Maid’s Task List

One of the search engine term that led to my blog sometime back was “Maid’s Task List” …so I’ve decided to write about it.

I had 4 different maids ever since we have decided to this extra domestic help.

The 1st one. Worked in Spore for 4 years, I didn’t have a task list for her. She was quite capable, but my MIL thinks she got a mind of her own. Being new and inexperience in handling a maid, we return her back to please MIL.

2nd maid, we’ve decided to get an inexperience maid, since we thought that experience one would have mind of her own. She was only 18 and never worked before. She had got some training in Indon and in M’sia so I dont have a task list for her thinking that it was unnecessary and I again my fault of not giving her a task list and occupy her and control her, she ran away.

3rd maid..from this con agent, was super OLD. No working experience as a maid and the con agent never give any proper training…but I had a task list and house rule for her the moment she steps in the house…but she’s just too old and slack and with attitude problem that we returned her.

4th maid…Indon agent lied. They said she only got 2 years working experience as a maid, but when she arrived, she honestly told me that she has worked in Penang for 2 years and PJ another 2. The first 2 years her main task was to take care of baby (the ex employer let the baby sleep with her…*roll eyes*) and the 2nd time she was mainly taking care of the household as there was another maid doing the childcare job. Nevertheless I given her the same set of task list and house rule as the 3rd.

Here’s the task list & rules

Wake up time: 5am

Bedtime: After 10pm (after 1 year of working only my maid asked for permission if she can have some time off in between for prayers, before that she didnt dare to pray which in fact I have never tried to stop her even if she doesnt ask)

Task

• Wipe the tables/shelfs early morning
• Sweep and mop the floor twice a day (one early when she wakes up and another time late evening)
• Handwash all the kids clothing and adult’s cloth that the colour might run or too delicate for the washing machine
• Run the machine for laundry
• Wipe the cars everyday
• Vacum the car weekly
• Change the towels weekly
• Change bedsheet forthnightly
• Wash the floor mat daily (hand wash)
• Wash the carpets monthly
• Vacum the house weekly (more frequent when got time)
• Wash the toilets alternate days
• Ironing
• Wipe off the dust from whatever surface (table, photo frame, shelfs, cupboards ….) twice a day. When got time, all the books from the shelfs  and cds on the rack is taken out so to clean the shelfs)
• Outside compound need to be scrub alternate days
• All the cups need to be washes first thing in the morning
• Wash the dustbin/dustbin area after the rubbish man collected the rubbish.
• Wash the baby toys weekly ( I no longer ask her to do his because my kids much older now)
• Wash the air con monthly
• Wash the fans (ceiling and standing) weekly
• After I cook, she will have to mop the floor, clean the stove whatever clean up after that.
• Mow the lawn (including my vacant neighbour’s which the lalang has grown so tall and scary)
• “sun bath” Jemur the carpet forthnightly
• Jemur the blanket weekly
• Clean the windows/glass alternate days
• Wash the curtains
• Wash the fridge interior weekly
• Clean microwave, oven interior
• make sure all the doors are lock before calling off the nights
• water the plants
• serve the guests
• wash all the table cloths daily
• make the bed

Rules

• no talking to strangers
• no inviting friends home
• wash her own cloths in a designated pail ( do not mix with our cloths)
• wash her hands properly before food preparation and attending to the kids
• always keep nails short
• no using of housephone without permission (this rule is not necessary now, my maid got a handphone)
• I have the rights to check and go through her things whenever I wish
• I have the rights to read her letter before handling to her

Child care and food preparation wasn’t in my maid’s task list as I feel that attending the kids and preparing food for the family should be my job. But my maid help me with food preparation, she used to cook porriadge for the kids, boils the water, bath and feed WH and she’s taking up gardening chores as well. Now that WH knows his preference, I’m taking back the feeding, bathing and changing chores and also cooking for the kids since they outgrown porriadge

So far after 1 year with my current maid, she’s quite good that I don’t have to go through the list with her all the time and reinforce rules on her. Maybe due to her past experience, she is actually doing her work quite ok (of course cannot expect 100%). She does the things volunteerily and even go extra miles that is not in my task list and I’m lucky she never ask for leave or give any excuses to get away (sometimes I do pity her..working 7 days a week, more than 10 hours a day…no friends, no family, no mc, no leave and not allow to go out… I think if I were to put myself in her shoe in this kind of condition…I will “konk” out very soon)

After seeing her performance, that’s why I allow her to have a handphone, but she does not hold any cash and we have her passport locked away in the safe and also I allow her to buy a walkman (the agent didn’t allow her to bring over) and she’s still not allow to have rest day though she’s quite trustworthy. But no matter how trustworthy a maid is, as an employer , we still have to be alert all the time…don’t have to be fierce but strict….can act dumb, but always keep your eyes and ears open and be very alert…..

Again…a good maid is really hard to get….it’s all pure LUCK. Thinking of going to extend my current maid for another year, if there’s another baby on the way (too worry about my next luck of getting a reliable maid) but extending her doesn’t mean I dont have worries…..