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Taking the chore out of housework

Housework is often associated with feelings of dread, considering its laborious and non-glamorous nature. Nevertheless, it is mandatory activity to keep your life and living space in order. Instead of hating it and having arguments with the significant other over the assignment of penalties… sorry, tasks, you can turn housework into something enjoyable for everyone in the family.

Put something on the radio that cheers you up

It can be your favourite music, a joke CD, or an interesting radio programme, anything that keeps you grooving. If you do a search on iTunes for “music for housework”, you are bound to turn up plenty of upbeat tunes. Compile a playlist of your favourite music, which can be updated regularly to prevent mundanity from sinking in. If you like karaoke, put together some songs that you enjoy singing along to. Just don’t forget to do the housework.

If you’re not music-savvy, ask your child to recommend some music and put together a playlist for you. It is a good way to show interest in your child’s hobbies without being intrusive (he/she will be impressed with you for this), and who knows, you may actually enjoy the music.

Multi-task with your favourite acitivities

Take your mind off the chore at hand by pairing it with something you enjoy. For tasks that do not require too much focus like mopping the floor or plucking bean sprouts, you can do them while accompanied by something good on the TV or even a chat with a friend over the phone. Share household chores with your family members. Time passes quickly when you chat while working. Be sure not to get too distracted or you will end up going a mediocre job. However, practice makes perfect and you will eventually get better at multi-tasking.

Turn your housework into an exercise routine

Standing still while cleaning the dishes doesn’t make you lose much weight, and neither does sweeping the floor. But shaking your booty while standing still, or keeping your back straight up and squeezing in your stomach muscles as you sweep can help you to lose some weight and shape up! When performing any sort of task, maintain a good posture, and move different body parts as much as possible. Stretch frequently so that you don’t find your muscles constantly in the same position at all times, which can lead to poor blood circulation and aches. Using exercise and weight loss as incentives, increase the pace of your housework activity and perspire more. This helps to release stress, while encouraging you to finish your housework earlier. However, as with exercise, be careful not to over-exert yourself. If you experience pain or strain, reduce intensity or cease it.

Get the children involved

If they are old enough to help out, give them some chores within their ability. Children hate housework; it interferes with TV time and Facebook time; thus you may be surprised by the creative ideas they may come up with to get the work done faster!

Housework promotes character-building in children; it gets them becoming more independent, reliable and handy. Your children will also come to appreciate the difficulty of housework and learn to become neater. Doing the housework as a family provides the opportunity for more interaction.

Inject some glam

Who says you need to look like a plain old housewife, or 黄脸婆 while doing the housework? Understandably, you want to be comfortable and not dirty your nice clothes. Yet you don’t want to wear something that will embarrass you when you open the door for the postman. Consider getting aprons to keep your clothes clean while giving you a more presentable appearance. Places that sell household and lifestyle items like Daiso, Japan Home and Ikea stock a variety of aprons – from plain to chic to feminine floral. http://www.flirtyaprons.com offers a large variety of aprons for men, women and children. A head scarf will keep your hair out of your face and prevent grease from settling in your hair. Wear a cute or cool facemask when dusting to prevent pimples and sneezes. Say no to messy buns!

Use nice equipment

It is human nature to enjoy being surrounded by nice things. Expanding on the previous point, brighten up your work zone with some fancy yet practical items and decoration. The Japanese have an intense fondness for cute, and this is reflected in their large variety of pretty household equipment, commonly flanked by the likes of adorable cartoon characters Hello Kitty and Rilakkuma. They may not make your housework easier, but they’ll lift your spirits. You can find a large collection of unique kitchen utensils and appliances on http://www.qoo10.sg for reasonable prices. Prefer to DIY? Try customizing your faithful kitchen helpers with colourful stickers or vinyl decals of things you like.

With a little imagination and tie-up with your favourite things, you can make housework a routine to look forward to each day.

 

Quick Tips to getting housework done faster

Clean as you go, instead of leaving the mess till the end. Not only does it feel a lot more tedious to wash up many items at one go, the dirt may be harder to remove.

Focus. Don’t try to sweep the floor while dusting. Finish up one task and then go on to the other. Focus on one room at a time. If you can’t mop the floor for the whole house in one evening, do one room, then go one to another the next day.

Start with the chore that’s hardest and takes the most effort. If you leave it till the last, you may lose the energy and determination to finish it.

The less you have, the less you have to clean and organise. Keep only the necessary things outside and in your workspace, so that you have less to dust and less things that get in the way. Everything else should be in your storage cupboards and boxes.

Use the right tools. It is more economical and tempting to use one wipe cloth to wipe everything, but different types of stains and dirt require different tools for effective and quick removal. Invest in good-quality and appropriate equipment; you’ll be grateful for the time and effort saved in the long run. Regularly maintaining and cleaning the equipment helps to keep them lasting.

– This article first appeared in a lifestyle magazine.