How to live without helpers

JAKARTA (JP): If your maids do not come back from the Idul Fitri exodus, you might want to try to live without them as a few families in Jakarta have already done.

Of course, some prerequisites are necessary before you make a decision.

Gwenny and her husband Adi, have lived without maids for over five years. They have a teenage daughter and a 10-year-old son. They live in a small house with a small, neat front yard that does not need much tending.

Gwenny makes weekly schedules and reviews them every three to four days. It consists of the week's menu, schedules for doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping, as well as her husband's and children's activities. Adi (a university lecturer) and the children would do household tasks whenever possible.

"But the schedule is flexible. I don't want to be too strict with myself," she said.

She has a lot of privacy by not having a maid. The family is very comfortable with their lives now and cannot think of having it any other way.

Gwenny said she has had experience with domestic helpers who stay on the job for a few months, weeks or even days. She had maids who were very lazy, too "smart" or clumsy. "I've been through all that," she said.

If Gwenny's reasons and experience do not convince you, you might have to keep replacing your maids until you we find the right ones.

In the meantime, if you cannot handle household chores without maids, the hotels here are offering various holiday season packages - which can also be translated as no-maid packages. (Tri Hafiningsih)