Most people don’t want to spend an entire weekend cleaning, and it turns out some of our regular household chores are things we don’t even need to do in the first place.
The extra rinse
There are some people who, for whatever reason, still insist on washing their dishes before they put them in the dishwasher. They don’t simply scrape off the leftovers. No, they’ll stand at the sink and rinse each plate thoroughly, then load up the dishwasher.
That’s pretty pointless. The majority of modern dishwashers are designed to deal with ordinary food residue, so there’s really no need for you to do all that rinsing. Just scrape off the leftovers and leave the machine to do the rest.
The ironing pile
Many people used to iron practically everything they owned, but there’s really no use in doing that anymore. It’s a particular waste of time when it comes to everyday clothes. Casual T-shirts and sweatpants don’t need to look like they’re fancy because, well, they’re not.
The majority of clothes are wrinkle-free these days, anyway. If you’re really keen on avoiding wrinkles, make sure you take your clothes out of the dryer as soon as they’re finished, and then hang them up. It’s as simple as that.
The perfect bed
It’s true that seeing a perfectly made bed is satisfying. It’s also true that you don’t actually need to make it every day. That’s right, it’s not necessary to spend ages arranging the pillows and making sure each corner of the comforter is straight.
You shouldn’t even do it right after you wake up. Most people sweat a little overnight, so when you wake up, pulling the covers straight back over the bed can trap moisture in the bedding. You’re better off leaving the bedding pulled back for a while. That way, it can dry out.
The daily towel load
There’s no reason you should get a fresh towel every time you step out of the shower. Think about it. You’ve just washed yourself, so it’s not like the towel is going to become filthy after you’ve used it one time. The most important part is leaving the towel somewhere to dry properly.
Wash the towel after three to five uses, not every time. It’s a different story if your towel smells funny or stays damp, though, because there’s no point in keeping that around.
The denim routine
Jeans are sturdier than most people imagine, and that’s the exact reason why you shouldn’t bother with washing them after every use. In fact, you can probably wear them about three times before washing them. It’s not an every evening chore.
Unless you’ve spilled something on them or got them dirty, there’s really no point in wasting the water on them. You’re essentially creating extra work for yourself that doesn’t really need to be done.
The organized drawer
It sounds strange, but it’s true. There are some people who spend twenty minutes folding each piece of their underwear, and they’ll make sure that these pieces look like tiny little squares. They’ll put them in little rows, too.
It looks nice, sure, but there’s a much simpler way of doing it all, and it involves putting everything into a drawer. That’s it. There’s genuinely no reason to spend time folding your everyday underwear, unless you’re really pressed for drawer space.
The double floor clean
Sweeping your floor before vacuuming it is kind of ridiculous, really. The majority of modern vacuum cleaners have attachments that are specifically designed to clean up hard flooring. They’ll collect all the crumbs and hair for you.
You might still need to pick up any larger objects before you start vacuuming, of course. That’s not going to change. But sweeping the whole room first is a useless task because you’re effectively doing one cleaning job twice.
The unnecessary prewash
Prewashing your everyday clothes is one of the most fruitless chores you can do. That cycle is only meant for really muddy clothes or anything that’s heavily stained, as these require a little extra attention.
As for everything else, most modern washing machines can handle it all without a separate prewash cycle. All you’re doing is adding more time to the wash when you use a prewash. There’s no reason for you to waste so much time and effort on something that doesn’t need it.
The weekly window wash
Washing windows is the kind of chore that takes a lot longer than anyone expects it to. Once you’ve done it all, you somehow still end up with streaks everywhere anyway. The truth is, you don’t need to wash your windows every single week, or even every month.
Consumer Reports recommends cleaning the inside of your windows around twice a year. Feel free to wipe off any fingerprints or smudges, but that’s about it. You don’t need to be doing a big cleaning session all the time.
The daily disinfecting session
Sure, it’s a good thing to wipe down your surfaces, and you really should be doing it. But you don’t need to disinfect every time you clean. Give stuff a good wipe down with some soap or detergent. That’s all you need to do, really.
It’ll remove most of the harmful germs from the surfaces, while using disinfectant each day is just overdoing things. There are exceptions, of course. You’ll need to sanitize kitchen surfaces after cooking, but as for your coffee table, that’ll survive a few days.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
10 chores from the 1980s most households don’t need anymore
In the ’80s, household chores were scheduled, repetitive, and mandatory — today, machines and changing lifestyles have quietly erased most of those routines.
10 chores from the 1980s most households don’t need anymore
