I had a lot of fun writing my Christmas-themed Top Five/Bottom Five posts. And, based on the comments section, some of you have very strong feelings about Christmas music, food, and movies.
Once again, I’m borrowing the idea from Mix and Match Mama; this round is all about household chores.
I had to think long and hard to come up with five household chores I like. Coming up with five I dislike was a piece of cake…
MY Top FIVE chores
- Organizing/decluttering. I know this is a broad description, but I’m going to label it as a single “chore”. I like putting things back into order; fluffing pillows, smoothing down blankets, putting unused items into a donation bag for the thrift store. I enjoy straightening shoes in the entryway, stacking books on my bedside table, and just generally tidying our living spaces. In the right context, decluttering doesn’t feel like a chore to me at all and I view it as a form of enjoyable self-care!

- Wiping down counters/the kitchen table. While I typically just use hot, soapy water, I’m a big fan of Method sprays (they smell so good!); if I need a quick mood boost, I spray the counters with my favourite scent – pink grapefruit – and scrub away happily.

- Mopping. No one is more shocked than me to see MOPPING on my favourites list. I used to hate mopping. Like, Hate with a capital “H”. We temporarily hired someone to help with cleaning a few years ago and the main chore I wanted to outsource was our floors. Now, Eufy does the vacuuming for us, and our Vildea spin mop (comparable to the O-Cedar EasyWring in the US, I think?) does an incredible job in the mopping department.
- Washing dishes. I enjoy hand-washing dishes, especially if I’m playing music on the kitchen speaker or listening to a podcast.
- Paperwork/schedule management. I love writing cheques. I don’t mind filling out forms for school events (permission slips, activity registrations). And I enjoy sitting down with the calendar and fitting things in like a Tetris game.
MY Bottom FIVE chores
- Laundry. I don’t mind gathering dirty clothes, adding some detergent to the washer, and starting a cycle. But everything after that point I hate. Moving items to the dryer (and separating out things like wool socks that need to be air-dried)? Hate it. Pulling clothes out of the dryer? Cleaning out the lint tray? Lugging a full basket of clean clothes upstairs. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Sorting, folding, and hanging clothes? Detest it all. And don’t get me started on matching socks. I’ve tried to convert it into a fun game. The only problem – it’s not a game and it’s not fun. I’ve tried a dozen different options for getting laundry completed more efficiently or more enjoyably but, at the end of the day, this is a job I just really, really dislike. I do think the best solution for me is to do laundry frequently so it doesn’t accumulate. I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on ironing, which fits under this general category, but tops my least-favourite list. If someone said: You can either unclog a toilet or iron this dress shirt? Hand me the plunger. I’ve gotten to the point where I only touch an iron once or twice a year and even that stretches me to my max. It is incomprehensible to me that some people enjoy ironing!
- Cleaning mirrors. Half the time they look worse than before I started and there are always streaks or little flecks of dust or paper towel/rag lint.
- Putting away dry dishes. While I enjoy washing dishes (we air dry), I loathe unloading the dish drainer. Abby is responsible for emptying the dishwasher, but I often help her out. In that context, putting away cutlery is my least favourite, but cups and mugs are also a big nuisance since little divots at the top often retain puddles of water (that end up on the floor as we’re unloading items).
- Cleaning the bathtub. I should start by saying “bathrooms” in general don’t rank very high on my chore list. But the bathtub is my least favourite. It takes so much effort to scrub and I have short arms and, apparently, not enough muscle power.
- Putting away groceries. I don’t mind making a list or shopping, but I hate unloading things when we get home. To be fair, John often spearheads this; he likes an organized fridge and does a great job of maximizing space (which is important because we only have an apartment-sized fridge). Unpacking items and shuttling them around to different places in the house feels like such a hassle – fresh fruit goes on a bowl on the counter, lots of things need to go in the fridge, and various items go in our two “pantry” spaces; then there is the small standalone freezer downstairs and longer-term storage on shelves in our basement (extra toilet paper, paper towel, canned goods). I love to eat, but sheesh there is a lot of work that goes on behind-the-scenes to get food on the table.
And there you have it – my top/bottom five selections in the category of household chores.
Your turn. What would your top five/bottom five chores be? What’s your favourite cleaning tool or hack? Tell me – how can I dread laundry (slightly) less?
Header photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash