How to Get Through All your Chores as Quickly as Possible
Chores. Does the very word fill you with foreboding and make your heart sink? If so, you are not alone. Nobody likes doing chores, but they are a necessary pain for anybody who does not want to live in filth, or see their home collapse around them.
Given that chores are essentially dull, your key aim should be to get them done as thoroughly, but as quickly, as possible. In that way not only do you get to enjoy a beautiful and welcoming home, but you also have time to hit the mall, spend time with friends, visit the theater or whatever else appeals.
The question is, how do you achieve this ideal?
Get a plan
The first step to lightning fast chores is to have a schedule or rota. That means you plan, on a rolling basis, which chores get done on which days. The ‘science’ behind this is very simple – the more you get used to doing certain tasks on certain days, the more automatic they become and pretty soon they get done a whole lot faster.
For a start, you will need to take a monthly planning or schedule sheet (you can download these free from lots of sites online).
Begin with your weekly tasks, and mark in a task for each day of the week, and for each week of the month. So, if the trash goes out on Tuesdays, you will write ‘trash out’ in the Tuesday of each week, and so on.
The tasks that have to be done each week vary between households, but as a guide you will want to allocate time for cleaning bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen, changing bed linen etc.
Some tasks (wiping countertops, filling the dishwasher) have to be done every day. Do not bother writing these out on each day of your schedule, but stick a separate list, entitled ‘daily tasks’, alongside the monthly plan.
Next, think about the things you do less often such as defrosting the freezer, cleaning the washing machine and dishwasher, overhauling the yard. Mark these on your monthly schedule.
Now, put that schedule (and the daily task list) clearly on the refrigerator or a pinboard in a central area. In that way, everybody in the household can see it and nobody can claim they did not know what had to be done!
Get the equipment
There are plenty of books and internet sites that will tell you to clean your house with the most basic of household ingredients, and these can be incredibly useful. They are great for households on a tight budget and those who desire a more natural way of life.
There is no escaping the fact, however, that if you want to streamline your chores, you need to have the goods that do the job quickly and effectively. If they are also pleasant to use and they leave your house smelling delicious, for example, even better. It is worth investing in products that you like. In general, if you can add pleasure to your housework experience, be that through a great smelling product or a particularly efficient cleaning item, then you should probably think about it. The more enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) you can make the daily grind, the faster it will fly.
Use the right product
For some areas of the house, you simply have to use the right products or risk damaging your home. If, for example, you have invested in granite countertops for your kitchen you must use proper stone care products, otherwise your pride and joy will soon be dull and drab. A similar need for specialist products applies to good quality wood and silverware, and to household electronics such as TV screens (do not clean the latter with standard detergents, it can damage or even remove the screen’s surface film and seriously damage your viewing pleasure).
Let the music play
Another aid to completing housework speedily is music. A well-stocked iPod or other music player, especially if it is full of up-tempo tunes, can motivate you through the chores. In fact, if you are a hassled mom or busy senior, adding music to your household work can transform it into the precious ‘me time’ that is in such short supply these days.
Finally, do make sure that you reward yourself for a job well done, as soon as those chores are complete – and yes, that does apply on a daily basis. Your indulgence need only be on a small scale – a favorite TV show, a cup of freshly brewed coffee, a chat with a friend – but make sure it happens. When it comes to speeding through the housework, every bit of motivation helps!
Category: Family Finances, Home Renovation
