Need details on maid's sleeping arrangements

[Jens]

We have located a nanny, and the next big obstacle is the utility room is 5 inches too short for a standard single bed.  What do the maids sleep on if the room is too small to fit a bed?   Has anyone else encountered this problem ?  The room is 75 inches long by about 52 inches wide- is this typical?  Someone told me to put a mat on the floor for her, but I really wanted her to have a decent place to sleep.    We don't have an extra bedroom either    

[Yes]

Our condo too seems to have a very small size maids room. I have got around it by getting a folding bed.others have put the bed in at an angle.

[Cassa]

How abt placing just a mattress on the floor? That's how my friend got by the squeeze. Another used a fold-away frameless foam based single sofa bed.

[Hmmm]

How to make a decent room out of the shoebox attached to the laundry that is off the kitchen? Hmmm. Impossible I'd say.

My nanny has her own room, with a big bed, lounge chair, table and chair set, a wardrobe, and her own bathroom (I mean a proper bathroom, not one where you take a shower while standing over the squat toilet). She has air con, and hot water.

Funny that people should think that such items as a decent bed, a stable air temp and warm water are over and above what the maids need.

And NO I don't live in a huge condo paid for by the company, thereby justifying that I can give one of my five spare bedrooms to the maid. I live in a not huge three bedroom apartment, with the three bedrooms used by me/my child/my nanny. Yes, it's a hassle when guests arrive for four weeks. But we all work around it. The utility room out the back is just that - useful for storing suitcases and golfclubs and that's about it.  

It really irritates me when I see maids roomed out the back, whilst the bedrooms are set aside as guest rooms, studys, children's playrooms etc.

[idea]

This may not be the best solution, but it worked for my neighbor.  She cut off the end of an older (US size) mattress so that it could fit in the room. Just a thought!

[jens]

Did she REALLY saw off the end of a mattress?!   That is unreal!!  The thought has me in stitches!   I appreciate the idea, though I think my husband would question my sanity if I took a hack saw to a mattress...     Cheers, that gave me a much appreciated laugh!

[bridget jones]

You can buy a small extendable bed from Ikea which adjusts.  It is intended for kids as they grow, but would perhaps suit your small room.

[Query]

Is this a joke/wind-up post ?

[Rosie]

Maybe ask your maid what she would prefer.  Where most maids come from, they would be used to sleeping on a mat on the floor.  This would give her more room during the day.  Alternatively, the folding bed may be a good solution.

To 'Hmmm'  how's your 'nanny' going to adapt when she has to go back to her real world?

[Hmmm]

Frankly, how my nanny will adapt to the conditions faced in the Philippines is not my concern. My concern is that she is comfortable and happy living and working in my household. Actually, she has no intention of returning. She is more than happy nannying here, this being her first post. She's got a pleasant job, nice living conditions, quality food, money to burn, family and friends to see every Sunday, and can relax most long weekends and about 4 weeks a year when we are away. But I worry that her next post may not be so good, judging by the comments here.

[Ginger]

Since our three bedrooms are taken up by our family members, our maid has a comfortable, fold up bed from Ikea.  She went with me to purchase it and we "doubled up" on the mattresses since one seemed a bit too thin.   New pillow, new sheets, etc. and she's a happy camper.
Ikea also has good shelving, a wall mirror and a tv stand that we picked out to make her space more homey.

[jens]

Thanks for all your input (ignoring Hmmm)  !  I found a woman who was selling a maid's bed that she had custom made at Holland village, so will most likely take that.   I will also go to Ikea to see what sort of shelves and things I can get for her to make the room more comfortable.  I really appreciate everyones's comments and ideas.   (Sort of a stressful time with a new baby on the way, new country to adapt to, new friends to make, no family around and whatnot!  Suddenly things like discovering that the room is too small becomes a crisis of monumental proportions!)

Incidentally i found out some really interesting stuff by asking around and reading other sites.   If you ask Singaporeans what they provide for their maids, you may get some pretty surprising answers.  Reluctant to post them because "Hmmm" may get back on the soap box and expostulate more scathing commentary - needless to say, I definetly see a culture gap in the perception of how maids should be treated and what they can get by on.  I think ours will be happy enough.    Have heard all these horror stories about various and sundry, and was really reluctant about getting one, but in the end, I hope things will work out fine.  

Just for laughs:   We had a friend who came home unexpectedly early one night a few weeks ago and found her "trusted and devoted" maid hosting a small dinner party with the maid and guests dressed in her own clothes.  Good lord!   How would you cope with that one! My friend is still reeling from that shock...  

[scary]

What are you saying? Because some locals treat their domestic help badly, yours should be lucky you're providing her with a bed to sleep on?? Why do you have one then if stuff like finding a suitable bed for her is becoming such a big deal??

[Hmmm]

I don't think I'm being particularly scathing. I just can't believe that you would accomodate someone in such a small space (and it IS small). Surely when you leased the place you would have realised just by looking at it that the room was tiny. Surely it wasn't until you tried to fit a bed in there that you realised it was the size of a shoebox. I'm not mandating that everyone must house their maids in the house and never use the "maids quarters" out the back.  Some condos have rather large and airy maids rooms. But yours is downright tiny (actually I think my utility room might be the same size). I just can't believe you would accomodate someone in a space so tiny that they can't even put a decent bed in there, let alone a chair, a table and a FAN to keep the room a bit cool. If you want some truly scathing posts, repost this in the Living in Singapore forum - they will have a field day on this one!

[bluetiger]

"Just for laughs: We had a friend who came home unexpectedly early one night a few weeks ago and found her "trusted and devoted" maid hosting a small dinner party with the maid and guests dressed in her own clothes. Good lord! How would you cope with that one! My friend is still reeling from that shock... "

I don't know HOW many times I've seen this post on this message board, as if it is not a well-trotted out Urban Legend. It appears about every 3 months!