Poll: Which household chore do you dislike or put off the most?

[PRlady]

I've been living in a hotel since December due to a condo fire and believe it or not I miss most of those things. I still do laundry and grocery shopping but the cleaning is handled.

For me minor repairs, which I can zen-ly ignore for years, are the bugaboo since I can almost never do them myself.

 

[twinsissv]

Cleaning kitty boxes! I don't put it off, but I really dislike it. I need to teach them to use the toilet! (and flush!)

I'll gladly scoop the poop for you if you'll agree to do my vacuuming!

 

[Simone411]

Yes, but for me the dishes are what I am least able to ignore. When you can't get to the faucet for some water, well. . . you have to at least move some dishes out of the way. I can ignore the dirty carpet, the dust, the grungy bathroom for much longer. But I agree with you that the most annoying thing about housework is that it needs to be done over and over and over and over ad nauseam.

I can't ignore them, either. I should have never started watching the show, Hoarders. It did something to me, and I will immediately wash the dishes I use in preparing my meals. I do eat some fast food, frozen or something that can be heated in the microwave. I burn out on that stuff, though, and like to cook also. I recently made fried Kibbeh. It was delicious, and I found a recipe that was similar to my dad's online at About.com. I shared the recipe on my FB page:

Basic Kibbeh

I don't like leaving dishes overnight, and usually wash them as soon as I'm finished with my meal. I can't hardly watch Hoarders anymore because I literally nearly gag when I see some of the horrifying stuff in the hoarder's kitchen or anywhere in their houses. I'd rather watch Nightmare on Elm Street, Jeepers Creepers or any horror flick than to watch Hoarders anymore.

 

[pat c]

I despise dusting. It is the one chore I can put off for a long time. I don't mind doing dishes, or laundry/ironing or the rest of it. But dusting........it just comes back as soon as you do it.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I want to hire a cleaner but the house is too dirty and I would have to put all of my stuff away. I used to be a neatnik but I have changed. However I love gardening and always have time to work in my gardens. The yard looks nice but I am not ready to have visitors in my house.

 

[Spun Silver]

I don't do a lot of cooking from scratch, just for me. I eat frozen or other prepared food, maybe sandwich or cereal, or ravioli and/or vegetables grilled on a George Foreman grill, or salad. It doesn't use a lot of dishes.

And I usually have breakfast and lunch at my office.

Ah, to be single again. I remember when I didn't even need a dishwasher and never worried what was for dinner. I lived on (prepared) hummus, doritos and veggies, fresh or frozen. Boy, have things changed.

 

[Spun Silver]

I want to hire a cleaner but the house is too dirty and I would have to put all of my stuff away. I used to be a neatnik but I have changed. However I love gardening and always have time to work in my gardens. The yard looks nice but I am not ready to have visitors in my house.

We are soulmates.
I do have company occasionally, and praise God! they are polite enough not to comment on the bills all over my dining room table or other various and sundry bad housekeeping habits caused by preferring FSU to housecleaning. I mean really, who wouldn't?

 

[Spun Silver]

I've been living in a hotel since December due to a condo fire and believe it or not I miss most of those things. I still do laundry and grocery shopping but the cleaning is handled.

For me minor repairs, which I can zen-ly ignore for years, are the bugaboo since I can almost never do them myself.

No, I don't believe it. You are blessed (in that one way)!

Since we moved to a house, I have become Mrs Fixit. My husband is so lazy about any kind of manual labor! He doesn't even notice things that are broken. It's all way worse since his brain injury - he's made a great recovery but probably won't ever have the energy or multi-tasking ability he did before. Fortunately, in recent years I have become very handy from both making jewelry and having a close friend who is like a pioneer woman complete with gun. She does EVERYTHING herself, from jewelrymaking to chopping down trees (lots of them) and painting her house. I don't have a gun (yet) but I now do a lot of things myself without thinking twice that I would have hired a handyman for ten years ago. I don't enjoy it but it's hard and expensive to find a handyman here so....

@Cachoo, you have my sympathies. Not going into detail, but I know what you are dealing with and it's nasty.

Goodness, this thread has obviously touched a nerve with me! I am really tired of being a homeowner on my own!

