After living in Costa Rica for 10 years, I’ve had a maid - empleada - for most of those years and now I do not. Washing the dishes for the "umpteenth" time of the day, I often debate which one I prefer.


The benefits of a maid:

Floors are swept every day and sometimes twice a day.
This may seem odd, but living in Costa Rican is like living outside and my ceramic tile looks like the floor of a barn if not swept and mopped over once a day. Plus any "itty bitty" crumb will attract a storm of ants.

Dishes washed. My empleada was a Costa Rican, so she didn’t live in my home. She came for a regular work week and left at 3:30 every day. I faced those sticky, syrupy, slimy plates and pots and pans for dinner and on the weekends.

Laundry done. (And boy, did my maid know how to get out those stains!*)

Bed made.

Dusting.

Bathrooms cleaned.

Lunch cooked. (This ranked as one of my favorite items to have done for me.)There’s more, but in my home, the maid was swamped with keeping up with just this. Another great bonus with a maid is that I could run an errand and the maid could watch the children for an hour.

The cons of having a maid:

Pay. It’s affordable, but it costs. Plus, there’s insurance to pay and that thirteenth month bonus employers - patronatos - are responsible to pay at the first of December every year.

Things may not be done the way you like. If you are fond of having the picture of frame of the family tilted just so or the shower door still looks dirty after cleaning or bleach stains tend to appear on those black pants you just lost enough weight to fit into, get over it. Mistakes will be made; if you’re picky, you can spend a lot of time hovering over the small details of the job.

Theft. It happens. Domestic employees are strangers let into your home. And no matter how much you love their kids or feel like you are bonding like long-lost relatives you will never know the pressure this person may receive from the outside to "just take a little cash" or "slip a ring she never wears into your purse - she’ll never miss it." My maid never stole from me, she was stellar. I must say I was really blessed. But I have many friends who’ve experienced this.

Human management. No matter how it’s cut, this is a person with a personal life, stress, worries, obligations, and feelings. Before you know it you’ll be adding on an addition to their home, borrowing them money to buy a car, or dealing with someone who’s always fifteen minutes late.I do have a system of three rotating nannies to care for Addison. But 95% of their time is spent on my little one. We all poke at keeping my house clean. It’s usually a mess. A few days ago, my bathroom was sparkling. It felt so peaceful I entered, I entertained the thought of a relaxing bath that evening. But, it’s the room with the only bathtub, so guess who I share it with? By the end of the day, towels and dirty clothes covered the floor; toys sat in the bottom of the tub; and little bottles of medicines for Addison took over the counter top. Scratch the bubble bath and candles.

Maid or no maid? It’s a toss up. Either way, it takes time. Homes suck up hours and energy like a bad running vacuums. I’ve lived most of my life without maids, most everyone in the developed world does. So we learn to live with the dishes in the sink and the beds undone. Mangaging humans is not a strong point of mine. I’m content with the fantatic help I have for Addison. My kids have taken over most of my home, but I have two corners that are usually clean. For now I’ve made a balance of choices concerning the question of maids, and I can live with that.*

More on this later, but the first secret: soak it.