I have never been, and never will be, a cushion plumper.
Actually that’s not true, I do plump the cushions for practical reasons – so they are more comfy. But for a long time I have used this expression to explain that I do not spend an inordinate amount of time on household chores.
So, here’s the conflict.
Sometimes a little voice suggests that maybe I should be more houseproud.
Then the counter voice replies ‘a clean house is the sign of a wasted life’.
The rational part of my brain then interjects and reminds all the other voices that my house isn’t ‘dirty’ it’s just not immaculate. And doesn’t always run smoothly.
Yesterday I was talking with a male friend (this affects both men and women!) about how when you work from home (as we both do) there’s an unrealistic expectation of being able to keep a perfectly tidy and clean home while running a full-time business on your own. Then there’s the school run to consider, the meals to cook and unexpected visitors popping in.
Keeping on top of chores does not come naturally to me, and I gain little satisfaction from the process (although I enjoy the end result), therefore it’s imperative that I find ways to simplify the chores I do have to do.
It’s a work in progress. I’m looking to develop systems in each area.
For example this is my laundry routine. And you already know about how I meal plan and my Friday No Waste Tastes Great routine that keeps my fridge on track.
But there’s always room for improvement and advice.
I’d love to hear about how you simplify your chores and reduce the hard work of house work.
If you’d like to read more about work/life balance and chores then this is a great article on Making The Case For A Messy House
“A clean house is the sign of a wasted life”. I love this! I’m stealing it and printing it and posting it in my house. Let’s see. I have the following signs posted in my house, less I forgot that I hate housework: “In my original plan, I had a maid”, “My house was clean last week… sorry you missed it”, “Dust is what gives a home a warm and fuzzy feeling”, “Doing the dishes has never caused anyone brain damage”, “I know housework can’t kill me but why take the chance?”, “Ask not what mom can do for you… ask what you can do for mom” and a printout of an illustration from “Hyperbole and a Half” that asks “Clean ALL the thing?”, which cracks me up.
So it is safe to say that my chores simplification method is to not do too many of them. I probably would stress more about it if we had frequent visitors but my husband and I are both introverts and I absolutely hate having people over so I don’t. I do a big cleaning if people are coming over (my oldest son with his girlfriend, workmen…) but otherwise I vacuum every couple of weeks (once a week if I remember), do the bathrooms once a week, do the dishes every couple of days (more often if I bake a lot), do laundry once a week, sweep and/or mop the kitchen far less often than I should (ugh) and clean my fridge maybe twice a year at most. Yes, I can see you cringe from across the Atlantic, Jo, Miss “I clean my fridge every week!” but that ain’t me. I have to say that no one in my family, if they dislike it, have taken it upon themselves to step in and do extra cleaning so I’m guessing that it’s not bothering them all that much so then why should it bother me? Life is too short. Similarly, I’m always puzzled when other people apologize for their “mess” when I come over because I just don’t pay attention to this. A house is to be lived in, not a museum. Germaphobes drive me up the walls.
As for laundry, I have always washed every together. I do not separate colors from whites, cotton from polyester, etc. The only things I wash separately, nowadays, are the items that I dry outdoors (my first load on Monday mornings) and then the items that will go in the dryer (the 2nd load on Monday mornings). I wash everything in cold/cold. I only iron my clothes (because I don’t want to look too frumpy!) and my husband’s work clothes. When the kids wore uniforms in elementary school, I ironed those too, though.
I don’t obsessively rinse everything before putting it in the dishwasher. I actually read on several sources that dishwashers perform better when you don’t rinse the dishes first. It sounds silly (how would the dishwasher know and why would it care?!) but it also “sounds good” to me, so there. If the experts said it, who am I to contradict them? lol.
I encourage (nay, require) my family to use ONE cup per person, per day. If it’s dirty, rinse it and use it again. We each use 1 (well I use 2, 1 for my hair, 1 for my body) bath towel per week. We all wear our clothes several days in a row (well, bottoms, we change our tops usually every day) unless we get very sweaty. All of this cuts down on the laundry that needs to be done. I wash the bedding once a month.
Also, I’m a homemaker. Ha! What irony! I think my house was cleaner when I actually worked outside the home but my husband would probably disagree.
I do, however, train my kids to do their own laundry by the age of 6. They also started packing their own lunches starting in pre-k (with guidance back then, of course), make their own beds. I only cook dinner, everyone is on their own for lunch and breakfast. I do keep an extremely well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer so they have quite a lot of options. My son is in charge of feeding the cats and cleaning their litter box every day. Each child has to clean their own room. We share bathrooms so I clean those. My daughter has a half bath and she’s *supposed* to clean it.
I do pay my kids for extra chores (setting the table, doing the dishes, gathering the trash and taking it down the driveway on trash collection days, mostly), but aside from the above-mentioned responsibilities, they actually have no chores. They don’t mow the lawn or anything (my husband loves mowing the lawn so he won’t let them!). I see some blogger with very long lists of chores for every child and I feel bad for the kids. I think they’re kids and they work hard at school so they should enjoy whatever downtime they have because soon enough they will be adults with their own homes and unavoidable chores. Let them enjoy their childhood! Well, that’s my personal opinion.
