppose, once you get the hang of it, things will just fall into places. And buat mana yang larat saja.. betul!

I will send the youngest to day care whole day if i don't have a maid, just like you did.
MrsNordin said…
Naz,

I'm sure i'll manage over time. But this maid doesn't give me so much headaches. I'll probably have more without her! Hee.. hee...

Kalau duduk oversea kan best? Tak payah ada maid, boleh manage sendiri. No problem...
kay_leeda said…
BJ,

That schedule of yours...errr that's the best, best case scenario lah when everything is super, super OK. Most of the time, it doesn't quite happen like that. I've been maidless since April. Braved the fasting month and there were times when I felt like giving up. It's very tiring, no doubt.

But having said all that, no point juga if ada maid and menyakitkan hati after paying so much for them. Happy deciding and all the best.
Anonymous said…
I've 2 kids, aged 9 and 2 years, career woman and maidless. I've been doing all the house chores all by myself. Of course, my husband is always lending his hands (but very minimal..hehe). It takes ages to adapt to it but now I'm comfortable with how everything goes....I believe you can do it too, superbly....
MrsNordin said…
Kay,

I told my husband, "Kalau tak ada maid, i'll have to quit my job but you have to pay me the same amount as what I'm getting now." Terdiam dia. Hee.. Hee...

I'm sure it's hard. But you still get to do a lot of things for yourself (eg. the spa, swimming, walking, tarawikh). That's a great accomplishment, you know. Supermom!
MrsNordin said…
Anon,

It's best if we can do the household chores by ourselves, no need for maids. I'm sure its tough in the beginning, but at least you have the family all to yourself. And you can do as you please according to your ability.

Thanks for sharing.
Anonymous said…
Mrs N,

The motivation for my husband to get me a maid was when I asked him to pay a portion of my gaji so that I can stay home, clean, have dinner ready on the table etc etc..

But I survived 1 year without a maid, just that I hardly read or watch tv lah during that time.

Jah
MA said…
Salam,

I have been without a maid since...errr tak ingat! Kadang-kadang kesian tengok kids having to chip in - clear the garbage, do the laundry, sidai, angkat baju semua - but I found that it builds their character and make them understand the meaning of teamwork i.e if one of them "forgets" to do the laundry for the day - then baju sekolah, spender etc akan "terkurang" worse kalau hari hujan...

But of course mula-mula mmg susah lah sikit esp when they are used to have everything "tersedia" but soon they will understand where it all came from and that's when appreciation will come in.

Tapi bab lipat/gosok baju memang I malas buat so all my baju kerja I hantar dobi for gosok. But my kids have to gosok theirs sendiri (until they can afford their own money for dobi lah). As for laundry - what we do is before we go to bed, we will let the washing machine run so bangun pagi terus sidai baju...

I have a weekend maid to help sental the house weekly. It will be tiring no doubt but it is satisfying in the long run. Outsource some of the chores if you can.

Good luck!
AuntieYan said…
Salam Yati,

Kak Yan tak pernah ada maid...dari mula kawin sampai la dah pencen ni. Kawin pun dah nak masuk 31 tahun. Memang susah, kelam kabut dan tunggang langgang masa anak anak masih kecil...Alhamdulillah I managed.
Masa anak kecil, dari lepas pantang dah dihantar nursery sampai masuk tadika, bila depa dah masuk sekolah, tumpang kat rumah jiran sementara nak kesekolah agama...bila si abang dah besar, abang jaga adik so, semua dah pandai jaga diri sendiri kat rumah...mak monitor dari ofis..calling2 every 1 hour.
Bab rumah..masak simple2 saja, kain baju mesin waktu malam. Semua keperluan anak disediakan sebelum tidor...of course kena bangun awal
tiap hari.Memang susah..ada masa nengis juga sorang diri...La ni dah pencen, punya la seronokkkkk....relax habis kat rumah.Anak semua dah besar panjang.... :-)
MrsNordin said…
MA,

That's one thing about not having a maid. The kids will help do the chores and they will not take things for granted anymore. Sekarang ni, nak basuh pinggan sebijik pun , malas. Hari2 nak kena jerit!

I suppose you have now gotten used to the routine without having a maid. Life without a maid can be a blessing too...

Take care!
MrsNordin said…
Auntie Yan,

Nak tanya sikit... why did you choose not a have a maid in the first place?

Wah, sekarang dah pencen.. anak dah besar besar... rasa macam baru kawin lah pulak, ya? That must be nice. Nak pegi holiday berdua pun tiada siapa yang halang! Hee.. hee..

Thanks for dropping by!
MrsNordin said…
Hi Jah,

Even now I hardly watch TV, so tak kisah lah!

When I told my husband the same (ie. pay me what I'm getting now for me to be a stay home mom), he gave me that look of "No, I'd better get a maid!" Hee.. hee...
j- i just thought of a reason to have a maid. bila balik dari shopping malas nak basuh ayam daging and simpan dalam gerobok...and also bila orang datang mengejut you boleh borak kat depan ...dan dia buat air...hihi
MrsNordin said…
SW,

My main reason for having a maid is so I can go out with my husband without worrying about the kids! Hee.. hee...
Anonymous said…
Salam,
Maid I akan habis kontrak 1 tahun lagi. Tapi I dah mula risau. Ada peluang I tanya dia nak sambung lagi ke tidak. Sambil-sambil tu I psiko dia supaya terus keja dengan I. So far alhamdulillah dia tak memeningkan kepala saya. .Memang dah rasa walaupun sekejap(lebih kurang 6 bulan jugalah)tanpa maid.Paling kesian masa tu yang bongsu baru beberapa bulan. Awal pagi dah kena angkut dan bawa ke rumah pengasuh. Tu yang kalau dapat I nak dia kerja lagi dengan I. For U Mrs N, good luck...

NAC
MrsNordin said…
Hi NAC,

Thanks for sharing. I think, if you are nice employer, the maid would most likely want to stay on. Don't worry too much about it... it's still a long way to go.. When the time comes, baru risau.

(btw, I still haven't asked her..)
Anonymous said…
Hi mrs n,
Best la baca bab maid ni cz mine will be leaving soon. I hv a 6 year old and a 2 year old. Mmg payah ingatkan kena ban gun awal nanti sbb I mmg malas bangun pagi2! my hubby is going to be 60 soon and I'm 41 yrs old so walaupun dia offer nak help tapi kadang2 mmg nampak tak larat!!! So I have to keep a positive mind and soldier on!

Nahiella

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