Thursday, March 8, 2012

I Must Ask . . . What's Your Favorite Chore?

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. –Nancie J. Carmody

As usual, I forgot to include a few categories on the poll two weeks ago. Most notably {excuse the pun. No. Wait. Don't. I love puns!}, music {choir, band, orchestra, etc.} and the arts {drama, visual arts, etc.}. When I made up my list, I think I kind of assumed that being athletic was the norm and didn't stop to consider that I might not be the only indoors kind of girl :lol:. There were two people, besides me who lettered in Home Ec and in the “other” category, two people told me in the comments that they lettered in band, another in music and a third lettered in Badminton. Awesome!

Well, I think that concludes my reminiscences on High School. The weather has . . . well . . . I guess it is behaving like March. One minute it is sunny and almost warm and the next, the wind is howling at your door. Then it is snowing and then it is sunny again. In like a lion, eh? In any case, the days are getting longer, which always makes me happy. Spring is a lovely time of year. The other day, I posted a partial list of 40 things I'd like to do before I turn 40. One of them was to turn out all the drawers and closets in the house and I think that has a lot to do with the weather. I think it is kind of freeing to go through things and throw a bunch of stuff away. I like to open a drawer or cupboard or closet and find it all neat and tidy inside.

Chores are just a part of life. They get complained about a lot, but today, I wanted to talk about favorite chores. Laundry is something I don't mind doing at all. I did my own laundry by hand for about a year, and trust me, scrubbing clothes in a stone basin and wringing them out to dry is a laborious task. Throwing them in a machine, which does all the work, really isn't a chore at all. And there's something satisfying about putting a nice stack of freshly washed clothes away. I also really like gardening. It is more therapy than a chore for me. Doing a job where getting dirty on purpose is so enjoyable for me.

I'm curious to know what you all like to do around the house. I must ask . . . what is your favorite chore? Vote in the poll and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite task is. I'm sure I forgot something {I always do}, so if you don't see your favorite on the list, make sure to tell me.

18 comments:

QuiltNut Creations said...

I'll admit it, I love to iron!

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

What? You could letter in home ec? I don't think that was an option at my HS! I am an indoor kind of girl too, except when it comes to chores.. there I am an outside girl--lawn mowing etc. I do like to cook though..

Paulette said...

I actually like doing dishes. Or maybe it's the feeling of accomplishment/gratification when you go from a countertop stacked with what seems like every single (dirty) dish in your house, to clean in 15 or so minutes. I also like laundry, gardening, and cooking (which I never thought of as a chore, but yeah, I guess it can be).

Samantha said...

I love ironing. It is completely relaxing to me to iron, no brain cells involved and the smell of hot clean fabric and the warmness. I'm odd, I know.

Second is gardening. Very therapeutic plus I get a huge sense of accomplishment when my flower beds look pretty and we are eating stuff I grew in the garden.

Angie said...

Cooking isn't a chore...it's a hobby. :D

Sarah Craig said...

Quilting!!!!!!

Rachel said...

What a fun question! I voted vacuuming, mostly because year long it gets the fastest results (we have 2 older kids, 3 dogs, a rabbit & a parrot, doesn't take long to need results...LOL). In reality my favorite chores change seasonally. For example, in summer I prefer laundry. Less clothing (a tank top vs a T, a sweatshirt and a jacket) is worn and the items tends to be smaller (shorts vs. jeans, etc). However, with that said, this is kind of a cheater question for me. My kids are older so they do a lot of what is on the list.

Auntie Pami said...

Watching my husband vacuum. No, really, he does. I like to cook special dinners. I don't really have a favorite chore, I never really thought about it. I went to 5 high schools (military family) so lettering in anything was not really an option. Home Ec? Dang. I could do that.

Anonymous said...

It is not listed, but I love changing the oil, washing and doing routine maintenance on my cars.

Jill said...

