Running a home: bins, bills, laundry and repairs in Malta Living

Anyone who has lived in a Maltese flat knows the rhythm: which bag goes out tonight, when the gas runs out, the ARMS bill landing every couple of months. Malta Living keeps that rhythm, without the chores taking over the game. Running a home in a life sim should feel lived in, so it's one app, Essentials, plus a few small things around the house. Here's what it does.

The Essentials app

🧺 Essentials sits on your phone and has four tabs:

• Today: your fridge, drinking water and gas, each with when it runs out and a one-tap top-up from Wolt's groceries or Lidl, and your next bills.
• Bins: the week's collections as coloured dots, and what fills each bag.
• Staff: cleaners you can book.
• Bills: every bill in one list: rent, the ARMS bill, your phone plan.

Its red number says when something needs you today: tonight's bin, an empty fridge.

Bin night

In Malta, each bag has its night, and the game follows it. Every bag fills from something you do, down to the fridge's treats. From 19:00 the evening before, if tomorrow's bag is at least a quarter full, the game asks: "Put the white bag out tonight?" One tap puts it out (Hygiene +2), or say Not tonight. A full bin makes the flat messier faster, so it's worth the tap.

Bills, and what happens if you're short

• Rent is due on Saturday at 18:00. The landlord messages you the day before, and renting a flat explains the rest.
• ARMS, for electricity and tap water, comes every 4 weeks: €22 for a room or studio, €38 a flat, €60 a house. None at the hotel, the hostel, Mum's or the shared flat, and solar panels halve it. That's the game's version of the bill from ARMS, the island's utility billing company.
• Gas: below 20% the gas van brings a full cylinder by itself (€15).
• Your phone plan renews from your bank every 28 days.

Short of money? The ARMS bill is owed and paid when you have it, with a reminder in Messages. Nothing is cut off.

Keeping it clean

A home gets a little messier every day you live in it: ✨ Spotless, 🙂 Tidy, 😬 Messy, 🤢 Grim. Alone, it takes about a week to get to Grim; half as fast with flatmates or a robot vacuum. Mum keeps hers tidy; the hotel and the hostel have housekeeping.

🧽 Tidy up is free and costs some Energy. Buy's Clean shelf has a broom (€12), a mop (€25) and a robot vacuum (€249). Or book a cleaner in Essentials → Staff, weekly, every two weeks or once.

Two days at Grim and cockroaches move in, on your floor where guests can see them. Clean it out yourself, gone by morning, or call pest control (€45: gone at once, none for a month).

Laundry

Tap your washing machine and Put a wash on (a minute, free), then hang it out on the roof or use a tumble dryer. A washer-dryer does both. The basket fills about a third each day you play, a little more after a sweaty shift. Let it fill and you lose a little Fun, once, and get a nudge. No machine? At Mum's she does it, free; anywhere else a wash and fold pickup is €8.

When things break

Now and then something wears out, never often and never the same thing twice running. A broken piece shows a 🪛. Call Ċensu the handyman: he's there in a minute, lets himself in and fixes it while you carry on or go out. Or fix it yourself, free, for some Energy: the better your skill, the likelier it works.

The island-wide power cut at 10:00 ends in a surge that can knock out one appliance in every home. Enemalta's compensation lands at the same time, and nobody pays that day's repairs. On other days your lease says who pays: renting, you pay the first part and the landlord the rest; in a home you own, it's all yours.

Smelling fresh

Hygiene falls faster out than at home, and a night away costs you. Under 30 you're Grubby; under 15, Smelly, and smart places turn you away at the door. A shower fixes it, and so do the gym, the beach showers and a sea swim. If your flat needs a few more things, Buy mode has them.

New here? Read what Malta Living is, or play Malta Living free.

Questions people ask

Which bin goes out tonight in Malta Living?

Essentials → Bins shows the week as coloured dots, and from 19:00 the game asks you to put the right bag out, by name.

What happens if I can't pay a bill?

Rent has a week's grace. The ARMS bill is simply owed until you can pay, with a reminder. Nothing is cut off.

How do I get rid of cockroaches?

Tidy up yourself and they're gone by morning, or call pest control for €45 and they're gone at once, for a month.

Who fixes things that break at home?

Ċensu the handyman, in a minute, or you, for free and some Energy. On a rented home the landlord pays part.