No one enjoys doing chores. Kids may complain the most about it, but most adults despise doing them just as much. Without completing chores, however, no one would ever have any fresh clothes, the house would be a pigsty, and there’d be dust bunnies to the ceiling. Besides being mandatory, chores can actually be made easier to perform. This article will offer up a few tips and tricks to complete them faster and have some fun doing them.
1. Delegate
The first way to help make chores easier and faster is to utilize the people that you have. You shouldn’t have to tackle every chore yourself. The kids may gripe about it, but they’re going to need to learn how to do chores on their own eventually, too. Pull everyone in and assign chores that are appropriate for their age. With everyone helping, there’s a lot less that everyone needs to tackle overall. This opens up time, so everyone can actually do something that they enjoy.
2. Set Dates
One of the reasons that chores can sometimes be so difficult to perform is because they’re not done often enough. It’s not uncommon to put off doing chores for as long as possible. The problem with doing that is that there’s suddenly a mountain of chores that need to be finished rather than just a few tasks. To prevent spending an entire Saturday doing chores, you should have a schedule. This should be placed out in the open so everyone can see it. Each day or every other day or even twice a week, you should have a chore listed that everyone needs to complete. By staying on top of things, you’ll have a lot more time overall to do other fun stuff instead.
3. Start a “One Bag A Day” Habit
Another method to keep chores from piling up on one another is to utilize a new habit called the “One Bag A Day.” This habit involves using ziplock bags of various sizes, although typically just a sandwich bag, and using it to fill with clutter around the house. Basically, you go around the house for five or 10 minutes. Pick up any clutter or trash that you see and put it into the bag. Then you simply toss the bag out or donate it if it’s full of items that someone else might need. By doing this every day, you slowly start to declutter your house without even realizing it. Plus, the actual practice is only five or 10 minutes long.
4. Meal Prep
One chore that many just hate performing is cooking dinner. After a long day at work, the last thing you likely want to do is stand up even more and slave over a stove. You already have a limited amount of time before bed during the week. Why spend it cooking? Instead, you should meal prep. Choose a weekend day–either Saturday or Sunday–and do all of the week’s cooking on that day. It may take up a good portion of the day, but you’ll have hours back during the week where you no longer have to cook. Meal prepping is also a great way to make sure that everyone still gets a good nutritious meal.
5. Make an Indoor Inbox
For larger families who are all starting to receive mail, it’s likely not uncommon for that mail to be strewn about the table. Since mail can sometimes sit there for days until its intended recipient picks it up, there’s a chance for clutter to form. One method to keep your house from becoming cluttered with mail is to make an inbox for everyone in the family. That way when the mail is brought in, it can be organized into each other’s inbox individually. The clutter stays off of your table and the mail is organized.
6. One Task A Day
Another method for making chores more manageable is to stick with a One Task a Day regimen. Each person in the household should be given one task that they need to complete that day. This is great for when school is in session and everyone is busy either with school or at work. The single task is done and won’t be piling up by the end of the week. Finally, come the weekend, a few more tasks can be assigned to cover the rest of the tasks that need to be finished.
7. Categorize While Washing
No one likes to take the time to throw away old clothes. So, the perfect time to do just that is when you’re already taking care of clothes via the laundry. Once you’ve finished doing the laundry and you’re about to put them away into your closet, stop yourself. Take just a few minutes to pull out clothes that you haven’t worn in a few months. Is it likely that you’re going to wear them again? If not, then toss them into a bag to be donated. You now have more space to fill with the clothes that you’ve just cleaned. By doing this each time you do the laundry, you can keep your closet compact and less cluttered.
8. Set the Clock
Another method that you can utilize to motivate yourself, get the house clean, and only spend a little time doing it is to set a clock. The timer should be placed for 15 minutes. In those 15 minutes, you do as many chores as possible. Grab the entire family to make the most of it. Once the 15 minutes is over, you’re done doing chores for the day. By doing that every day, your house is sure to be clean, uncluttered, and there are likely far fewer chores that need to be completed during the weekend.
9. Automate
One bonus trick is to automate cleaning. Buy a robot vacuum, get self-cleaning equipment, and relax.
