Most loved and hated chores

[yvi]

Okay, this may not strictly be on-topic...

Oh wait, I am the mod here. I can do this :)

The last entry on grocery shopping caused me to wonder: what are your most hated chores (and why), and what are the chores you actually like (and why)?

Comments

[yvi]

I really, really hate: dusting, it's so boring and the dust comes back after a day or less.

When I am angry, I enjoy tidying and cleaning the kitchen :) When I am not, I at least don't mind doing laundry, because it's a task where you can see such a nice definite start and end.

[softestbullet]

Dusting is so unfair! It should really take much longer to build up.

[sophinisba]

I so agree about laundry. It gives such a nice sense of accomplishment. *goes to put in another load*

[telesilla]

Cleaning the bathtub. I've got bad knees and we've got sliding shower doors instead of a shower curtain and a really small bathroom, all of which makes it a real pain in the ass to get the tub clean.

There's little I really like, but that's because I don't always have the spoons/energy to do much of anything. When I do have the energy, I actually like washing dishes. It's oddly soothing.

[landshark]

Have you ever tried this: http://www.automaticshowercleaner.com/

I've always wondered if it works--but I never think about while I'm actually at the store.

[hivesofactivity]

Hoovering - so I gave the hoover and the rugs away, and just use a swiffer on the bare wooden parquet. (It's really dusty here in central London.)

Also, I hate, hate, hate changing the bed, because I hate wrestling with a kind size duvet. But, alas, it still has to be done.

[marymac]

Me too on the hoovering. So it, uh, gets done quite rarely. The boy objects strenuously, but I haven't seen him volunteering, so.

[ironed_orchid]

HATE: vacuuming

I like cleaning the kitchen, hanging out laundry, and folding socks.

[dreamingpixels]

I hatehatehate doing dishes. Especially when they've sat around for a few days and are rather gross.

I don't mind vacuuming, though - it's actually rather satisfying seeing how much dirt I can suck out of the rug. (I have a bagless vacuum cleaner that causes me no end of amusement. "Wow, we have that much dust in the rug? XD ")

[jadey]

Vacuuming and washing dishes! I should be fine with them because I enjoy cleaning and these are two things I can do easily while listening to music blaring, *BUT* they both destroy my back after half an hour because of being bent over (especially doing dishes - I am too tall for most sinks and countertops). I'm trying to develop my core and back muscles more so that I'm not deadified by this kind of work, but right now these two chores are guaranteed to force me to mainline ibuprofen and lie down for a couple of hours after. I think it will be better once I move back into a small apartment with fewer dishes and less floor.

I like cleaning toilets and sinks oddly enough - gross stuff doesn't gross me like it should anymore. Laundry is okay if I'm not terrified of destroying my nice clothes. Outdoor yardwork is fun on a nice day. Window washing is therapeutic. I like the satisfaction of a completed task and a clean space, though I am a fan of the cosy clutter.

[greenet]

I loathe with a passionate passion to do dishes. Luckily, I'm now in a flat with a dishwasher, otherwise I'd have stacks of dirty dishes standing around at all times.

What I don't mind doing is take out the trash, and clean the oven.

[lurkingcat]

My least favourite chore is cleaning the bathroom. Mostly because I hate having to climb into the bath in order to reach everything that needs cleaning.

I quite like tidying up because I get a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that everything has gone back to it's proper pace (and also in being able to see the table again/find books/be able to walk across the study without tripping on something). Washing clothes is good, ironing them not so much.

[inkstone]

I hate: Cleaning the bathroom and doing the laundry.

I love: vacuuming and grocery shopping. Like, I seriously, seriously love grocery shopping. I like perusing through the weekly circulars, checking out what's on sale, and vaguely planning out that week's meals based on what's on sale.

[lasergirl]

I don't really like doing dishes, but I think that's just a cop-out. I don't mind doing *my* dishes, but my roommate's always got dishes covered in garlic and leaves bits of compost in them that should just go in the bin, and I hate separating that stuff out. But also, I don't like it when she does dishes because they're still dirty and I have to re-wash them. So maybe I just don't like re-washing dishes.

And as much as I dislike changing the bed/washing linens, it's always worth it to get into a nice crisp bed and pretend you're in a hotel for one night. (I have a dog who sleeps with me so that feeling rarely lasts longer than one night... last night there was a bone in bed with me...)

[gretel]

Hate: Anything that is easier if you can kneel down. I have quite a bad knee injury, that hasn't healed, so scrubbing the floor in the bathroom/lowershower walls is a huge pain.

