Without a Maid

The norm in most homes in the urban places here in the Philippines is to have a maid or a house helper.

We don’t have one. We have been without a maid for what, five years now, almost six years.

People ask me always, how do we cope?

It takes a lot of time management to be able to cope, especially to a part-time working mom, part-time stay-at-home mom and full time homeschooling mom like me.

Here are some ways:

For food, those that need to be cooked are scheduled and portioned already when in the fridge. Sandwiches are easily prepared as snacks and even a meal in itself so bread is a must. Fruits are easily accessible too just in case somebody gets hungry.

The children are trained to look after themselves by putting their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, putting their shoes where these belong, putting their dirty plates in bar sinks to be washed after the meal, and putting the toys in their proper places after play.

There are some times when we slip and do things that are not recommended like buying food from a fast food chain for lunch or dinner when I am too tired to cook.

The dirty clothes are being washed, folded and ironed at the nearby laundry shop.

The house needs to be cleaned thoroughly I know but we make do wit our circumstances. Our home is not sparklingly clean, in fact, dust can be seen here and there. The backyard is being taken cared of someone who goes to our place 2 or 3 times a month.

Who says one can not survive without a maid? We do, and we are learning to be patient with each other and we learn about responsibilities day after day.