Tips For Tackling Household Chores

Posted on Cleaning, Homemaking
32 Comments

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I have tips for tackling your household chores so it doesn’t occupy all your precious time. Keeping up with household chores can sometimes feel like a never-ending cycle. Dishes pile up, laundry multiplies, and floors always seem to need sweeping.

But with a few clever strategies, you can make housework more manageable. Here are some practical tips to help you stay on top of chores and reclaim your free time.

In tips for tackling household chores, it's easier to pick things up while carrying something around to put them in.

Tackle Chores Without Feeling Overwhelmed:

1. Create a Realistic Cleaning Schedule

Instead of trying to do everything in one day, spread tasks throughout the week. Assign specific chores to specific days—for example, laundry on Mondays, vacuuming on Wednesdays, and bathrooms on Saturdays. Breaking it down prevents burnout and keeps your home consistently tidy.

2. Set a Timer for Short Bursts

Try the “15-minute rule.” Set a timer and focus on one area until it rings. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done when you work with focus and urgency. This method is beneficial when motivation is low.

3. Declutter as You Go

Clutter is one of the biggest obstacles to a clean home. Make it a habit to return things to their proper place immediately. Keep donation boxes handy for items you no longer need and make decluttering part of your daily routine.

4. Keep Supplies Handy

Store cleaning supplies in the rooms where you use them most—like having bathroom cleaner and paper towels under each sink. When supplies are easy to reach, it’s easier to tackle small messes before they grow into big ones.

5. Involve Everyone

Housework shouldn’t fall on one person. Assign age-appropriate chores to each member of the household. Even small children can assist with simple tasks, such as putting toys away or setting the table. Sharing the workload builds teamwork and lightens your load.

6. Listen to Music or Podcasts

Make chores feel less like a burden by pairing them with something enjoyable. Put on upbeat music, your favorite podcast, or an audiobook—it turns cleaning time into something you can actually look forward to.

7. Reward Yourself

After finishing your cleaning session, take time to enjoy your space. Light a candle, make a cup of tea, or relax in your freshly cleaned living room. Small rewards help you associate positive feelings with maintaining your home.

Additional Tips for Tackling Household Chores:

Once things get out of hand, it becomes more complex and frustrating to deal with them. It’s much better to have a routine in place to prevent minor problems from escalating into bigger ones.

Control What Comes Into The House

When I bring in the mail, I go through it before setting it down somewhere. I throw mail away that I don’t want, and I put aside the bills to be paid in their usual spot. It’s a waste of time to lay it down somewhere and then have to move it later.

Wash While the Food is Cooking

It’s easier to wash pots, pans, and utensils when you’ve finished using them than to let them stack up. I call it “wash as you go.” This way, after dinner, you won’t have those additional things to wash and put away. I enjoy washing dishes and staring out the window!

Clean the Coffee Maker Immediately

It’s easy to forget about the residue of leftover coffee grounds. My advice is to empty the grounds and clean the coffee maker as soon as I’ve had my coffee. That way, the next day I won’t be met with this task before I can make coffee.

Don’t Let Laundry Pile Up

Unless you prefer having one whole day to tackle laundry, my idea is not to let it pile up in the first place. Since I live alone, I don’t have a lot of laundry to do. But I tend to wash a load when I have enough to fill the washtub. Additionally, avoid letting dried laundry sit around. Take care of it there and then, so it doesn’t get wrinkled, and then you have to deal with another problem.

Purge & Purge Often

Tackling household chores doesn’t have to be stressful. By breaking tasks into smaller steps, creating routines, and finding joy in the process, you can maintain a cleaner, more peaceful home without feeling overwhelmed.

A little consistency goes a long way—and before you know it, housework will feel less like a chore and more like self-care.

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32 Comments

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  2. I'm the same way and agree with all of your tips. The only one I'm bad about is folding the laundry right away. It's my least favorite chore, but right now it's all done and folded since yesterday 🙂

    xo

  3. You and I are so much alike! I do all of these things because it makes it easier to clean a little at a time than do everything all at once. And the house stays neater that way! How much longer in the boot?

  4. Great tips but some of us have to deal with handicapped children who drool, make messes, strip off diapers, and generally make life very interesting. While I would love a perfect house, moderately clean is all I can manage. Nice dream though.

  5. Your home is so cozy and colorful and even though you have "stuff" it is all nice and tidy and clean – just the way I love my home also! Thanks for all the tips, Brenda.

  6. I loved this post. I went back and read it a second time hoping it would sink into my head.I wish I had a little bit of your OCD. I would love for my house to be as neat and organized as yours is. I guess some of us just don't have what it takes. Sometimes I start and get so overwhelmed I could cry.I wish I could part with "lots" of books, but can't bring myself to. I can't stand dirty dishes or unmade beds. The organized part I just don't have.

