Creating Joy While Staying Home: Streamlining Household Tasks

by Brooke Forry

Does emptying the dishwasher feel more monotonous than ever? Do you wonder why you still have so much laundry to fold even though you feel like you’re wearing the same comfy quarantine clothes every day? Do you find yourself cleaning more than ever now that everyone is home all. the. time. (and creating more dust and mess than ever before)?

As we near 6 months of social distancing due to Covid-19, household tasks that were never fun to begin with are starting to feel even more like a slog now that we’re all home so much more and staring those tasks in the face all the time.

If you need a little extra motivation to get things done around the house, here are a few of our favorite tips for tackling those tasks like a boss — and maybe even feeling a little joyful while you do. (Seriously, it’s possible!)

SET A TIMER (AND CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO BEAT IT!)

This is a trick that I often use for my kids when they don’t want to clean up their toys, but it works for kids at heart, too. Giving yourself a finite amount of time to complete a task is a great way to avoid getting distracted and just get it DONE. Bonus: you feel like a real hero when you beat the timer. If you’re the competitive type, maybe even write down your times somewhere and see if you can beat your past records… vacuumed the entire upstairs in 7 minutes last week? I bet I can do it in 6 minutes this week!

DO A POWER HOUR

My good friend Amanda Jefferson from Indigo Organizing taught me this amazing trick for getting things done when you’ve been procrastinating small but important tasks — like calling to make a dentist appointment, paying a bill, or sewing on a rogue button that fell off months ago. Amanda advises that you write down all those little tasks you’ve been putting off that shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes each to complete, set aside a Power Hour to get them all done, and dive in.

QUEUE UP A POD

I dread folding laundry, but alas, people in my house keep wearing clothes, so it’s an unavoidable task a few times each week. (Don’t worry, my husband and I have an agreement: he handles all the dishes and I do all the laundry. Even though I don’t exactly love laundry, I really hate doing the dishes, so I still think I got the better end of the deal.) I find that I almost look forward to laundry time when I have a podcast queued up that I’m excited to listen to, or I can continue listening to an audiobook that’s in my rotation. Current favorite pods include Forever35, The Opt-In, or How I Built This.

SET A REWARD UPON COMPLETION

I am not above bribing myself. Sometimes treating yourself with a little reward makes a monotonous or dreaded task feel much more tolerable. Even better: relate the reward directly to the task. Hate cleaning the tub? Join the club, but once you clean it, you can treat yourself to that lavish bubble bath you’ve been dreaming of all week!

USE BEAUTIFUL CLEANING SUPPLIES

I learned years ago, from both Jordan Ferney (of Oh Happy Day) and her sister, Gabrielle Blair (of Design Mom) that you should never bring anything into your house that you don’t find both useful and beautiful — even when it comes to items as mundane cleaning supplies. When you have items that are aesthetically pleasing, you might be just a little more inclined to want to use them. Better yet, storing small and frequently used cleaning supplies together in a cute caddy or basket makes it easier to grab-and-go throughout your house, saving time so you can finish up your cleaning as quickly as possible.

What are your favorite tips for streamlining household tasks so they feel a little less monotonous and a little more joyful? Share on social media and be sure to tag us @balanceboundplanner on Instagram.