Trimming Down Time-Wasters: 6 Household Chores That Are Wasting Your Time

Maintaining a clean and organized home can feel like a full-time job. From the sink that never seems to be clear of dirty dishes to what feels like a perpetual laundry cycle, household chores just never seem to end. 

If you’re finding your weekends to be wholly devoted to housework instead of relaxing, you may not be taking a strategic approach to your to-do list. It’s time to start working smarter, prioritizing your chores and cleaning with efficiency in mind. Here are six chores that may be taking up precious time you could otherwise be spending with your family or relaxing.

Spending hours on lost-cause lawn care

Upping your home’s curb appeal starts with a healthy lawn. However, if you’re dedicating hours to mowing and watering your yard and you simply just can’t achieve the vibrant green grass you’re dreaming of, you might have a more intensive problem. Yellowing grass could result from drought, turf disease, soil issues, nutrient deficiency, or low-quality grass seed. Picking the right first-rate grass seed like this can make all the difference in your lawn’s health. The best grass seed will come free of weed seed and other crop seeds.

Peeling vegetables

As you’re preparing dinner, you may be faced with a horde of hungry children and adults begging for food to materialize on the table. While you may not have many options for speeding up your dinner preparations, one way of ensuring your food makes it to the table sooner is not peeling your vegetables. Simply wash your potatoes and carrots thoroughly and cook them skin-on and untouched by your vegetable peeler. 

Drying dishes by hand

After a hearty family dinner, the last place you want to be is stuck at the kitchen sink, washing and drying every plate. However, while you may consider drying dishes by hand the most efficient way of obtaining clean dishes, actively drying your plates and bowls can make your dishes dirtier. The towels you keep in the kitchen are likely filled with bacteria and pathogens that can make you extremely sick. Instead of wasting precious time giving each and every knife and fork your undivided attention, simply load everything into a drying rack and walk away.

Running the wash too frequently

Laundry hampers always seem to fill up too quickly, and soon, you find yourself loading the washing machine twice a week. You may not know that while you should wash garments like socks and underwear after every wear, other types of clothing don’t need to be washed as frequently. 

Instead of pulling on jeans in the morning and tossing them into the hamper after a day’s worth of wear, you can wear your jeans a few more times before they need to be cleaned. Not only does wearing your clothes more than once help your clothing last longer, but you’ll also save water and detergent.

Sweeping and vacuuming every day

When rooms in your home always seem to need vacuuming, it may be time to adopt a shoes-off policy. Rather than tracking the outside world all over your carpets and flooring, request that family members and houseguests take off their shoes before entering your home. You’ll find that you won’t need to vacuum and clean as much, and you’ll have less exposure to dangerous germs anyone may have picked up while they were out and about.

Filing all of your bills

Keeping track of all of your bills can be extremely frustrated. From the electricity company to your cable and TV service, you’re sent multiple invoices every month. Instead of manually organizing and filing your bills, consider switching to online billing. Not only does electronic billing help save the environment by cutting down on paper usage, but you’ll also be able to organize financial statements far quicker.

The bottom line

If you’re drowning under the responsibilities of keeping your home clean and organized, you may have an unnecessarily long collection of chores and housework. Your list of household to-dos may not need to be as long as it is. By prioritizing your housework responsibilities, you can spend less time dusting and vacuuming and more time with your family and friends.