What is the worst household chore if you live alone?
For me it's changing the duvet cover.
When I was newly married (in 1970) we started married life with the new-fangled idea imported from The Continent - the duvet.
My wife was brought up in a mansion. Well a very large house in several acres of garden on the very top of a small hill visible from miles around. It was, like many such houses, Baltic everywhere except in the kitchen and living room. The dining and drawing room fires might be lit in the evening in the winter and when visitors were being entertained. So she had been brought up with duvets.
Eiderdowns (as we called them - the best ones were originally made from the down of eider ducks because it was the warmest) were commonplace on top of one's blankets in winter for those who didn't aspire to duvets.
The duvet was basically a much improved version of the eiderdown and used on top of a single sheet or, indeed, without a sheet but in its own cover.
Since May 1970 I have never slept (in my own house) under anything other than a duvet.
I love them. HOWEVER, once every week, I always used to hate them at the same time. Because that was how often we used to change our duvet cover.
To be fair if there were two people doing the job it wasn't too bad but on one's own it was a nightmare.
Over the years, however, I have perfected the art by using pegs on the corners and it's less of a chore. However it is still one of my least favourite household tasks.
Your least favourite household chore is....?
I'm having to think really hard about my least favourite chore - there are so many contenders!
ReplyDeleteI can understand that Janice.
Delete...cleaning windows! They NEVER turn out spotless and stripeless, however careful and thorough I think I am. And of course, it takes at the most two days after I have finally kicked myself into cleaning them before heavy rainfall makes them look as if I have not done anything at all.
ReplyDeleteDuvet covers? I change mine/ours every week, too, but I have never found that to be in any way difficult or unpleasant, and I wouldn't know how to change them with pegs attached to them! You must ask someone to film you while you do that, and post a video :-)
When I still had cats, they used to think it was all just for them, preferably after they'd just come in from outside with damp muddy paws.
Meike, living in one of the wettest parts of the UK most of the time my windows are cleaned by the deluge. The problem comes when the wind blows the salt air up from the sea and covers the kitchen window in salt.
DeleteCleaning the loo ..
ReplyDeleteJanice, I live alone. The loos ar the least of my worries (and they are always spotless I should add!).
DeleteI agree with the first three who have commented here! When I was working my co -workers used to tease me and say that I must have the cleanest house as I was constantly wiping down and straightening everything in sight! (Which isn't the case I assure you, but I do like to have things look tidy.)
ReplyDeleteKay, I'm sure that your house if a model of homeliness.
DeleteI agree with Janice! ;-) Just to throw something different into the mix of suggestions, I'll add changing the filter in my shower floor drain; which I try to remember to do four times a year... (Because not changing them, or not using disposable filters at all, is even worse!) - I agree changing duvet covers can be a tough wretsling match, but at least it's a clean job!! ;-) (My own method is to take help from the backrest of an armchair, by the way.)
ReplyDeleteMonica, you reminded me to check my shower drain and I'm pleased to say that it was absolutely clear. It probably helps that I have next to no hair on my head these days (beards don't count because they don't really shed hairs).
DeleteIn contrast, I didn't know what a duvet was until I was in my twenties. They made no sense to me. I grew up as a just put on extra blankets and try not to be the warmup bum in the morning.
ReplyDeleteCleaning out the fridge is the chore I dislike.
Maywyn, I grew up as an 'extra blanket' person too. But I married a duvet lady and it's been duvets now for over 60 years.
DeleteHey, I'll be honest. I don't like any household tasks.
ReplyDeleteRed, the male fraternity can be proud of you.
DeleteYou've got it, changing what we call the doona cover. I have become better at it over the years but very often it is a case of, 'I'll do it tomorrow'.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I've solved the problem to some extent because I use a bedsheet between me and the covered duvet these days.
DeleteIt’s an interesting question, Graham, and something I have never thought about. There are chores that have to be done and I just do them. If I had to pick one that I find exceptionally disagreeable, it would be weeding. I know that
ReplyDeleteprobably does not qualify as a “household” chore, but it drives me mildly crazy in that it is a never-ending occupation with no chance of success. That seems to be the very definition of frustration.
David, weeding is pretty much the same and you get the satisfaction for slightly longer in that weeds grow more slowly than dust settles.
DeleteMust I choose one? Just one?
ReplyDeleteIt is much easier with a smaller house though.
Debby, you are obviously like me in that reducing it to one is too hard. Unfortunately my house is not particularly large but it is 100 years old.
DeleteGreat post, Graham, and very good question! I am (perhaps) one of the few who loves to clean and organize. I would have to say my least favourite would be cleaning windows.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club, Linda! I like to clean and tidy up / organise, too, but dislike cleaning windows.
DeleteLinda and Meike it's not that I dislike cleaning window but I HATE the fact that I can never get them satisfactorily smear free on the front of the house (which faces the morning sun).