There are chores that I should do more often: dusting mostly, and I really should try to do the dishes every night because it sure is nice to walk into the kitchen and not see a mound of dirty dishes at 6:30 a.m., but I’m not going to stress too much about it.
A trick that I have found is great: keep the lights low (or off) and your house won’t look so… unkempt? It sure works for me 🙂
Sorry this comment is so long! I’m sure you’re sorry you asked, now!
Whoa that’s a fantastically detailed comment… thank you! Love it! Will need to re-read also!
Love this – “A house is to be lived in, not a museum. Germaphobes drive me up the walls”.
Totally agree.
“A clean house is the sign of a wasted life”. I love this! I’m stealing it and printing it and posting it in my house. Let’s see. I have the following signs posted in my house, less I forgot that I hate housework: “In my original plan, I had a maid”, “My house was clean last week… sorry you missed it”, “Dust is what gives a home a warm and fuzzy feeling”, “Doing the dishes has never caused anyone brain damage”, “I know housework can’t kill me but why take the chance?”, “Ask not what mom can do for you… ask what you can do for mom” and a printout of an illustration from “Hyperbole and a Half” that asks “Clean ALL the thing?”, which cracks me up.
So it is safe to say that my chores simplification method is to not do too many of them. I probably would stress more about it if we had frequent visitors but my husband and I are both introverts and I absolutely hate having people over so I don’t. I do a big cleaning if people are coming over (my oldest son with his girlfriend, workmen…) but otherwise I vacuum every couple of weeks (once a week if I remember), do the bathrooms once a week, do the dishes every couple of days (more often if I bake a lot), do laundry once a week, sweep and/or mop the kitchen far less often than I should (ugh) and clean my fridge maybe twice a year at most. Yes, I can see you cringe from across the Atlantic, Jo, Miss “I clean my fridge every week!” but that ain’t me. I have to say that no one in my family, if they dislike it, have taken it upon themselves to step in and do extra cleaning so I’m guessing that it’s not bothering them all that much so then why should it bother me? Life is too short. Similarly, I’m always puzzled when other people apologize for their “mess” when I come over because I just don’t pay attention to this. A house is to be lived in, not a museum. Germaphobes drive me up the walls.
As for laundry, I have always washed every together. I do not separate colors from whites, cotton from polyester, etc. The only things I wash separately, nowadays, are the items that I dry outdoors (my first load on Monday mornings) and then the items that will go in the dryer (the 2nd load on Monday mornings). I wash everything in cold/cold. I only iron my clothes (because I don’t want to look too frumpy!) and my husband’s work clothes. When the kids wore uniforms in elementary school, I ironed those too, though.
I don’t obsessively rinse everything before putting it in the dishwasher. I actually read on several sources that dishwashers perform better when you don’t rinse the dishes first. It sounds silly (how would the dishwasher know and why would it care?!) but it also “sounds good” to me, so there. If the experts said it, who am I to contradict them? lol.
I encourage (nay, require) my family to use ONE cup per person, per day. If it’s dirty, rinse it and use it again. We each use 1 (well I use 2, 1 for my hair, 1 for my body) bath towel per week. We all wear our clothes several days in a row (well, bottoms, we change our tops usually every day) unless we get very sweaty. All of this cuts down on the laundry that needs to be done. I wash the bedding once a month.
Also, I’m a homemaker. Ha! What irony! I think my house was cleaner when I actually worked outside the home but my husband would probably disagree.
I do, however, train my kids to do their own laundry by the age of 6. They also started packing their own lunches starting in pre-k (with guidance back then, of course), make their own beds. I only cook dinner, everyone is on their own for lunch and breakfast. I do keep an extremely well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer so they have quite a lot of options. My son is in charge of feeding the cats and cleaning their litter box every day. Each child has to clean their own room. We share bathrooms so I clean those. My daughter has a half bath and she’s *supposed* to clean it.
I do pay my kids for extra chores (setting the table, doing the dishes, gathering the trash and taking it down the driveway on trash collection days, mostly), but aside from the above-mentioned responsibilities, they actually have no chores. They don’t mow the lawn or anything (my husband loves mowing the lawn so he won’t let them!). I see some blogger with very long lists of chores for every child and I feel bad for the kids. I think they’re kids and they work hard at school so they should enjoy whatever downtime they have because soon enough they will be adults with their own homes and unavoidable chores. Let them enjoy their childhood! Well, that’s my personal opinion.
There are chores that I should do more often: dusting mostly, and I really should try to do the dishes every night because it sure is nice to walk into the kitchen and not see a mound of dirty dishes at 6:30 a.m., but I’m not going to stress too much about it.
A trick that I have found is great: keep the lights low (or off) and your house won’t look so… unkempt? It sure works for me 🙂
Sorry this comment is so long! I’m sure you’re sorry you asked, now!
Whoa that’s a fantastically detailed comment… thank you! Love it! Will need to re-read also!
