Family battles are known all over the world. Most of them arise when the house needs cleaning. Yeah, boring domestic chores! It’s like they never end and one of the tragic things about them is they can polarize a family into two camps. But rather than fighting over who scrubs the bathroom this time, get together and become a team. Here are some ways to reorganize housework so that everyone enjoys it, ohm, gets involved.
Split Tasks
If you want everyone involved in the housework one way or another, you are going to have to split the tasks. Leave the easiest ones to your small children. For example, they can collect items from the floor, dust the surfaces, make the beds or take the dirty clothes to the washing machine. The rest of you will have to vacuum the rooms, clean the toilet, remove stains, wash the dishes, scrub the bathroom tub and all the sinks, shine taps, clean mirrors and windows and anything that has to be done. The benefits of doing the housework together are many, from the mere fact that your home will be spotless when you are done, to the fact that you will burn some calories and strengthen your muscles.
Break Bigger Tasks into Small Ones
Rather than leaving larger tasks to one person, break them into small ones so that everyone can get their fair share. Not only will it be easy to do all the things, but it will take less time to get it done. And the best part is, no one will grumble about them doing more tasks than the others. Plus, everyone will be doing some physical work, which is part of the plan.
Turn the Music On
While you are at this, don’t forget to play some music. It will get you all moving in a second. Make sure to choose a fast and cheerful song because the upbeat will give you more energy. While listening, you can sweep the floor, collect any dirty socks from the floor, move items to their assigned places, scrub the oven, wipe down the fridge, and so on and so forth.
Listening to music will make the hard work seem a little less difficult. It will have you forget about the unpleasant side of housework and enjoy every minute of it. Before you know it, the job will be done.
Have a Race
Here is a fun way to do the chores. Have a race! Set a time limit and try to do as many tasks as possible until the time is up. Whoever does more tasks first, wins a 15-minute break. Or here is another one – choose a task for everyone and whoever finishes first can choose the next task they move to.
Additional Information
If you need further encouragement to start doing the chores together, here are some cleaning routines provided by CleanToPerfection SW5 and how many calories they burn:
Lose about 100 calories by vacuuming for at least half an hour.
Burn about 200 calories by scrubbing soap scum from your bathroom surfaces.
Think that jogging is more efficient than doing the chores? Think again. Get ready to burn about 120 calories by making the beds for half an hour.
Washing some of your clothes by hand can get your body to burn 150 calories! If you decide to toss your dirty laundry in the washing machine, you’ll burn about 80 calories provided that you spend at least half an hour on this activity.
And don’t let this confuse you. It is not about the calories, it is about physical activity. I know many of you probably thought to themselves: “Who cares about calories, I like myself the way I am.” How many calories you burn with each exercise mentioned above is just an example of how intense domestic chores can be. Many people do not realize that housework is a form of workout. The more time you spend on it, the healthier you will be. So what stops you from doing this? Time for the get-together. This time to clean the house. Roll up your sleeves and do it!
I have been training my daughters with some of the housework. They find fun in chores and every Saturday I purchase snacks for them as a reward for a good job done. We also often have races like who can pull weeds in the garden faster, or who can wash the windows faster. It’s really fun with the kids!