How do you make housework more fun?

Housework is misery, so I sing and dance while doing it. I have a big house, and chronic fatigue – a combination that pretty much guarantees that there's always a mess spinning out of control somewhere. If I hadn't figured out how to make cleanup tolerable, I'd have been sucked down beneath the waves long ago.

My housework routine is as follows:

1) Pick my battle. Which mess is pissing me off the most? Which one looks like the most fun to tackle? If there's no clear answer to either of those questions, which one is most pressing? Figure out where I'm going to focus my work, and gather appropriate tools.

2) Go find my tiara. No, I am not joking. I own a beautiful twinkly tiara worthy of Miss Canada. It is only worn when I clean house. When I sit down, it must come off again. But I feel so beautiful – and so silly – when I wear it that it actually makes housework sorta fun.

3) Turn on TV or stereo. The length of the program or album sets the length of my housekeeping session – usually between 30 and 60 minutes.

4) Clean for the allotted time. When the album or TV show is over, I am done for the day. Doesn't matter if there's still more to do. It'll be there tomorrow, and I'll get to it then. (Overdoing is the best way there is to blow my limited energy reserves.)

Thirty to 60 minutes a day of this, plus every-other-week support from a housekeeper and a mandated one-hour full-family team cleaning blitz every Saturday, keeps the house generally presentable and the health department from taking a special interest.

Aurora (Mercuria)

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2005 Aug 9 - 07:50 | add new comment | latest article | previous article | next article |

Good Suggestions

Aurora, if I ever partly overcome my aversion to housecleaning some of this might work. But I don't have a tiara. Maybe the French Maid uniform would work. LOL

"Pat"

by a Taken In Hand reader on 2005 Aug 9 - 13:49 | reply to this comment

Housework

Nothing could ever make housework fun for me. But I do get a certain amount of satisfaction out of doing it because I know my husband will be pleased that I have made the effort, when he comes in and says something like "The house is very tidy, you have been a good girl, haven't you?" I feel pleased, even though it slightly annoys me that I feel that way.

by Louise C on 2005 Aug 10 - 04:09 | reply to this comment

I needed this article today

I'm about to tackle a room the kids have absolutely destroyed so I loved reading this article today. I also love the idea of the one hour saturday cleaning blitz. Just long enough to get things done but not so long that everyone flakes out on you. Keep the good ideas coming!

by a Taken In Hand reader on 2005 Aug 12 - 13:58 | reply to this comment

One-Hour Blitz

It's been a good thing, that one hour. It doesn't wreck everybody's Saturday. They all know it's coming, and can schedule around it. Because they're expecting it, there's minimal whining. Because they know we really will be done in an hour, they don't begrudge it (too much). And, where possible, I try to schedule something fun to do when it's all over -- let's get this project done, and then we can all go out to a movie!

I tend to use this time for projects that I'm frankly afraid to tackle on my own -- the big, overwhelming, tedious cleanups that really deplete my limited energy. I think our next one, for example, will be to get into my 12-year-old son's room and go through all his stuff, sorting and cleaning and tossing as we go. With four people, this really doesn't take much more than an hour. And once things are back in order, it will be a lot easier next week for the two of us to go through his clothes and take stock of what he'll need for school.

Other typical projects include things like tidying up a corner of the basement or garage, clearing out and washing down the fridge and pantry, or seasonal tasks like hanging lights or cleaning off and re-organizing an outside deck. Often, if we're having people in for a Saturday evening dinner party, I'll spend the hour on a whole-house pickup and light cleaning.

Two adults, two teenagers, one boom box, one pitcher of lemonade...and before you know it, the place looks MUCH better than it did.

by Aurora on 2005 Aug 13 - 02:12 | reply to this comment

Thanks!

These are great tips!

by TK on 2005 Oct 27 - 18:12 | reply to this comment

I'm Buying a Tiara!!

What a wonderful things you do to deal with the daily chores!

I was a nanny for a long time, and then managed a restaurant where I responsible for divvying out chores. What I learned was to prioritize chores and break them into smaller pieces.

First, I tackle the 'public areas' of my home.

For instance, when I need to clean the kitchen, it's broken down into the following:

1) doing the dishes
2) cleaning counter tops
3) cleaning appliances
4) sweeping floors
5) moping floor
6) wiping down/cleaning appliances
7) wiping down cabinets

If I only make it to number 4, already, it looks spic and span.

In the living/dining room I do the following:

1) pick up and sort clutter (plopping it in the appropriate persons room- haha!)
2) Straighten up entertainment center (put back the DVDs in their cases!)
3) wipe down surfaces
4) Vacuum
5) dust the shelves and knick-knacks, etc.

If I only make it to 4, again, it looks great.

And the bathrooms, I break down like this:

1) clean sink
2) clean mirrior
3) clean toilet
4) while I'm on the floor cleaning the toilet, I take a rag over the baseboard.
5) wipe down or clean shower/tub
6) empty trash
7) freshen towels if needed
8) sweep floor
9) mop floor (or just take my spray bottle and rag to it to 'cheat')

I do the same thing for every room in my house and it works...now if only I could get the laundry done... haha!

by keldakitty on 2007 Nov 11 - 02:00 | reply to this comment

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