DeleteMy wife is hopeless at putting on duvet covers; there are always lumps all over the place. Least favourite task; cleaning-up dog poo/pee. It doesn't happen often, but at 5 in the morning it's the last thing you want to do.
ReplyDeleteCro, I've never owned a dog. If I had been so inclined you have certainly put a stop to any such inclination.
DeleteA good question...now I'm on my own...having to do ALL the housework!!!
ReplyDeleteDuvet covers...easy...I turn them inside out to go on the line...no damp corners...then to go back on the duvet just take both top corners from the inside of the inside out cover...and hold on to the top corners of the duvet...raise hands, shake cover over duvet...over the bannisters if bedroom is upstairs. Thirty seconds, job done.
Exactly my method, gz, as shown to me by my Mum when I was old enough to change my bedsheets. No trouble at all.
DeleteGZ and Meike, exactly. Changing duvet covers? Second nature. Nothing to it.
DeleteWhat I struggled with, when I came to England, were those strange ensembles of sheets, tight [hospital] corners which when you tried to slip between them made you feel like a butterfly at the cocoon stage. Seriously? To top it all, first time I visited my future parents-in-law I was - proudly - presented with an electric blanket. Well, one has to go one way or another. I lay awake for a long time awaiting electrocution - till I went to sleep.
U
Gwynneth, I've done the housework in my house for the last 30 years or more so know what it's like (I'm reasonably houseproud).
DeleteI've never owned a duvet so I don't have that problem, Graham. I agree with Meike that doing the windows is a job I do not like and, therefore, I usually don't do it! I'm not wild about any cleaning chores if I'm being honest! ;)
ReplyDeleteEllen, I have often been told that I'm a bit odd because I don't really mind housework, So long as there isn't much it's quite mentally relaxing.
DeleteI don't mind house work. There is something meditative about it: Your hands are busy; your mind is free to wander and wonder. And everyone leaves you to it lest they may be asked to help. Though do agree with Meike that windows are the devil's own job. Main thing to remember is to do them on a dull day. Or pay a window cleaner. A luxury I do afford myself. Limits are there to be acknowledged and honoured.
ReplyDeleteU
PS After some deliberation, and to answer your question, Graham, here it is: Skirting boards.
I don't mind house work, eiher. It is, after all, usually me who benefits most - a couple of hours work with my hands (as opposed to what I do for a living), and the reward is a clean and tidy place to live in, which is what I love. And ironing is something I actually like; put BBC Radio 4 on, or nothing at all, and as you say, hands are busy and the mind is free to wander and wonder.
DeleteI could echo your comment except that I generally listen to Radio 3. Although, strangely, years ago, I listened to Radio 4 in the house and in the car on the way to work with John Timpson, Brian Redhead, Sue MacGregor, and John Humphrys.
DeleteDefinitely cleaning windows - although these days (temporarily i hope) that has been usurped by fetching water.
ReplyDeleteTigger's Mum, fetching water? You have reminded me that I had to do that from the well when I first came to live on Lewis in 1075.
Delete1975 !!
DeletePutting the rubbish out, putting clean sheets on, washing dishes, cleaning the shower.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I wouldn't hate doing dishes so much if I didnt live with people who dont do any.
Im not sure theres any household task I enjoy, really
Kylie, you obviously have problems choosing the least favourite chore! I suspect you are not alone.
DeleteCleaning the shower drain as I hate all the hair…… at a Hen night with mothers and grandmothers present, we once had to write down our most hated housework and why we hated it… the answers were read out anonymously with the proviso that your attitude to housework was your attitude to sex….. we laughed a lot at some of the answers… I have been reading your replies with amusement!
ReplyDeleteFi, I think that would be one of the most wonderful party 'games'. However all the 'parties' I now go to are largely made up of widows and widowers in their 70s and 80s! Some of us would need very long memories!
DeleteKylie, you obviously dislike these jobs enough to repeat them!
ReplyDeleteCleaning the bathroom. Although i do enjoy seeing it look sparkling, once again. Changing the duvet, I don't actually mind. - I have long arms!
ReplyDeleteWhen the whirlpool bath in my bathroom was used there was a lot cleaning that which was a chore. I rarely use it these days though because I much prefer to shower and it seems that most (but not all) of my visitors prefer to shower too. I think it may be an age thing.
DeleteUntil I replaced my duvet with an old fashioned quilted bedspread I would have agreed with you. I got to the point where I acknowledged to myself that my days of fighting with a duvet cover were over, it was using up far too much of my energy. Now cleaning out the shower drain has gone to the top of my unwelcome tasks list. (Followed closely by window cleaning.) Honestly, I don't know how I still have hair on my shed when I shed so much in the shower.
ReplyDeletePauline, I saw this comment on my emails and obviously answered it in my mind but not in reality. I, too, now use a single sheet with a covered duvet on top which reduces considerably the changing of the duvet cover. I've virtually no hair on my head these days so the shower is safe. Window cleaning I don't mind.....really!
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