How to Do Household Chores in the Shortest Time

Chores are an unhappy reality of having a home. if you take pride in ownership of your own home, enjoy its comforts and see it as your space to do what you will, you also need to fulfill the responsibilities that come with it – and chores one of the most unpleasant of them all. Here are then a few ideas on how to breeze through housework without them consuming all your spare time.

Get your priorities right

One of the first things to do is to decide what your priorities are – whether as a single householder, as a couple or as a family. Discuss how you both feel about home cooked meals versus quick meals or eating out now and then. If home-cooked meals are important to you and your partner, then someone will have to buy groceries, cook and then clean up. On the other hand if saving time is more of a priority, you can eat out or get food delivered to your home. Similarly if you are living on your own, find out your feelings about dusting, cleaning the toilet, making the bed, mowing the lawn, paying bills and so on. Once you are able to figure out what aspects of living is important to you – like clean toilets - and what you can do without – like shining cyrstalware - you will be able to jot down the chores in order of priority and get through them that much faster.

Some shortcuts to housework

Take out old newspapers and use them to clean mirrors and windows. These make an effective and disposable cleaning rag while you are recycling at the same time. To prevent streaking and extra rubbing, wait for an overcast day to clean your mirrors and windows. If you have run out of cleaning liquid, don’t keep the chore for another day – pop into your kitchen and bring out a bottle of while vinegar. This makes easy cleaner that can be used on windows and mirrors.

In order to get the dusting done in the fastest possible time, slip an old unmatched sock on your hand and dust as you go. Try dusting cloth lampshades with a lint roller. It works quickly and effectively without the hassle of a vacuum.

Cleaning the refrigerator is something that you shouldn’t delay, if only for health reasons. Briefly clear out trash and bad food each trash day morning. It only takes a few minutes to get rid of all old stuff, and will clear out space to make cleaning easier. Then use baking soda to wipe down the inside of the refrigerator. It scrubs and eliminates odors without damaging surfaces.

Cleaning the oven of tough stains and hard crusts can take a long while. in order to ease the process, take a few moments and spray the inside of the oven with oven cleaner On nights when you get take out,. Then after dinner, or the next morning if your stains are tough, you''ll be able to wipe away the dirt and grime easily, without missing the use of your oven. Microwave cleaning is slightly easier, Bring a cup of water to boil in the microwave, the steam will help loosen dried on particles making them easily wiped away.

Doing the dishes is one of those chores that stare at you daily. In order to make things easier, remember to run a sink of hot soapy water as soon as you begin cooking and then wash as you go. This way food on cooking utensils won't have a chance to harden, and you'll be that much ahead when the meal is done. Above all, keep a supply of disposable plates, flatware, and cups. On occasions when you're overwhelmed by back to back conferences on the same day as PTA, you can forget about the dishes for that night.

When tackling bathrooms, Put toilet cleaner in the toilet to soak while you wipe down the outside. The inside dirt and stains will be loosened and more easily cleaned. In order to increase the time between needed cleanings, buy a drop-in toilet cleaner dispenser – this will not only reduce the number of cleanings necessary in a month but keep your toilet smelling fresh.

Many hands make less work

If your household consists of more than one member, doing chores together can not only help you get through them quickly but also make for lots of fun. Washing dishes can be a great time to ask a partner about how his or her day went. Or even have a parent interview with a child you need to reconnect with. The job may not always go more quickly, but you'll be accomplishing a lot more than clean dishes. In order to speed things up, make each person responsible for washing, drying, and putting away their own clothing. Write and post some basic instructions in the laundry room. Have a trial period where your trainees assist you with their clothing.

Divide and conquer

One of the most common ways of getting through chores in a multiple member household is to divide them. start by assigning each member the chores that they would like to do; after the palatable chores are taken up, take turns to assign the unpleasant ones – “I’ll clean the bathrooms this weekend but the next time its’ your turn” or Barter method, “I will commit to keeping the toilets clean every week if you commit to scrubbing the garage floor once a month.” When dividing the housework, try and be considerate of one another's body clocks. Some folks have no problem getting up in the morning people while some folks are night owls. So if your partner is not at his/her best in the morning, agree to take out the dog for a walk at the beginning of the day while your partner can take out the trash at night. Likewise with work schedules – if you need to leave earlier than your partner for work, he/she can run the morning laundry while you can pick up groceries on your way back since you will be probably returning home earlier than your partner.

Even children can be encouraged to take up some of the chores – while young kids can be asked to set up the table before dinner, teens can do their own laundry. Finally, Put the assignments on paper and schedule them out so each member of the household is accountable for completing their jobs on time. Create a chore chart or a checklist so that it is perfectly clear who is responsible for each task, and to take personal responsibility for getting them done.

Outsource

Daily responsibilities like cooking, vacuuming and cleaning dishes can not only eat into precious spare time and energy but when living with a partner, the additional burden can try even the strongest relationships. On occasions when none of the household members are willing to pitch in with the chores or when you are simply too exhausted to do it all by yourself, a great option is to outsource household chores to professionals. If you get truly overwhelmed by your laundry, check out a local Laundromat that will wash, dry, and fold your loads for you. These services frequently charge by the pound for laundry and aren't inexpensive, but may save you time and energy when life starts to overwhelm. Likewise there are cleaners who will come and get your home sparkling as well as online shopping portals who will do your grocery shopping and deliver the stuff at your doorstep. Outsourcing chores will leave both individual homeowners as well as couples sharing a house free of unpalatable responsibilities.