Jessie: In New Hampshire, thinking fondly of the sunny shores of St. Petersburg, Florida I enjoyed visiting at this time last week.
Last week I asked which of the household chores facing you left you procrastinating and groaning with despair. Today I’m wondering if there are any particular tasks that you happen to like doing, especially those that other people would rather avoid? Do you polish the silver during times of stress? Enjoy getting that very last cobweb off the ceiling fan? Do you delight in making a grocery list? Do tell!
Edith: I like cleaning the kitchen counters. We have lovely dark greenish granite, and long expanses of it. I wipe it with a damp dishrag and then polish with a clean dishtowel. It’s exclusively my job, because the person I live with does not SEE crumbs (in the same category as dust for him, I guess,) and his superpower is leaving toast crumbs everywhere…. The counter looks so pretty when it’s clean and polished, and the polishing is meditative, too.
Sherry: The closest thing to tasks that makes me happy would be periodically cleaning out my closet. But the everyday tasks? I like making my bed every day, but anything else? Not so much. My sister likes to iron to relax. I wish I’d gotten that gene. The last time I cleaned out my closet I found a shoe with change and a Swedish fish in it. That was very strange!
Barb: I like the events that mark the seasons: putting away summer clothes and getting out the winter ones, spring and fall cleaning, getting out the holiday decorations and putting them away.
Liz: I really like vacuuming and decluttering. I get a lot of weird pleasure sucking up cat fur. And I’ve really become a fan of throwing things out. Of course, these things are procrastinating techniques too…
Jessie: I actually do like to polish the silver. There is something so satisfying about seeing something tarnished gleaming once again. I also like to make my bed up with clean sheets, a fluffed duvet and a stack of pillows.
Julie: Loading the dishwasher, and shining my sink. Even when the rest of the house is chaos, my sink is shiny. Baby steps!
Readers, do you have any household chores that you secretly love to do? Or at least ones that you find surprisingly satisfying?
Putting stuff away – there is something about seeing SPACE!
It is lovely when space appears! I just often wish someone else were doign the clearing away!
General picking up and putting away is so satisfying. I call it “setting it back to ‘go,” as if we are dressing a stage or movie set.
Washing dishes. With just the two of us we’ve never seen the need to buy a dishwasher so I do the dishes once a day after supper. I find it relaxing, the hot water is good for my arthritic fingers, and many times, since it is inconvenient to get to pencil and paper, I come up with plot ideas while my hands are immersed in soapy water.k
I’ve heard that from a lot of writers! There is something about water that gets the ideas flowing!
Ironing, I love to iron. I could do it as a profession.
That is a great one! I do not feel entusiastic about ironing but I do love to use my steamer. I love to see the wrinkles disappear. I expect it is the same sense of satisfaction, it is just that I am lazier about it:)
I don’t mind sorting and washing clothes. I like the warm, clean smell of finished laundry, and I don’t mind folding it and putting it away.
I would love to like that!
I’m thinking of inviting you all to my house. The one thing that I do like to do is declutter it gives me a fabulous feeling when I’m finished.
I like to declutter too. It is so satisfying to shed excess, isn’t it?
And, you are fabulous at it!
My favorite household chore is to hold down the comfy chair in the study and read a good book. Right now I am reading Sheila Connolly’s newest Cruel Winter, so I am helping solve a mystery….that counts, right?
For writers it counts most of all!
I find it very satisfying when the kitchen is clean. But I cannot say I truly enjoy it – I’d just rather everybody did a better job cleaning up after themselves!
Is it the crumbs, Liz? None of the rest of my family ever see them. I just don’t understand how they can wash the dishes, put them away and even tuck the leftovers into the fridge but cannot spot the half-bushel of crumbs littered across the countertops!
Yes, what is it about crumbs that no one else sees? I use to tell my hubby that the counter was growing crumbs. I finally gave up. Not a battle worth fighting.
I like doing the laundry too, especially when I can hang it on the line!
It is so interesting to read about all the different chores people will like. I am amazed by the variety!
I always feel good when a task is done. I’m always rather surprised at how I feel, and it makes me wonder why I don’t do chores more often.
Then I lay down until the feeling has passed.
LOL. I am much the same way, Mark.
i love matching socks, my daughter’s family of 7 was always helping me out by bringing their basket of socks over when I lived just across the street. Now they save it for me when I visit. I also have always liked to iron.
I am not so good with the socks… In fact, I safety pin them together before I toss them in the hamper to avoid having to match them up later!
I don’t enjoy cleaning but I love leaving a clean kitchen and coming home to it. Same with the made bed. But circumstantial evidence would indicated I have a high tolerance for unvacuumed floors. Generally I vacuum when the dog hair has clumped together in massive dust bunnies that swirl in the breeze so that out of the corner of my eye, I think there’s a mouse and I gasp in terror.
This made me laugh out loud!
Like Liz, I like decluttering. I do it daily. I can’t stand messes and piles of papers, etc. My wonderful hubby doesn’t like piles either – he spreads everything out! We still love each other.
I’m glad you found a way to keep the peace!
Crap! I answered this on the blog post about the ones we hate. I have to learn to think like a cop on the witness stand – only answers what’s asked. 😉
LAUNDRY! I love getting the wrinkly, stinky clothes clean and fresh. 🙂
Laundry seems to be a favorite one here whether it is washing it, hanging it out to dry or ironing it afterwards!
I love all the comments!!! Everyone(including me) loves a clean space, just not so much of the doing!
Don’t you wish there was a magic wand for housework Doris? I know I do!
Having a shiny clean trailer would be nice, but I don’t have the stamina to accomplish much. Yesterday I flipped the mattress (possibly it has been six or even seven years since it was last done). The waterproof bed pad is out drying on the clothesline (I think this is the first time I’ve washed it since I bought it five[?] years ago). I generally keep up with the laundry and do the dishes when the sink is full (which works out to about once a week, since it is only the cat and I and my main meals are at the senior center). Cups and glasses require only a quick rinse and can be left to dry in the drainer. I LOVE bringing home the empty recycling bucket from the recycling center (once every one or two weeks). I COULD run the mower over the downed leaves, but after teaching my seniors weight lifting course this morning, I think I shall just concentrate on emptying the email inbox.