I picked the chores that while are procrastinated often, give me the most satisfaction. Laundry, dishes, and yard work. Once you get going, it's not that bad, and the satisfaction of completion is huge.
I also picked cooking, because when I have a plan and all the stuff (and get started on time), I love sitting down to dinner and thinking, "I made this, and it rocks!" (except when it doesn't).
With chores, if I have a list and a plan, I think most things are great, and I'm glad to get them done.

Becky said...

I'm not a complainer and do most any chore happily. I just like a clean house, but I would rather be outside doing yard work than any inside job. We don't have a yard at our current home and I think I may go a little stir crazy this year!

Jennifer Lovell said...

I marked dishes, laundry, and vacuuming on your list, but one of my other favorites that is not on your list is organizing a desk and doing paperwork. That can kind of go along with de-cluttering, but to me that meant mostly picking up all of my family's junk all over the whole house. I do love it when that's done, but since it's never done, I can't mark that as one of my favorite chores ;).

Richard Healey said...

Not really a chore per say but I like to go to work for my day job. I am a programmer and have a lot of fun. Would work for free if I could afford it which I cant so its a good thing they pay me for it.

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Needled Mom said...

What great polls you have!! I have to admit that I love to iron. Strange, I know.

whimsyfox said...

At first I thought, are you crazy? A favorite CHORE?! :) But I actually do have one. Well, maybe 2, and the second one is on your voting list. I'm not sure I can say that I like de-cluttering all the time, but I do like organizing WHEN IT'S GOING WELL. Sometimes I set out to de-clutter and organize and I get stumped or overwhelmed. I have to walk away. But there is so much satisfaction when it's going well and when it's done! Last week (since we were painting the whole house) I de-cluttered one thing that had been bugging me a while, the linen closet. Plus the girls closets got tidied up again too. Yay. Now only have to go and de-clutter the kid's arts & crafts closets (yes we have 2 of those) and my craft studio closet as they have been suffering from long neglect! (they were not emptied in the painting process)

But if I actually had to pick a favorite chore, it's shampooing my carpets. I have owned 3 carpet shampooers in 11 years. The first one lasted 3 years but it wasn't that good to begin with. The second I had for a year and half before moving to my current home that had thicker carpets and that machine just didn't suction enough. My third machine I've had for 3 years and so far so good, even after loaning it out a few times too.

It's funny I DON'T like to vacuum because I have allergies and don't like the dust, and you have to vacuum so often, all over at least once a week with touch ups in between, and I don't like lugging out the vacuum. It's a model my husband picked out 11 years ago back when that was HIS chore. But I love to shampoo. I love the smell of the Bissel Multi-Allergen shampoo (I actually have a Hoover machine now), I love the feel of the warm water on my bare feet as I go along, I love to empty the dirty water and see all the dirt and grime I'm getting rid of, and I love how soft the carpets feel afterward. I love not seeing anymore the spots that have been bugging me for months. I love knowing that my house is truly cleaner, that we can roll around on the ground with confidence. And I love that I only have to do it every 3 or 4 months! Spend a day or two on them, and you're done for a long while. :D

And on that note, I'll be shampooing all my house this week. Knowing we would be painting the house I'd put off the cleaning of the carpets & now they are way overdue. I think last time I did it was when school started. Yup, I'm ready!

Shay said...

Basically Im lazy. I clean my house solely because I like a clean house but I despise the process of housework .

I picked decluttering (I LOVE organising ) and cooking as my two favourite chores...at least both of those have something good happening at the end !

Julie said...

Working in someone else's house. Bathrooms are not bad either.

hardhatcat said...

i really like watering the garden and looking after my vegie patch when i can.
I also really like going through and sorting out clothes for my son. He's still young and is constantly growing out of things. I buy things in advance and put them aside. i love sorting it all out and sorting his grown out of clothes into plastic containers/tubs for the different sizes.
As for the rest of it i'm pretty useless with, although i don't mind doing cooking most of the time. I do have a pretty handy husband though when it comes to housework, so i'm lucky there.