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Employer says her maid can't maintain an organised routine, pleads for sample schedules online

SINGAPORE: Frustrated by her maid's inability to maintain an organised routine, a local employer has taken to social media to seek advice from the public. In a post on r/askSingapore on Thursday (July 3), the employer shared that she had recently wrapped up a demanding period of caregiving for her 97-year-old grandmother, who passed away not long ago. Since then, things haven't eased up. Both of her parents are now in poor health, and she has taken on most of the caregiving responsibilities herself, despite living with a physical disability. Her daily tasks include feeding, bathing, changing diapers, and handling hospital visits. The helper, she clarified, is not expected to assist with any of that. Her job is to manage household chores like cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and picking up fresh groceries. 'There's just me and my parents,' the woman explained. 'I can manage taking care of them on my own in spite of my physical handicap – toileting, diaper changes, showering, feeding, meds, medical appointments, and staying over at the hospital with them. I also cover all night duties. The maid doesn't have to do any of this.' Unfortunately, she said the helper has been unable to stick to or create a consistent routine. With everything else going on, the woman admitted she no longer has the time or mental space to come up with a detailed schedule for someone else. 'I just don't have the mental capacity right now while grieving my grandmother and taking care of my parents to create a schedule for her,' she said. 'I wish I didn't have my handicap; otherwise, I'd be able to take care of all chores myself like I did before I became handicapped.' She ended her post by asking fellow Redditors if they had any sample schedules to share, saying it would lift a huge weight off her shoulders. 'I'm appealing to anyone who is willing to share their maid's daily, weekly, and monthly schedules with me,' she wrote. 'Thank you in advance for your help.' 'Good on you for not offshoring the intimate caregiver duties to your helper.' In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor suggested breaking household tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly chunks. 'Daily stuff would be things like laundry, cooking lunch and dinner, dusting, vacuuming and mopping, doing the dishes, and cleaning the kitchen counter and sink at night,' they wrote. 'These daily tasks will take up most of her time. So you may have only 1 hour or so left for the weekly task or monthly task. I would also recommend once-a-week grocery shopping.' Another Redditor, meanwhile, shared a more detailed schedule. They wrote, 'Tasks daily in the morning: 7-8 am: Grocery shop (can give NTUC trust card and ask for recipes. Do a weekly check. I didn't do this previously, and my helper cheated our money). 8-10 am: Pack shopped items. Wipe down furniture, Vacuum and mop floors. 10-11 am: Cook lunch. 3-5 pm: Cook dinner, 8-9 pm: Clean kitchen after cooking for the day is done.' A third said, 'My deepest condolences. Grief is the price that we pay for love, and the grief that you are feeling is the manifestation of the love that you had for your grandma. Honestly, good on you for not offshoring the intimate caregiver duties to your helper. Your parents should be proud to have you as their daughter.' In other news, a man shared on social media that he's 'getting sick' of his girlfriend's behaviour of cluttering their home with unnecessary items. Writing on the r/askSingapore forum on Tuesday (July 1), he explained in a now-deleted post that his girlfriend has a habit of buying things on impulse. Not expensive items, but just random things that catch her eye, even if she rarely uses them. Over time, their home has become cluttered with unused items filling shelves, drawers, tables, and corners, collecting dust. Read more: 'Sick of it': Man rants about his girlfriend's habit of cluttering their home with unnecessary items, seeks advice on Reddit Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)