We’re willing to bet that doing chores around the house every day is not your idea of a good time. Why not save some more time for doing the things you love? You can by following these tips and tricks to cut down on your housekeeping time and boost up your chilling-and-sleeping time, or better yet, go out for a while!
Trust us, we’re in the business of saving people 100% of their time when it comes to doing chores, but in case there are some that you like to tackle yourself, these lifehacks will stop you from feeling like your whole day is consumed by cleaning and tidying the place. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s dive right in!
Double up your leftovers
99% of recipes won’t take you a minute longer to do if you double up the ingredients. This will give yield twice the amount of food, of which you can freeze the leftovers for when you want a night off from cooking. Do this a couple of times a week, and you’ll save on cooking time, and energy costs equally.
Sort your laundry on the go
Sorting your clothes right on laundry day is time-consuming, so why not nip the problem in the bud? Get each member of the family separate laundry baskets (at least three), so they can sort their clothes by color or fabric, and come laundry day, all you’ll have to do is combine the clothes from same-colored baskets and done.
Plan family meals ahead of time
If you make a family meal plan each week, you’ll save the time you spend coming up with meal ideas every day, and grocery shopping will be that much faster because of it, since you’ll already know everything you need and won’t have to wing it at the store. You can also do your shopping before doing the meal plan to take advantage of items on sale, which has the added value of cutting out the time you spend collecting coupons.
Make your house a shoe-free area
Take a lesson from one of Japan’s most famous household traditions. Leaving your shoes near the front door and using slippers exclusively as your indoors footwear will help you keep dust, dirt and mud away from your floors and carpets. The less you have to clean the house, the faster you’ll be done with it. You can also try upgrading your sweeper or vacuum to a newer model for a smoother, faster cleaning experience.
Adopt a “clean-as-you-go” family policy
Again, the less there is to clean up, the faster you’ll get it done. Teach your family to always clean and tidy up after themselves, and you’ll immediately notice how fewer and fewer chores pile up at the end of the week. Reducing clutter is also a good way to reduce your chores, so pick a day of the month to declutter as much as you can as a family, and get rid of anything you don’t need anymore. As far as easy lifehacks go, this is probably the best on how to keep you home clean and tidy.
Keep all your ingredients prepared
Don’t wait until it’s cooking time to chop up or slice your veggies. As soon as you get home from grocery shopping, prepare all of your produce and throw them in jars, so they’re ready to use when your meal plan calls for them. That way you’ll save a considerable chunk of time when cooking, and you’ll eat more healthily if you also chop up your fruits and save them for when you’re craving a snack.
Get your family in on the action
Not one person in the house is responsible for all the mess, so it follows that not one person should be solely responsible for picking it up. Not only will you be done faster with your chores, but your kids will learn valuable lessons on teamwork, responsibility, and mess-prevention as time goes on. Also, you might want to do this as soon as possible, since a study conducted by the University of Minnesota concluded that a child’s later success in life is best predicted by the age at which they begin helping around the house.
There are no secrets to keeping a clean house, but following these tips will cut out a good chunk of the time you usually spend on chores. The key to it all is thinking two steps ahead of the mess, and who knows your mess-making patterns better than yourself? Adapting and improvising is the name of the game.
