What Are the Most Hated Household Chores – and How Can We Make Them More Bearable?

Household chores are a sad inevitability in day-to-day life. Keeping your household running requires hard and constant work; washing dishes is that perennial task that somehow always seems to be waiting for you, whatever the time of day and however recently you last washed up. Household chores are here to stay, however much we despise them. But some are more detestable than others. Which are the most hated of all household chores, and what can we do about them?

What are the Most Tedious Household Chores?

Ironing

According to a recent survey, ironing is the UK’s least favourite household chore; out of 2000 respondents, 16.6% suggested that they found ironing to be the most unenjoyable house admin task. For some, ironing is a take-it-or-leave-it task, and one often left as a result; for others, it is a necessary evil, in order to dress presentably for work or social occasions. Still, the mere sight of an ironing board or a pile of clothes may be enough to put chills down your spine…

Cleaning the Toilet

Unsurprisingly, cleaning the toilet is a near-universally disliked task to undertake in the home; it is a shortstraw kind of job, that requires getting up close and personal with one of the germiest parts of the home. Thankfully, the power of bathroom cleaners can make the job much quicker – but limescale and stubborn stains can make toilet cleaning hell on earth, even from behind the densest of rubber gloves.

Washing Dishes

Another survey, conducted by kitchenware company Circulon, unearthed an interesting statistic relating to our relationship with cooking – and the chores associated with cooking that switch us off from the kitchen entirely. The survey found that 69% of respondents found cleaning the least tolerable part of cooking, with a further 71% complaining about “stains and burnt food [that are] difficult to clean [from stainless steel pans].”

Vacuuming

Vacuuming is a divisive issue in UK households, being a pleasant distraction for some and in interminable ordeal for others. Vacuuming is often made all the harder by old or poor-quality vacuum cleaners, which are often bulky, noisy and ineffective at pulling up grime and hair. There is a meditative aspect to vacuuming, though – making it a real mixed bag for homeowners.

How to Make Chores More Tolerable

Intolerable as the above household jobs may be, do them we must. But just because we have to do them doesn’t mean we have to be miserable. Here are some winning ways to make the job a little easier:

Give Yourself a Soundtrack

Firstly, don’t suffer in silence. Any household task can be made 100 times more fun with an injection of music; a soundtrack can help you set the pace for your task, and give you something engaging to latch onto while you work. What better than to belt out ‘Running Up That Hill’ while knee-deep in the bath?

Dance It Out

You could take it a step further, and play some certified hip-shakers while doing more mobile chores. Integrating a impromptu dance routine into your hoovering session can make the time fly by – and maybe even get you to do a better job.

Automate Where Possible

Thanks to the breakneck pace of technological development, there are now all manner of smart devices with which we can fill our homes. Some of these can even take housework out of our hands! Automatic vacuum robots can more or less manage themselves, saving you the indignity of wrestling with poor Henry the Hoover.