Thursday, August 21

There's More To Life Than Chores!

Summer is coming to a close. For many, summers end may mean one last vacation, shopping for new fall clothes, saying good-bye to long-time friends, saying hello to crisp weather, visiting the state fair, football season! and school starting for many. For me, however, the end of summer brings chores. Yes, E has headed back to college and now Mom is on deck. All of the things she helped me do during the summer are now left for me to accomplish. I'm not going to lie, I really hate doing chores! For the first time in months, I had to empty the dishwasher yesterday, one of my least favorite chores. 

Cruising the web last week I came across an article on the subject of 'chores you can get done during a television commercial break'. Well, this had obviously been written for me. As I was reading this well thought out article, I started to think of the ten things I could accomplish in the span of a short commercial break. They are as follows:

1. Unload the Dishwasher, let's get it over with!
I guess if it has to be done, then I'd rather get it done FAST! I tried it yesterday, if I work fast, I can empty the dishwasher during a commercial break. YAY!

2. Loading the Dishwasher.
Make quick work of loading the dishwasher, but be sure you do it properly so that your dishes come out nice and clean. Scrape off the large food particles, rinse them if you like. Largest plates and dishes on the bottom, smaller dishes and glasses on top, add the dishwashing detergent, turn it on and you're done!

3. Dust a Room.
Yes, I can dust a room within the time restraints of a commercial break. Remember, small house, less furniture. And, I'm not talking about the whole house, just one room at a time. I like to use either Pledge wipes or Pledge spray, it really does keep dusting down to a minimum.

4. Swiffer a Floor!
I ask you, what did we do before Swiffers? I love my Swiffer and the quick work it makes of cleaning the hardwood and tile floors in my house. I can clean the floors quickly, and more importantly FULLY, without even breaking a sweat. Now that's my kind of cleaning!

5. Clean the Toilets.
We only have two bathrooms, I can so do this quickly. You can too with the right tools. Here is what I do: flush the toilet to wet the sides of the bowl, apply liquid toilet cleaner/disinfectant under the rim of the bowl - run to the next bathroom and do the same, then go back to the first toilet you applied cleaner to and using a scrubbing brush clean the bowl, flush the toilet to rinse and wipe down the rim and outer edge of the bowl with a Clorox wet wipe. Go back to second bathroom and finish up. Voila, two clean potties!

6. Work on the Laundry.
Well this is a no-brainer. If you work on your laundry a couple of times a week, you can keep dirty clothes to a minimum. During your commercial break you can either sort your laundry into piles, put a load of dirty laundry into the wash or clean ones into the dryer. It you get one of those nice long commercial breaks - like at the half hour - you can even take the time to fold a load of laundry! By the end of the evening you can be finished with your dirty laundry or at the very least put a huge dent into the piles in the laundry room!

7. Vacuum a Room.
You can lightly vacuum a room or two during a break. Or better yet, why not tackle the sofa?? Give the cushions a toss and vacuum your sofa well. If you leave your vacuum plugged in you can vacuum most of your house by the evenings end. How great is that?

8. Sort through your Magazines and Coffee Table Books.
Flip through the magazines and newspapers you’ve already read, pulling out any articles, recipes or photo inspiration you'd like to keep, then recycle them or put them in the donation bin (art teachers love to have them for class projects). Neaten the still-need-to-read pile. Flip through your coffee table books. If one of them has been displayed for awhile, switch it out. I like to rotate mine frequently, or depending on the season, so I can revisit my favorite books. They tend to inspire me all over again.

9. Clean out the Fridge.
I’m not talking super-duper refrigerator clean-out. I’m talking about tossing stuff that’s rotten or expired. Wipe down the shelves, again I like to use my Clorox wipes here, and wash out any recyclable containers, adding to your compost bin if you have one and throw out what you need to. 

10. Take out the Trash.
Gather up the trash, bag it and take it out. Throw all of the bags into a designated trash container, preferably metal - we have raccoons that like to dig! While you’re at it, gather up those recyclables, including the magazines you just realized you’re done with, and take them to the bin as well. Make sure to place a new plastic trash liner in your trash can. 

And you're done. Do as little or as much in any one given evening and enjoy that clean house! Just keep in mind, if I only cleaned my house once a month, I would not be able to dust a room or vacuum during a commercial break. Things would need more attention than I could give them in 5 or so minutes. But if you lightly dust once or twice a week, then it's easy to do. Keeping my list of chores down - and I like that!


chores, summers end, more-to, know-how, trash, cleaning, dishes, laundry, enjoyment, commercial breaks, quickly,easy, clean, house



12 comments:

  1. Such great tips! I find cleaning my bathrooms regularly makes the job so much easier. Happy SITS day!

    JoAnn
    Whimsicle

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  2. Love the name of your blog and the pink chevron background! Thanks for stopping by today!

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  4. I always try to do this and keep failing miserably. I always end up having to clean the whole apartment during the weekend, which I don't enjoy.
    http://www.sunfogandotherthoughts.com/

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  5. I used to do the very same thing Eva! It took years for me to change my ways!

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  6. That's a good idea, although I mostly do Netflix, so no commercials.
    Still, I love the idea of just taking a few minutes and getting it done.
    I don't have a dishwasher, but sometimes if the dishes in my sonk are too many, I'll just do as many as I can for 5 minutes, then leave or whatever. Then when I come back, the dishes in the rack are dry and i can put those away and wash the rest from the sink and have room for them.

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    1. Oh Julie! We got Netflix not too long ago and the whole 'tv binge watching' thing is sucking up ALL of my free time. I'm SURE you on the other hand are more disciplined! And do you know what - I love washing dishes by hand. For me it's very therapeutic. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. This is so great! I am TOTALLY this person! Running around like a mad woman during the commercials! lol ;)

    B
    www.naughteebits.com

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    1. It's a great use of time! You're not REALLY naughty are you? Great blog name!

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  8. Not at all helpful. A blog claiming that there is more to life than chores, and it is ALL about chores?

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    1. Oh no no Choreless! Don't think of it that way. These are suggestions on how to finish your chores quickly and efficiently in those spare moments during the day. That way you have more time to have fun! Hope you are having fun in the Spring weather and look on the sunny side of life!

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  9. You have provided valuable data for us. It is great and informative for everyone. Read more info about End of Tenancy Cleaning Hemel Hempstead Keep posting always. I am very thankful to you.

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