Majority of the Filipinos that I know live the simplest life. As long as we have shelter for the family, we are okay. Of course, who won’t dream for a mansion, everybody does, but as long as we are comfortable, we are okay with it. Anyway, I am sharing with you the most common things found in Filipino homes.
Walis Tambo (Broom) I have a vacuum cleaner but I find it easier to sweep using Walis Tambo. No hassle in plugging and dragging the whole thing when in used, plus you can still use it without the need of power supply. In a place where power interruption is very common, this is the best haha!
Timba at Tabo (Pail and a Dipper) We have a shower installed in our bathroom but I don’t know, it’s more fun to take a bath with these two. Isn’t it?
Panghugas ng Plato (Dishwashing Liquid, Sponge and Steel Wool). Dishwasher is only found in first class families. Even if I can afford it, for Filipinos who are clean freak, I would still go for a manual dishwashing. When I was in Europe for 2 weeks, there were no dishwashing liquid and sponge available in the house where we stayed. It only had a dishwasher that looks like a washing machine. Honestly? It’s a double work. Some stains don’t go that we had to do it again haha! My boss was actually laughing at me whenever he sees me washing the dishes manually together with his wife.
Dish-drying Rack. Just because we wash our dishes manually, we dry them manually, too. I guess, I don’t need to explain further eh?
Batya or Planggana (Water Tub). We have two washing machines, an automatic and a two-tub one but guess what? My househelp prefer to rinse by hand and handwash the sensitive pieces. These machines are only used regularly on rainy season.
Sampayan (Clothes Line). Again, dryers are only found in first class families’ homes. After washing by hand, we hang the clothes for drying. In my case, I asked a Welder to make a rack for me like those ones that are found in the shopping malls.
Electric Fan. These days, due to climate change, Air-conditioners are a necessity. We have AC units in the bedrooms but not in the family/living room. Well, I have an aircooler as an option we are more satisfied with the breeze that an electric fan can give us.
Photo Gallery by the Staircase. if you go to any house owned by Filipinos, we have a photo gallery usually placed by the staircase or displayed in living areas. You will normally find family portraits and graduation photos there. Yes, we are that proud with what the family has achieved over the years. Agree?
Religious Statues or an Altar. While this one is not only common in Filipino homes but also in Catholic family homes, we would always have it placed by the stairs or anywhere in the center of the house, where people would see as soon as they come on. Ours is placed opposite the main door.
Cabinets dedicated to grocery items. You will normally find packs of Spaghetti sauce, Spam, canned goods in Filipino homes. It’s not that we are impulsive buyers but we prefer to keep stuff like these to save grocery trips. Or at least when visitors come in with no info, we are prepared teehee! Not to forget Christmases and Birthdays hahaha!
There are more things to share but so far these are the very common things that we Filipinos have at home.
hehe, kaya pag nasa labas ka ng bansa mami-miss mo talaga ang buhay pinoy. I stayed overseas for quite a while and wala talaga kaming mahanap na magandang walis tambo and no nice “tabo” too!..only in the Philippines. 😉
I enjoyed reading your post! 😀
Let me add the lampaso (floor scrub made from dried coconut), walis ting-ting and the rugs (yung use clothes) ^_^
(◕‿◕✿) EmoteraGoddess.com
@Venus Smileygal, Oh yeah, the bunot haha! Those days were difficult, that we needed to apply floorwax pa.
@Violy Salas, My in laws buy tabo here sa Pnas, dinadala pa nila yan sa kanila sa India. Wala kasing tabo doon, ang meron sa kanila yung parang pinalaking coffee mug hehe!
if only di lang siguro hassle magbitbit ng walis tambo, they will, too.