Love this – “A house is to be lived in, not a museum. Germaphobes drive me up the walls”.
Totally agree.
I have a husband who likes to clean and fold laundry! Handy 😉 Once I started working part time he just took over and politely said I had enough to do. Yes, I’m lucky!!! I focus on grocery shopping, taking care of setting up household spaces (arranging furniture etc), cooking, washing the laundry and ferrying the kids around after school and he does all the cleaning (even bathrooms!), folds the laundry and looks after the outside spaces and maintenance. Oh, and makes breakfast for the kids because I am *not* a morning person! We very rarely do chores like cleaning the windows…unless they are so streaky we can’t see out of them!
Unlike my Hubby who took the laundry off the line (at least he took it off!) and chucked it in a basket. Quicker to re-wash than try to get creases out…
I have a husband who likes to clean and fold laundry! Handy 😉 Once I started working part time he just took over and politely said I had enough to do. Yes, I’m lucky!!! I focus on grocery shopping, taking care of setting up household spaces (arranging furniture etc), cooking, washing the laundry and ferrying the kids around after school and he does all the cleaning (even bathrooms!), folds the laundry and looks after the outside spaces and maintenance. Oh, and makes breakfast for the kids because I am *not* a morning person! We very rarely do chores like cleaning the windows…unless they are so streaky we can’t see out of them!
Unlike my Hubby who took the laundry off the line (at least he took it off!) and chucked it in a basket. Quicker to re-wash than try to get creases out…
How to simplify chores?
We have limited amount of “stuff”, everything has a place, surfaces are mostly clear, and I only use my hoover, Kracher steamer and a few microfibre cloths for cleaning. …and some Coke for the toilets 🙂
I even cut out the bicarb soda, lemon and vinegar since I have my steamer.
I put on a washing as soon as I have a load , hang the clothes and fold/iron straight after. As I mentioned before, I am lazy as regards housework, so I simplify and try not to procrastinate.
The kids are also at an age when they ask for pocket money, so they do chores to earn the cash. 🙂
We also have a list of chores for the kids ( 8 and 11 yr old boys) with all the things they want to learn before they move out. 🙂 🙂 Hopefully it won’t be any time soon, but they came up with the idea… so most of the time they do enjoy learning how to load the washing machine, separate clothes, iron, to help cook, menu plan, learn about budgeting etc. They are not perfect, but they are learning, helping out, and will have the confidence with all household chores. Until then I encourage them, hold my tongue and re-do some of their chores when they are not looking. 🙂
Great tips Apple. I too have a steamer but am not using it as much as I should!
How to simplify chores?
We have limited amount of “stuff”, everything has a place, surfaces are mostly clear, and I only use my hoover, Kracher steamer and a few microfibre cloths for cleaning. …and some Coke for the toilets 🙂
I even cut out the bicarb soda, lemon and vinegar since I have my steamer.
I put on a washing as soon as I have a load , hang the clothes and fold/iron straight after. As I mentioned before, I am lazy as regards housework, so I simplify and try not to procrastinate.
The kids are also at an age when they ask for pocket money, so they do chores to earn the cash. 🙂
We also have a list of chores for the kids ( 8 and 11 yr old boys) with all the things they want to learn before they move out. 🙂 🙂 Hopefully it won’t be any time soon, but they came up with the idea… so most of the time they do enjoy learning how to load the washing machine, separate clothes, iron, to help cook, menu plan, learn about budgeting etc. They are not perfect, but they are learning, helping out, and will have the confidence with all household chores. Until then I encourage them, hold my tongue and re-do some of their chores when they are not looking. 🙂
Great tips Apple. I too have a steamer but am not using it as much as I should!
What I try to use is the waiter’s rule… to always carry something. Like when a waiting brings out food, on the way back, he/she should bring in dirty dishes, take another order, never waly around empty handed. so if I leave the livingroom I make sure I take something that belongs into the kitchen. From the kitchen I pick something up that belongs into another room and so on. there’s always something that needs moving and it helps keeping things tidy (a bit at least…)
Sounds sensible and a plan to me!
What I try to use is the waiter’s rule… to always carry something. Like when a waiting brings out food, on the way back, he/she should bring in dirty dishes, take another order, never waly around empty handed. so if I leave the livingroom I make sure I take something that belongs into the kitchen. From the kitchen I pick something up that belongs into another room and so on. there’s always something that needs moving and it helps keeping things tidy (a bit at least…)
Sounds sensible and a plan to me!
Go to Flylady.net (sorry don’t know how to make a link 🙁 )- amazing woman. She has what you are looking for – a plan that doesn’t involve being a slave to chores but maintains your house. And it’s free. Can’t recommend her enough. I have 4 children – 2 under 4’s. I was going under last year – she has stopped me drowning in laundry and dust!
Go to Flylady.net (sorry don’t know how to make a link 🙁 )- amazing woman. She has what you are looking for – a plan that doesn’t involve being a slave to chores but maintains your house. And it’s free. Can’t recommend her enough. I have 4 children – 2 under 4’s. I was going under last year – she has stopped me drowning in laundry and dust!