  7. Great tips. An organized life is an easier life. My husband and son laugh because my spices are in alphabetical order in the cabinet BUT I know where try are when I want them.

  8. Great tips, Brenda! Now if I could just get my husband to follow along it would be a snap! I am the "neat" one and he is the "messier" kind. He DOES prefer a neat house though so we're almost there! At least he doesn't love a mess!

  9. I always wash dishes as I go when baking or making dinner.

  10. Great tips, Brenda, and I agree with all of them. And try to practice most of them, too. I do have to work on keeping things too long…you know, the old "I might need it sometime" mentality.

  11. I agree with these tips 100% and I pretty much practice them all daily. I guess if you're OCD, I am too ;).

  12. We are so much alike…I would go crazy if I had counters filled with everything I used to cook with! And I'm a stickler for making beds…my mom insisted that we do that and it carries on I think. I recently got rid of all my books other than gardening, decorating, etc. There are so many more to read!

    Jane x

  14. Sunny Simple Life says:

    I love this post. We are so alike. I like to have set days to do my chores. I love the routine.

  16. Yes to them all Brenda!! I follow everything you listed except for the laundry…being a family of 5 I have so darn much!!

  17. Great post, Brenda! Lots and lots of good hints….it makes me feel wonderful when I pass the bedroom and see the made bed.

  18. Yes…to everything you have suggested. I am better about some things than others. Ha! With downsizing after 25 years in one house…I recommend purging and not filling up the attic and basement like I did.
    Out allergist suggested that I dust with a slightly damp cloth…and then rub good wood with a dry cloth. Also…I clean painted woodwork with white vinegar water solution. Wring cloth very dry.
    Good post. Sheila

  19. I wish I was more organized and better at keeping things up. It's a work in progress!

  20. Great tips. I keep decluttering. The house on the market so long, I don't know what used to go where.
    Love seeing your cute kitchen.

  21. Hi Brenda, I love this post and you are right on with every point. For me staying organized and keeping up on everything is the key. I even stand over the trash can as I go through the mail. LOL Can't stand clutter!
    Doesn't have to be perfect,but at least straight and organized.
    cm

  22. Try as I might, I just can't get neat. Get rid of something = need it the next day! But for people with better memories than mine, who can remember things they have to do, these are some swell rules. (My best fella was always complaining about his daughter leaving drinking glasses all over, when she lived with him awhile. I don't bother to mention that when he spends time here I'm always carrying HIS glasses to the kitchen.. LOL)

    Except for the rule about making the bed, I'm going to try again…….harder. I just heard on NPR that studies have been done and when we make our beds the next morning, we keep the dampness from our bodies inside the bed and the little critters that live all over the place will have a great breeding ground. "They" say that airing the bed during the day lets the fabrics dry out, and the desiccated little bugs are heaven-bound. But my grandmother taught me to leave the bed open to dry, but do it neatly so the covers just need pulling up at night. Anyone who goes into my bedroom has not business there, IMO! The little critters are the kind that people are allergic to, btw.
    Clutter being my middle name, I recently cleaned 2000 +letters out of my inbox. Shows you how bad I am!!But no sneezing in my bed…….!!!

  24. Those are all such great tips. I really like the one about when something new comes in something else goes out. I do that a lot because I don't live in a huge house and I don't want it too look crowded or cluttered.

  25. My husband use to ask me if its a want or a need when I bought something he didn't think we needed. I kept telling him that at our age everything is pretty much a want and that after 47 years of marriage he should know better than to ask me that question. LOL!

  26. #2 is me!! I cannot abide things in need of washing sitting in my sink or on the counter. It truly does make me crazy. I have to have a clean environment to cook in and everything has to be in it's place. These are all very helpful tips and I am purging more and more every day as I grow older. I already think of downsizing and don't want others making those decisions for me.

  27. I agree with all of these pointers! Clutter and messes make my mind crazy. I need things orderly…not perfect but orderly. Life just feels better that way. 🙂

  28. Good stuff. I need, desperately, to go through my cabinets and purge. We are getting ready to put our house on the market, and I don't want to move everything that I moved last time (plus what we have acquired while we have been here). I'm seriously considering purging it all and buying new.

  29. Excellent tips! I pinned it so I can refer to your tips for motivation. Thanks!

  30. #2 and #5 made me smile. My husband can never understand how he will have the whole kitchen out when he cooks and I just have the plates ready to serve the food. I get very controlling when I'm in the kitchen. My downfall, the coffee maker! I always forget!! Some great tips here Brenda. Have a wonderful week xx

  31. Gosh, I wish I could get my husband to go along with #7 and #8 ;o)
    Great ideas!

  32. Excellent post! Thanks for reminding me of 'something in, something out'. Used to follow this perfectly, but have gotten rather lax lately. Now, I have too much stuff!

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