Also trying to deal with ants. We have an old falling apart house (with a dodgy backhalf renovation, so every summer they find new ways to get in).

Love: The gardening. Ironing in front of the tv. Making the beds (a freshly made bed is just so nice). Also organising/rearranging the cupboards and stuff.

[haruka]

Oh, I hear you on the ants! I work at home and one year the ants were so bad that one crawled on the microphone of my headset while I was wearing it (I could see the moving blur out of the corner of my eye.) Good thing I didn't scream in my customer's ear.

[miss_s_b]

Am I wierd because I like cleaning the bathroom? Also, mopping. I love mopping.

All other housework gets fobbed off onto my other half...

[killing_rose]

Laundry--I never have enough spoons to take things up and down three flights of stairs, so by the time I decide to waste a day's worth of spoons on the task, I'm literally out of clothes.

I love grocery shopping, especially when I'm home. At college, I use the school shuttle and only have 20 minutes to do two weeks worth of shopping. At home, I can go in and menu plan from the ingredients on my list and have enough time to flip things around if I realize I hate the entire idea.

Also, we have a Costco at home. That makes grocery shopping kind of like going to the fair. There are so many things to see!

[kyrielle]

I loathe cleaning the toilet and changing the kitty litter, especially the latter. Frankly, I find them gross.

I best like grocery shopping - it's a chance to look at brightly colored displays and temptation, try to ignore them, get what I want, and spend money that is (as long as I am spending it wisely) allowed and appropriate. Plus sometimes it's good inspiration for future food ideas.

And laundry's not too bad. I don't have to DO anything for most of the time involved in laundry. (I'd like laundry better lately if my washing machine weren't being a problem. Repairman comes back tomorrow with parts, however, which is good.)

[wenchpixie]

Ironing, to the extent that I haven't done ANY for about 9 years (I don't have an ironing board, I shake my clothes flat when they come out the machine and I don't buy things that'll crumple too easily) and vacuuming. I'm so please to find out I'm not the only one who loathes vacuuming so much!

[hivesofactivity]

Ditto on the ironing. I do have an iron, but I haven't plugged it in since I was pregnant, and my son's now eight...

[redsnake05]

I totally hear you on the ironing. I have an iron, but I only use it when sewing, for fusible interfacing and tricky seams. Other than that, I just go wrinkled.

[lasergirl]

I only use the iron when I sew (which is my job) so naturally I don't wear anything that requires an iron. I also don't ever hem my own pants (again, part of my job) so I just fold them up.

Wait, my new least favourite household job is HEMMING PANTS. I hate that with a passion. Even though when I do it for work, I get paid and I don't mind.

[wenchpixie]

I figure the wrinkles fall out with body heat anyway :)

[redsnake05]

And the ones that don't would have formed the first time you sat down, even if it was ironed.

[schnurble]

Hate: Ironing, scrubbing the shower, grocery shopping with Hubby

I don't mind grocery shopping if I'm on my own. I grab all the things on my list, pay and leave. But Hubby loves to wander through all aisles, peruse what's on sale, consider what could be cooked of it, what's new, what else could we need... I always wonder what I'm doing there, watching him, being bored, waiting forever that he finishes. And while I'm trying to kill time, I get myself way too many sweets...
Last Saturday I tried a new approach and suggested that he goes shopping alone and I clean the house in the meantime. So he wasn't standing in my way when I cleaned, and he didn't have to put up with me urging him on :o)

I also used to hate scrubbing the shower. We have clear glass walls in the shower, and water so high in calcium carbonate it feels crunchy when you drink it. You can imagine how the shower looks like, even after only one use. I used to spray everything with anti calcium carbonate cleaner, let it soak, scrubbed the shower walls, and the calcium stains just faded a bit. So much effort for so little gain.
But last week I tried a different cleaner and it was like a miracle. I sprayed the walls with the cleaner. By the time I was done scrubbing the toilet, the cleaner had run down the walls and the stains with it. I just had to shower it off and was done and the glass was crystal clear again. Yay!

[kudilu]

ooo, what cleaner was that?

[schnurble]

It was actually a cheap no-name product from ALDI, ZEKOL cleaner spray, so it's great effect surprised me even more. Will not by the more expensive Bref cleaner again that we used before :o)

[quivo]

I hate cleaning the bathroom with a passion. Mostly because we always let it get really grotty between cleanings D:

I do, however, love grocery shopping. I don't know why, I just like buying food and things.

[haruka]

I hate dusting because it means moving all the stuff on surfaces to get AT the entire surface that needs dusting.

I like laundry because I can play my MP3 player while I hang everything up (and I have a clothesline in my basement so I don't even have to go outside.)

