I'm not cruising in life, in fact navigating daily. I feel stretched, I feel overwhelmed and it doesn't help when office work is piling and I'm down with the flu bug. Housework - that's not my area of work, but a department in this household that I have to manage.
With the call for work-life balance, and yet cost of living is utterly high and all the issues related to foreign domestic worker - from the foreign countries' policies, agencies' disservices and maid-madness - here is how, I think, a full time working mum can manage without a lived-in maid. Hopefully, we would rely less on this foreign talent, and they can be in their own home country looking after own children and families instead.
1) Child Care/ Student Care: if you have young children, you need reliable child care or student care. Look around your neighborhood. Enroll your child in a primary school with in-house student care.
2) Babysitter: I've since found one. Such a lovely lady and such a God-send. Useful when I would be working late and I need someone to pick up the Lil One from his Kindergarten. Yes, my kiddo goes to kindy and not child care.
3) Extended family: When your parents have decided to retire overseas, you need to rely on extended help. This include your siblings. Super-grateful for my self-employed brother whose work schedule is flexible enough to accommodate the occasional chauffeuring and playdates for the Lil One. It's a bonus that his wife is early childhood trained and they love kids.
4) Neighbours: Not yet but would come in handy.
5) My kids' friends parents: Get into a watsapp group. They'll update you of events and remind you of what to bring which you often overlook (because you have too many things on your mind). Since some of them are stay home parents and can go on excursions with the kids, they'll look out for your kid and even inform you if the bus will reach school on time/late after the excursion. They are a super good resource.
6) Tingkat Lunch/Dinner - what can I say, we need to eat. I have no time to cook and no time to pick up dinner. So having someone delivered to your doorstep is much welcome. I'm using Dapur Ummi Abdullah for now and I can choose the days or the lunch or dinner that I want.
7) Part-time home help: There are agencies that offer this but may charged admin fees. There are also foreign ladies who are married to local men and would offer this service. They do a better job once a week than a full time lived-in maid. Offer them food, and occasional extras, and they'll be happy to extend their service.
8) Get my elder kid to wash his own dishes, shoes, uniforms and training gear. Even ironing if he needs to use it the next day.
9) Dryer: Singapore is hot - yes. But someone still needs to hang the clothes to dry. With our apartment these days not built to accommodate airing and drying of clothes naturally, the dryer is a time-saver.
10) Simplify our life: if I really need to cook, use ready made rempah. So easy and yummy too. I only rely on disposables when I have guests.
11) Time tabling: my husband works shift so that's when it gets complicated. So time tabling helps with the planning. And speaking of the hubby who prefers not to have a lived-in maid, he better chipped in with the housework. He does laundry and dish-washing.
12) Flexi Work Arrangement: if your company offers this, use it. Sometimes you have to get pass your supervisor who needs to be empathetic to your situation and be flexible. Rule of thumb: ensure your quality of work does not slip.
