Tips to Make Everyday Tasks More Bearable

I can't help you with the laundry. Although I'll run the washer/dryer, she insists on doing the ironing (and that's only because I'm incapable of doing anything properly). Jokes on her. I hate ironing.

For the dishes, I just put them in the dishwasher when I get up in the morning. Part of the AM ritual.

My worst bad habit is just getting started. Once I get going, no problem, but it can take days to get the momentum started.

 

Disclaimer: I've been brainwashed by some of the finest OCD training on the planet. I fold my socks. And I enjoy it.

Laundry washing motivation? I use my gym clothes rotation to punctuate my whole laundry rotation. While I may only wear four different non-work pants in a month and my shirt-donning schedule is amusing (yesterday I only put a shirt on once to get the mail). Anyway, my magically you-must-do-laundry-now trigger is that I go to the gym x times a week and thus I have x sets of gym clothes. When I'm sliding my narrow ass into that last workout t-shirt and shorts combo, I know I'm doing all my laundry (casual clothes, work clothes, gym clothes) that night. It helps keep me motivated. Nobody wants to wear stank-ass duds to the gym around all those hardbody CrossFit babes and I've only got a few (but nice) sets of workout apparel. Granted, this particular system may not work for a woman depending on how much you wear during a normal week. My current girlfriend washes more weight in thongs, sports bras and socks in two weeks than I do of all clothes in a month. According to a study by University of Midlife Male, it's a scientific fact that women have 78% more clothes than men, wear each item only once and thus must do endless laundry.

Laundry folding motivation? The second it comes out of the dryer. I don't iron anything that doesn't goes with a tie, so the optimal folding/hanging time is when it's hot out of the machine. I grab the stuff outta the dryer, lay it all out on a flat surface like the folding table or bed or whatever and make it happen. I think the best way to avoid procrastination is to force yourself to get on mundane tasks as they pop up. Just do it. Do it now.

Desk? Should be your wide open workspace. Mine is 15 sq. ft. of bare wood that I can drop papers on, screw with whatever gizmo I'm MacGyvering, etc. It should be that always-empty flat surface you go to when you need to do something. If you notice things piling up on your desk, get rid of the crap (and prioritize the things that need action so that the do-it-now one is taped right in front of your keyboard so you can't really ignore it. I also make sure that whenever I sit down at the desk to reassess the papers and Post-Its to make sure they've received attention and can be scrapped.

 

I schedule my laundry into my Friday. This means I do laundry every week - we don't have a washer/dryer in the apartment, so no matter how many loads I do, it takes about 2 hours. To ensure that I fold everything in the laundry room, I stagger my dryer loads *slightly*, starting my clothes load a few minutes before the towels/sheets/whatever that are much faster to fold. This means that I fold everything in the laundry room before I take it back to my apartment so I wait for the towels/whatever to be done. If I only do one load of clothes, sometimes I'll take them back and fold them on the coffee table, but usually I fold in the laundry room.

Putting those clothes away, though, I can't really help with.. that's my weak point. I do usually end up getting it all put away if someone is coming over or I want to vacuum, but otherwise I often leave the clothes folded in the laundry basket while the towels and sheets get put away.

As for keeping dishes off the desk.. my "desk" (our dining table, haha) is very close to the kitchen, so everything goes back into the kitchen as soon as I'm done, allowing me to refill my water bottle, too.

How do you get motivated to start homework/reading/projects?? I get productive at about 9 pm every night, which ends up in me not wanting to interrupt said productivity and going to bed very late, getting less sleep. I have no idea how to change this about myself..

 

In that case, pull up Netflix or put on a Podcast, sit down and get it done while you catch up on a TV show you like or a Podcast you've been meaning to listen to. This is what I do while I clean, most of the time.

 

snowy, you need a wife. Works for me.

:runs:

 

They're out there...

 

Soapy Joe's - $1.35/lb wash and fold, $2.50/shirt, pick up and deliver.

 

You know how I know you're white and live in DC?

 

I moved to Singapore, where hiring live in help is the norm (and it doesn't cost very much).

For the past few weeks, not only has my wife been away, but also my helper. Thankfully I don't make much of a mess. That said, laundry does suck.

 

I'm sure you might be aware already, snowy, but Science Friday Podcasts are now divided up by topic when you download them. For me, that's incredibly convenient - not only do I not download the topics I'm not terribly interested in, but I can listen to just an 8-20 minute podcast while I do a short task and feel like I learned something at the same time.

Perhaps I'll start folding my laundry at home instead of in the laundry room at my complex!

 

Is there a better way to divide this labor?
Like, if he does the laundry, he follows through and folds it too?
Or maybe there's some chore you could pick up that you find less onerous, and you get out of the laundry business entirely while your husband hands off a chore he doesn't really enjoy.