As necessary as housework and chores are, they’re also tedious, boring, and time-consuming. People who aren’t responsible for keeping a home or apartment clean don’t think that it takes that much time, but some tasks are enormous time-suckers. In other cases, it’s just hard to find time away from work, studying, taking care of the kids, or dealing with other jobs around the house. That’s why delegation is such a great thing. There are some tasks you can easily pass off to your spouse or partner, roommates, close friends, family members who live with you, or even the kids.
Washing the Dishes
Naturally, younger children can’t do the dishes—they probably can’t even reach the sink—but, then again, there are even ways for the tiny tots to pitch in and lend a hand. Washing up takes time that’s usually better spent on something else. Even if you have a dishwasher, you have to deal with rinsing, loading, unloading, and then reloading, ad infinitum. Pass off the chore to someone else to save yourself a ton of time.
If you do have a dishwasher and any younger children, charge them with emptying it—but exercise caution, of course. For example, after you or someone else unloads all the glassware and utensils, the younger kiddos can take out plastic pieces, mixing bowls, sippy cups, and similar items.
They’ll probably be delighted to help, plus you’re teaching them good habits from an early age. You’re also teaching them to follow instructions, which can help later in life when you need the kids to help with bigger projects.
Doing the Laundry
Handling the laundry is a multi-level task. Typically, you have to gather up the dirty clothes, towels, and linens, not just from the hampers but assorted spots throughout the house, too. You then have to sort the laundry, wash and dry each load, possibly hang up certain items to dry, maybe hand wash a few things, then fold or hang up each piece, and finally put away everything in its proper spot.
That’s a hassle and a half. The laundry is a task that practically begs for delegation. Split it up between helpers if you need to, but don’t feel bad about asking for a hand.
Sweeping the Floor
Almost anyone can pick up a broom and a dustpan. It’s not hard to turn on the vacuum cleaner, either. Regarding sheer square footage, cleaning the floor takes approximately forever, especially if you live in a multi-story home—sweeping steps is the worst. As long as there’s someone in the house you trust to do a good job, assign this task immediately.
Making the Beds
Even little kids can make the bed. This isn’t a terribly tedious task unless you have a full house with lots of beds to make, in which case changing the linens is also a time-consuming nightmare. That’s another job entirely, and it, too, deserves delegation. Making the bed is simple, easy, and essential. Give someone else the job, or invite everyone to make their own beds.
Dusting the House
You have to stay up on dusting, or else all the dander gets the upper hand. It’s difficult to keep it up yourself, so feel free to ask for help. Assign different rooms to the different people in the house, or ask someone new to do this chore each week. The house will always sparkle!
Are there any tasks you hate to do? Do you delegate them to someone else?