Chores

Chores. I do lots of chores. As a (basically) stay at home mom, all domestic responsiblities fall onto my shoulders. On Facebook the other day we were talking about chores we like/dislike. Here's my list.

Dislike:
I hate to vacuum. I think this one tops the list. I don't like to dust either, but I hardly ever do that so vacuuming wins. I hate it for several reasons. One, the word is hard to spell. Every time I spell it I have to think really hard and sometimes use spell checker just to make sure I have it right. Second, I don't like to deal with the cord on the vacuum. Cordless/rechargable vacs never make it in my house for some reason so a cord is inevitable. I hate having to unwind the thing, move outlets at least twice, and then wind the thing back up. Third, I hate that no matter how much I vacuum, the carpet never seems clean. Lucas bought me a Dyson three years ago for Christmas. It was then that I realized I was a domestic goddess - that vacuum MADE MY DAY! But even with top of the line equipment, I dislike this task. A lot.

I don't like to dust either, but I really (this is terrible) only dust before company comes...and my parents do not count. I like the way the house smells so clean afterwards, but I don't like having to move everything in order to get all of the dust. It never looks right when I put it back.

Scrubbing the bath tub is another chore I don't like, but again...I must admit I rarely do it, which is probably why I hate it so much. If I didn't allow scum to cover the entire thing it wouldn't be so hard to deal with. That is another company's coming chore. I don't like to clean the bathroom, but I do it often or it gets icky. I don't know anyone who actually likes to clean a bathroom.

I am counting grocery shopping/meal preparation/menu planning as a chore. I would not mind this work if it wasn't so expensive. Lucas tells me to "have fun" when I leave for the store to get groceries. I do not know what he thinks is fun about buying food we have to have with money we don't have, but I guess he (mainly because he is male) thinks shopping is shopping and since I love shopping I should love purchasing groceries. Ummm...no.

I used to like yard work, but then I had two kids and my yard size more than quadrupled. Yard work is a never-ending task that I sometimes get enjoyment out of, but it more often than not just overwhelms me.

Likes:
I LOVE to do laundry. Yes, I know that qualifies me for a psychiatric evaluation. But really, I like laundry. The machine does 90% of the work. All I have to do is sort, fold and put it away. I fold straight out of the dryer since we do not own any laundry baskets (on purpose!) so it doesn't pile up. I do laundry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday without fail so it doesn't get overwhelming. I enjoy seeing those piles of clean clothes all stacked up and then put into drawers.

I like to clean my kitchen. Sorta. It's just so much more pleasant to have a clean kitchen and since I feel like it's the room I spend the most time in, it's nice to clean it so that it is pleasant to be in there.

I like to make beds...for basically the same reason as the kitchen. I like getting into a bed that has straightend covers. I like looking in my bedroom and seeing my bed all neat and nice.

I like to garden. Gardening is very different from yard work - you get to EAT when you garden! Last year, we planted a square foot garden and I enjoyed picking the veggies out of it and I enjoyed planting. This year that will be even more fun because Danae will really enjoy seeing everything grow. David will still just enjoy eating the dirt out of it.

I also do not mind flower gardens, although the weeds begin to overwhelm pretty quickly, which makes it a little too close to yard work!

I also like to organize. When I'm bored I clean out kitchen cabinets or the garage or the toy room or a closet. Again, I probably need an evaluation.