After a long day at work, you get home with a pile of clothes, unwashed dishes, messy home– and you still have to prepare for dinner! There’s a lot to do but the number of hours a day is not enough.
With a few improvements to your routine, you can have several hours for relaxation or doing more important things. Check out these tips to get household chores under control.
Set Time Limits
You have to be conscious of how long it will take for you to accomplish one chore. If you have five chores to do in a day, limit the time it takes to complete each task. Ensure that you have finished each task before you move onto the next one.
Keep yourself motivated by listening to upbeat songs while doing the chores. You can use your playlist to measure the time you have spent on one task. After 10 songs, switch tasks. The key to getting everything done is to stay focused. Do not get distracted by texts or anything else. Focus on the task while having fun listening to your favorite songs!
Batch Schedules for Chores
A few might have done this, but it is good to create batch schedules for household chores. It is best to do a big cleanup once a week than doing all the tasks every day. It is less overwhelming to have it in one day, and it gives you more time to spend for yourself or your family.
In your household, you can have a week-worth plan on what to do each day. You are making a straightforward process that can help you save time and streamline your household tasks. There will not be any laundry overload either!
You can copy our weekly plan or revise it to fit your schedule
- Monday: Clean the house.
- Tuesday: Kitchen cabinets and fridge.
- Wednesday: Groceries.
- Thursday: Clean the bathroom.
- Friday: Change bed sheets and duvet covers, other linens.
- Saturday: Laundry weekend
- Sunday: Healthy meal preparation
Batch tasks may feel unnatural at first, but you will realize it’s easier to have a household routine than frequently switch or multitask household chores in the long run.
Schedule Cleaning Bedrooms
If your mornings are always in a rush for work, only make your bed and drift to work. You can clean your room and other rooms in the house during the weekend. Some busy people do not notice the dirt and dust on the corners of the room. Always take care of the dirt you see on the walls, cabinets, floor, sink, or toilet bowl as these may be the source of bacteria.
If you do not have the time to deep clean your house and the bedrooms, hire a maid service or cleaning service once or twice a week. Just like Liox, there are thousands of companies offering maid services around the world you can choose from. Outsourcing home cleaning is the best you can do to make time for other essential things.
Do the Dishes Right Away
After you cook or eat, clean up and wash your dishes immediately. You might think that leaving them in the sink and doing them at night will help you. No, it is not a good idea; doing the dishes after work will invite pests and insects because of your leftovers.
Wash your dishes right away after use. If you are in a hurry, you can put them inside your dishwasher to help you with the process. The more you have the habit of washing the dishes right away, the lesser tasks you will have to do later. If you allow a mess to pile up and sit, it will become intimidating once you decide to take care of it. Thus, do it immediately and often.
Create Less Laundry
Don’t get this tip wrong. Create less laundry by playing offense. Some garments can be used a couple of times before washing them. You can reuse your towels, jeans, pajamas. Moreover, if you continuously wash these garments, it will quickly fade or damage. Rewearing these types of clothes will reduce your laundry burden a lot.
Laundry is one of the most draining tasks. It takes time to wash and pile a week’s worth of laundry. If you want to do it on the weekend, ensure you have separated them by colors and materials every time you change your clothes, it will lessen your task in this process. However, if you want to relax during the weekend, you can hire a laundry pickup and delivery to make things easier for you.
Grocery Shopping After Work is a NO-NO
Would you carry a heavy grocery bag after work? Do you still have the energy to wait for the long line?
In some instances you want to go grocery shopping after work– do not, unless it is Wednesday. An article from Reader’s Digest suggests store visits between 9 PM to 8 AM have the least visitors and Wednesday is the least busy day. If you wish to go grocery shopping after work, do it on Wednesday night.
By 9 PM, you have put the kids to bed, had enough rest from work, and you will be able to have a fast grocery shopping.
However, if you do not have the energy to go out at 9 PM onwards, order your groceries online. You can have them delivered to your home or schedule it for pick-up. Inquiry at the grocery stores around your neighborhood if they offer such services.
Delegate Household Tasks
If you are not alone, delegate the household tasks. You do not have to do everything. Allocate some chores to your partner and children. Do not stress yourself over something that can be controlled.
Household tasks are a great source of stress. Instead, share tasks around the house. If you do not have someone at home, outsource the chores to maid services.
These are just a few tips on how you can handle your household chores. Do not be guilty of outsourcing some of your household chores. Your time to relax and be productive with important things is more essential.