[landshark]

I pretty much hate it all, but dusting is one of the worst. I have a ton of glass bottle on a bookshelf and I hate moving them all. And then vacuuming just throws more dust around...

I guess I like doing dishes--but I hate using dishwashers because I feel like I have to wait for it to get full and then its this huge chore. I just started washing all my pans right after cooking and my plates/cups after eating and the kitchen is always clean and finished.

[ladysunflow]

I hate doing the dishes (no dishwasher) and cleaning the kitchen in general.

I LOVE doing laundry so much it's almost unhealthy; I do all laundry for my family, even the handwashing (I'm big on handwashing delicates). I'm IN LOVE with my new dryer because it means I can spend all day doing laundry if I want to, load after load :D

[ninetydegrees]

I love tidying up/sorting/filing/throwing things out.
I like grocery shopping when I'm not alone, doing the laundry and mopping.
Doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom/kitchen, changing sheets and hoovering are not chores I really like but they're ok.
I don't really like washing/cleaning windows (and will generally put if off).
I hate dusting. I used to enjoy ironing but I hate it now and have actually stopped doing it.

[draigwen]

I hate ironing and hoovering - both are too much like hard work!

I love washing up. Mainly because I put music on loud and get to daydream while doing it!

[scheherezhad]

I haaaaate dusting. I've got lots of tchotchkes on, well, every flat surface I've got, and I loathe having to move them all and clean them and wipe down what they're sitting on. PITA.

I like cleaning the bathroom because ours is mostly white tile, and there's just something about getting white tile all shiny clean that makes me feel all peaceful and pleased at the end.

[wychwood]

Ironing. Ironing is the one thing I just cannot deal with; I can manage one item, but after that I get serious rage issues and after three shirts I want to throw the iron out of the window, so as to make the biggest possible smash.

We have cleaners who come once a week, so I don't have to do too much (and no ironing unless I've fallen badly behind with laundry) but I can handle pretty much anything else if I have to. My favourite is probably tidying; I get such a sense of satisfaction from a tidy room. Or cleaning the kitchen; again, seeing it all nice.

[terrierlee]

I hate doing dishes and cleaning the bathroom. Mostly because when I'm doing the dishes, people come into the kitchen and decide to make something RIGHT THEN AND THERE and then when they're done, they throw their dirty dishes into the sink, even though I tell them to put it in the dish washer. But I like listening to music while I do the dishes.

And the bathroom, right after I clean the sink, my sisters decide to dye their hair and they leave their hair dying stuff all over the sink.

I like sweeping and mopping. Mostly so I can see all the dirt that's accumulated and I get to move furniture around. The living room looks a lot bigger without the sofas in the way.

And I like doing laundry. I have two buckets, one for clothes and one for towels, and I like it a lot better when there are no clothes in the bucket. Makes my room feel cleaner.

[lassarina]

Cleaning. Especially if it involves stuff on my hands - I have gloves for doing the dishes for this exact reason.

[freya46]

I only dust if something can take root. :-) Also windows. Ick. Of course, right now i can't do any of it at all so, I'm enjoying while I can. :-)

[gwyn_bywyd]

With cfs, I seldom have the spare energy for any household chore, so there is a sense in which they are all on the most hated list, especially washing up, which seems disproportionately draining.

As a child I loved scrubbing the bath. My mother brings up this fact quite often (her policy was to say "Great for you kiddo, go for it!") If I had a bath and enough spoons, I suspect I still would, so satisfying!

[emberfire]

Most hated: Ironing. I only do so when I absolutely must - otherwise, I try and hang clothing fresh from the dryer, let it steam in the bathroom while I shower, or use a steamer. I also am quite adept at conning my father into ironing the tops that require it :) Dusting. Bah, so pointless as dust just accumulates right away again. For this, I try to use the vacumm attachment on tabletops, lamps, and curtains. MOPPING! I have an irrational hate for this chore. I refuse to do it at home! Luckily, when I had my own place, the roomie didn't mind it and at home, I'll do the other stuff as long as someone else mops.

Likes: I usually enjoy grocery shopping. The things I dislike about it are when I return and the family bitches because they forgot to add to the list (I only ask everyone at least 3x times before I go if there's anything I forgot). Grr. Or, if I have to go at a different time than usual. I love having my routine and knowing how empty the store can be at the right time so I can shop at my own pace. Laundry is another chore I enjoy. It can be pretty mindless so it's perfect for thinking things over or listening to music. Plus, I love the feel/smell of freshly laundered clothes!

Who know I had so many opinions on chores, lol.