 

[Cachoo]

I want to hire a cleaner but the house is too dirty and I would have to put all of my stuff away. I used to be a neatnik but I have changed. However I love gardening and always have time to work in my gardens. The yard looks nice but I am not ready to have visitors in my house.

I'm happy to read this as I try to tidy up before the cleaner arrives. My friend laughs at me because he said the point of the cleaner is to clean. But I want to put on a "good face" for everyone.

 

[Japanfan]

1) Having to move the bed out so I get in there and sweep underneath it (we've a small bedroom) - a twice-yearly task
2) cleaning baseboards and floor edges on my hands and knees

Thanks goodness we've hardwood floors, as I couldn't handle the vacuuming demands of living with a golden retriever.

[QUOTE-:Lizziebeth] I want to hire a cleaner but the house is too dirty and I would have to put all of my stuff away. I used to be a neatnik but I have changed. [/QUOTE]



Why do people feel a need to clean and tidy up their homes before a clean comes in? As Cachoo pointed out, the job of a cleaner is after-all . . .to clean.

My neighbor used to clean the house for me and I loved it, but because our space is so small and cluttered, I often had to work in tandem with work her, tidying up/moving clutter so spaces would be empty enough for her to do her work.

If I could justify the expense, I'd find another person. I used to have business clients coming here, so I could justify/write off the cost, but I don't do that anymore.

During the time I hired my neighbour, I used two other cleaners on weeks when she was unavailable. I remember one, who was a vegetarian, complained rather vehemently about the meat grease splatters in the kitchen (we've no fan). Needless to say, she was not invited back.

The other was okay, but I got the feeling she didn't like having me and my dogs around. I think one of the perks of cleaning houses in the independence of it, which is taking away when someone is watching you or working alongside with you.

 

[gkelly]

Why do people feel a need to clean and tidy up their homes before a clean comes in? As Cachoo pointed out, the job of a cleaner is after-all . . .to clean.

I don't know about cleaning before a cleaner comes in, but straightening up can be important, so the cleaner can get to the places that need to be cleaned, and so they won't feel the need to impose their own order on the clutter, which might not be meaningful to the person whose stuff it is.

 

[Vash01]

I picked Vacuuming, washing dishes and minor repairs, but I would have liked a 'all of the above option'

I should have picked 'other' as one of my three options.

I absolutely hate ironing clothes and sewing on buttons that are missing (or any other repair on my clothes- may be that would be under 'minor repairs'?)

I also dislike having to change my air filter (on the AC). During summer I must change it once every two months.

 

[madm]

I hired a professional cleaner after I had knee surgery and I said ENOUGH! I was not going to climb on chairs to reach things to clean ever again. After one independent cleaner vanished under suspicious family circumstances, I had no one to clean for a few years and hated doing it myself again. I located a terrific cleaning service following a remodel (they did construction cleanings), and it's been heaven ever since. If you can afford it, do it. I really wanted to keep my expensive new kitchen looking fabulous, and keep mildew from starting up on the redone bathroom grout, and it's working. And as an added benefit, I don't have to gripe at my hubby for not doing enough interior cleaning chores or for making humongous messes in the kitchen (he's a gourmet cook). It's enough work for me to do the daily big pile of dishes, laundry, decluttering and some vacuuming. Treat yourself to a professional cleaning at least a few times a year, and you will love your house again.

 

[Wiery]

We can only choose three?

 

[Wiery]

Cleaning kitty boxes! I don't put it off, but I really dislike it. I need to teach them to use the toilet! (and flush!)

I use extra large disposable litter boxes (which actually last a long time), and litter box liners. I just take up the liner, close then put in the trash, put in a new liner, fresh litter, and it's done. A broom gathers the litter that is kicked out of the box, then a handheld vac cleans it up. Wipe around the floor with a clorox wipe, and it's done. I hate it too, but this gets done in two minutes, max.

 

[Really]

I hate cleaning the bathroom and dusting. That's why I pay someone to come in for a couple hours every couple weeks to do it for me. I don't mind doing laundry, changing beds, or the kitchen.

