One of the best decisions I’ve made last year is to hire a part-time cleaner, and I’m glad that I’ve insisted to hire one despite some objections from V initially. We can still manage the housecleaning ourselves, but if I weigh the opportunity cost of getting a part-time cleaner at $16 an hour versus doing it ourselves, it makes more sense for us to pay the money and use the time we would have spent on housecleaning to do other things – like going to the gym, spending time with Edison, reading and blogging (yes, that’s what I need my time for!).
I feel so lucky living in an era where there are plenty of helps available when it comes to domestic activities. Part-time cleaner or full-time maid, they are easily available here in Singapore. If you’re busy in the corporate world, if you do not have a full-time maid, or if you shun domestic activities because of a lack of time, I would advise you to hire a part-time cleaner.
A few readers wrote to me to enquire about my part-time cleaner, so I think it’s better for me to share it here in the form of a blog post. Hopefully what I’ve shared here would be useful to some of you.
First of all, there are two options for you to consider if you intend to hire a part-time cleaner: 1) going through an agency, OR 2) find the cleaner directly from classified ads etc. I would prefer option 1 because it’s less hassle and I can get replacement easily, if needed. Most of the agencies will charge a one-time agency fee, but I think it’s worth paying for the services that they provide.
Secondly, the part-time cleaners could be local aunties or foreign maids. Personally, I would prefer a local auntie with cleaning experience. It would be easier to communicate with her, and if she has prior experience, she will be able to work independently.
My first cleaner came on-board mid last year. She is a Singaporean in her early fifties. She came every Saturday afternoon for three hours to do housecleaning. She is very meticulous in her work, and I’m often very pleased with her works.
Our apartment is 1,360 sq ft, with 3+1 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. So, she often struggled to complete all the cleaning within 3 hours, that even I myself couldn’t complete. She would spend extra 20 to 30 minutes to make sure works are completed before she left.
Unfortunately, she had to resign from her work 4 months later due to health reasons. So, my agency quickly found us a replacement at no extra cost. By this time, V was pretty convinced that having a part-time cleaner is really crucial for us.
For our second cleaner, we requested her to come on Sunday morning for four hours. On top of the general cleaning, she will also help to do our ironing. She is also a Singaporean in her fifties. Now that Edison is having his Chinese enrichment class on Sunday morning, I often leave her at home to do the cleaning by herself when I’m out to send Edison to school.
She is a wonderful and trustworthy cleaner, and I’m really glad to have her around. I’m not fussy about how things must be done, so I pretty much leave it all to her. As long as works are completed, I’m okay.
She does the general cleaning and ironing every week. The general cleaning includes cleaning, mopping, wiping and vacuuming the entire house, including kitchen and all bathrooms. Some heavy-duty tasks like cleaning the windows and fans are done with certain regularity, and again, I leave it all for her to manage.
Since most of the housecleaning is already taken care of by the cleaner, I only have to do laundries and sweep the floor once during the weekday. And on a monthly basis, I’ll change the bed sheets by myself.
We’re happy with the current arrangement, and we’re paying our agency $270 each month for 4 cycles of cleaning (4 hours per session). This is not intended to promote my agency, but if you wish to know, I’m currently using Budget Cleaning.
Do you have a part-time cleaner too? How do you manage it? I love to hear from you too.
I haven’t used an agency before; I’ve hired three part-time cleaning ladies since my mid-20s. The first one was because I used to stay upstairs from a local celeb (haha!) and I spied his part-time housekeeper through the window and asked her to help me too. She worked with me from before marriage till after Layla and she was really awesome! When I moved out from my first home, even my pipes were shiny and white. And no stains on my white cupboards! Unfortunately she’s left Singapore. Since then, I’ve had a part-timer who’s made me feel uncomfortable in my own home, and my current one now, who’s also recommended by a friend. I leave her to manage her own cleaning schedule for stuff that doesn’t have to be cleaned every week (e.g. ceiling fans, windows), and I try not to overload her with additional instructions. Maybe just one or two “extra” items each time. I also leave it to her to manage her time, she can leave on the dot (after four hours), or stay and claim the extra time pay from me.
Do you give your part-time helper extra money over the holidays? I used to do that for my first housekeeper, but I’m not sure if I’ll do it now.
Hi Evelyn,
Thanks for sharing about your part-time cleaners. No, I don’t give her extra money over the holidays. I bought her some CNY goodies last month in appreciation for her hard works. Perhaps next year, if she is still with me, I’ll give her an ang pow instead.
I used to hire a part-time cleaner (without agency), through my friend’s recommendation after marriage till before I have Edison. She was from Burma, if I’m not wrong. She did a good job as well. After I gave birth to Edison, we hired a live-in maid instead. After 4 years of having a live-in maid, now we’re back to part-time cleaner. Haha!
I still prefer part-time cleaner for the flexibility. At least, I don’t need to provide a room for her to stay, more privacy and easier to manage.
I don’t use an agency but mine was through recommendation.. a china pei du mama..quite okay and very dilligent. HAve used her for 2yrs ++ already. $60 each time.
Hi Dom,
It’s good to hear that you have such a great helper. It’s not easy to find one that can work for so long. I hope my current cleaner will continue to work for me for at least 2 more years.
Hi Emily, long time never leave comments in your blog liao!
Eh, I also used the same agency but how come you need to pay the agency every month? Thought it’s just a one-off agency fee of $130 then every cleaning session pay direct to the cleaner? Mine $14/hr for 4 hrs … cheaper probably because mine is on weekdays.
Hi Jen,
Nice to see you here again. I don’t pay the cleaner directly. I pay to the agency once a month, and they will pay to the cleaner. They earn commission from there.