Making Household Chores Easier
Posted on by Forest in General, Minimalism, Opinion
I’m trying to find ways to minimize in all aspects of my life. The general idea of having less stuff means there is less to do but it doesn’t completely eliminate everything. My household chores and cleanup are reduced by having less clutter but they are not gone and I dislike doing them!
Many people here in Cairo just hire a cleaner. It’s not a whole lot of money but part of my minimalism involves cutting back on uneeded expenses so for now I am sticking to my guns and doing my own cleaning. I have been working at finding ways to make my household chores easier and although I have not implemented my whole plan yet I am doing so little by little.
10 ways of making household chores easier
Sweeping and vacuuming
Cairo gets dusty really really fast so you need to keep on top of it. Leave it for more than a week and you are sweeping up dustpans full of sand. Keeping the screens and windows closed helps but doesn’t stop it by any means. I find that the best way to deal with the sweeping and vacuuming upkeep is to keep a rotating cycle. In the kitchen I sweep after every meal. The living room, bedrooms and hallways can be rotated doing one every few days in a quick sweep. Every few weeks it does help to do a big main sweep but the continued upkeep helps make it seem much easier than just picking one big day every week or two.
Home maintenance
I am behind on this but I have a plan. Light bulbs need changing, door handles fixes, a latch applied and many other things. I plan to make a list and do one thing every few days. Most of the jobs are small but I actually take pleasure in striking a job off a list and seeing things on paper make them much easier to achieve.
The dreaded bathroom
The bathroom needs to be kept clean as it’s a place where hygiene is very important. We don’t have a shower curtain so our water drains down a hole in the floor. This is actually helpful as we have a squeegee that is used for drying the floor after showers. It’s easy to apply a little cleaner (or vinegar) to the floor and this cuts down on time when it comes to the scheduled big cleans where you clean behind everything. I also make sure I wash the sink and bath quickly every day or two.
Washing up
The dishes can pile up quick but rather than doing them after dinner or a meal I find it helps to do them as you go along and most of the time the dishes are 90% done before I even eat. It’s a great relief only having to spend 5 minutes after dinner getting things on order.
Your input, how do you make your chores easier?
As you can see my routine is based on cycling small jobs to reduce the need for time when bigger scheduled cleans come along. Having clutter gone really helps making the clean up times so much easier too so it’s yet another good reason to minimize your life. I would love to hear what tips and ideas you have.
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7 Responses to “Making Household Chores Easier”
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September 20, 2010
[...] Dust builds up quick in a small space too and regular cleaning helps keep your little home fresh and feeling airy. Just keep sweeping and dusting daily if possible with regular big cleans. Always keep on top of the washing up and your laundry. When I had my flat in London and I came home to a load of laundry and washing up that I couldn’t face I would often turn around and walk straight out again. Often I would end up eating out or going to the pub. You may be interested in my post Making Household Chores Easier. [...]
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youngandthrifty
19. Sep, 2010
I guess a major thing is to not let things build up (like I do) so that it will be easier to tackle, rather than a huge task!
I wish I had the problem of dust while I was living in Cairo!! =)
If I ever go to Egypt and you are still there, we should meet up!
youngandthrifty recently posted..Weekend Ramblings and PF Blog Love- iPhone 4 Hunt Edition
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Forest
19. Sep, 2010
Exactly, little by little really helps make it a lot easier, still need the odd big clean. Sure thing, should be here another year or so I hope!
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Jimmy Beavers
24. Sep, 2010
The issue of living in small spaces and keeping the space(s) clean and yourself happy with the environment is easily condensed to the following ten (10) points:
1. Air the space every third day for about one hour and then clean with a vacuum cleaner (or a good dust mop);
2. Wash your clothes every fifth day, even if you have to go to the coin operated washing machine place (if you have a washer/dryer combo, this is really a walk in the park);
3. Size your furniture to the space(s) as smaller, space saving, furniture is as comfortable as large pieces. Go with modern minimalist sofas, dining tables and such;
4. If you have a small kitchen, have small appliances such as a properly sized energy saving refrigerator, small stove/cooktop, small undercounted mounted microwave and cabinet storable mixers, toasters, hotplates and such;
5. Do your dishes right after use – do not leave morning plates until the evening, or your evening dishes until morning as these will make your entire space smell awful;
6. When you cook, open or crack the kitchen window to air the kitchen cooking aromas. Boil cinnamon bark in scalding water to make your kitchen and space(s) smell better;
7. If your bathroom opens to the outside, keep the window open and the access door closed after bathing or using the facility. If you have an exhaust fan, replace the light/fan switch with a time delay one to rid the space of foul air after you leave the room;
8. If your space(s) have wall to wall rugs, work out a deal with your landlord (such as monthly rent reductions until the floor is paid for) to replace these with laminate flooring. Laminate floors are easier to keep clean, hypoallergenic look chic with minimalist furniture and with a few area rugs look really keen;
9. Use ceiling to floor curtains and window treatments to visually enhance the vertical element of the space(s) that makes the room(s) look voluminous, and finally:
10. Use color on a few walls to trick the eye into believing that the space(s) are larger than they really are. Check a number of sites on the web that will dispel the myth that the only color for small spaces is white.
And that as they say in show business is a wrap. My wife and I are now living in Santiago, Chile, in a small apartment after living a house in the continental United States that was 3000 ft2.
In parting. . . we love this small space as it’s the easiest we’ve ever had it!
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Forest
26. Sep, 2010
Wow Jimmy, what an awesome comment! Thanks very much and I agree with all your 10 steps completely.
I think with color it just pays mainly to avoid dark colors as when the sun goes down so does the space feeling. However a dark red and nice clean furniture can create a cosy living space so it’s not always a hard and fast rule to pick white or cream, it’s just the easiest option.
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fitness girl
18. Jan, 2011
Minimalism or choosing what is the essential needs in our house is one great factor to ease or lessen our household chores. Cleaning is a stressful domestic routine in our house but yes like most other said daily cleaning make less effort when big cleaning comes.
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Forest
18. Jan, 2011
Absolutely Fitness Girl, thanks for your comment.
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