 

[quartz]

As a former house cleaner, I really appreciated when my customers would tidy up and de clutter before I came.
I had a customer whose bathroom and kitchen counters were completely full of stuff. I had to move all the kitchen stuff to the table so I could clean the counter, and then back again. In the bathroom I had to put all the stuff in the sink, clean the counter and then put it all back.
I charged by the hour and a good part of that hour I wasn't cleaning, I was shifting stuff about in order to get to what I had to clean.

But one of the hardest cleaning jobs I had was for an Italian housewife/homemaker. She had a husband and a grown son, and all she did all day was cook and clean. She didn't watch TV, read, have any hobbies or work outside the home. She had two huge kitchens, the main floor one for everyday cooking and the basement one for canning and baking.
Her house was immaculate. I was hard pressed to find one or two water spots on her huge 4x6 bathroom mirrors, but she insisted that every single inch be cleaned anyways. The house looked no different after I had spent three hours scrubbing sweeping and vacuuming things that were already totally clean. But she liked me and often gave me a bottle of homemade wine with my pay.

 

[snoopy]

I wonder if you were there more to keep her company.

 

[quartz]

I wonder if you were there more to keep her company.

Possibly, although her English wasn't very good and we really didn't converse over anything more than what tasks she wanted done that day.
I did have a couple of elderly customers though, where it would be an hour of cleaning and then an hour to have tea and chat!

 

[topaz]

I don't have a electric dishwasher must a manual one, my hands. I had doing dishes. HATE IT.

 

[algonquin]

Vacuuming & washing the floors are my least favourite chores by far. I forget to dust until it is noticeable. I actually like doing laundry and have a feeling of accomplishment when it is completed. I hate folding clothes and I am not very good at it. So, I hang everything up.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Can I pick all of them?! I need a cleaning lady. And a cook. And a lawn man. And a personal assistant to do all my errands. And a maintenance man to handle all the repairs. I need to win the lottery so I can have all those things.

 

[Artemis@BC]

I hate them all (or almost all) to varying degrees, and will procrastinate all of them. And since I live alone, I can.

The one I actually don't mind doing, in theory, is laundry, because I love putting away all the clean stuff and having full drawers and closets. Yet I procrastinate that chore for weeks, largely because it's a PITA to sort and gather everything, find the right change, then schlepp down to the basement with the basket -- only to find all the machines in use half the time. But I have a lot of socks & underwear so I can go a looong time in between loads if I have to.

 

[gkelly]

Can I pick all of them?! I need a cleaning lady. And a cook. And a lawn man. And a personal assistant to do all my errands. And a maintenance man to handle all the repairs. I need to win the lottery so I can have all those things.

Why not a cleaning man, or a lawn lady or a maintenance lady?

 

[barbk]

We're missing the cleaning out the fridge option. Ugh. Most despised job ever.

And prlady -- in a hotel since December? When do you get back into the condo? Ack.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Why not a cleaning man, or a lawn lady or a maintenance lady?

Well yeah ... that would work too. Just as long as its another person other than me that has to do all the work!

 

[quartz]

Cleaning man??
Men, (well, my husband and son, anyways) simply do not see clean vs dirty in the same way as I do. At. All. If I were to go away for a few weeks, I shudder at what I would come home to.

 

[Japanfan]

Cleaning man??
Men, (well, my husband and son, anyways) simply do not see clean vs dirty in the same way as I do. At. All. If I were to go away for a few weeks, I shudder at what I would come home to.

Girls aren't born with a special housekeeping gene that boys lack. We learn about gender roles with respect to housecleaning via our parents and society, which to a large extent means that women learn to take more responsibility for housekeeping.

I read a really silly article about gender differences some time ago that stated men could see dandelions that needed pulling in the yard, but were incapable of seeing dust on a shelf. Utter nonsense!

Mr. Japanfan and I split the housekeeping quite equally, although sometimes I'll take on greater than 50% when he is doing outdoor work like mowing the lawn or something else. . .so there you have it, gendered roles in my own relationship despite my best intentions, and a hubby doing the weeding while I dust.

It's me and not him who cleans the toilet and gets down on hands and knees to clean baseboards. . .but he does virtually all of the dishes, all of the time. Think it's a fair trade-off.

And it is interesting to note that he works in a profession (group homes) where housework is part of the job. He says that some of the women he works him cut him slack and offer to take on some of his share of that work - just because he's a guy.