Running a household is a damn time-consuming task (not to mention, unpaid, thankless and with very trivial rewards)! I’m not a home-maker per se, but I try. There was a time when I used to cook three meals a day for 6 adults. Now I’ve restricted myself to just the morning/lunch fare for 6 adults and 2 kids. The rest is handled by the cook. There was a time when I used to sweep the house , but now the maid does it. There was a time when I washed the dishes everyday because the maid quit right after I came to my in-law’s place (she demanded extra charges, just for me 😐 ). Now the new maid washes them.
Suffice to say, life is much easier than before ,in terms of household work. In all other respects (GMIL’s illness, the twins, job, etc) life is pretty much hectic the way it was before. I dread to think how I would have managed, had we not kept a cook and maid *shudder*
But this post isn’t about all that. This post is about the tasks, that in spite of me doing about a million times till date, I have not been able to master 😦 . Alas, for all the lessons learnt and improvement points charted out, I fail in them each and every time 😦
Some of the regular household challenges I fail every time are :-
- After rolling out a million chapatis till date, I’m ashamed to say that rolling a triangular shaped (folded dough) into a circular chapati is just not my cup of tea ! Beat that!! The MIL and my mom roll out perfectly round rotis, in spite of the initial triangular fold. But I fail! My chapati will always have a pointed end poking out 😦 *sob* All those years in the kitchen wasted 😦
- And while we are in the kitchen, I must say that the exhaust fan and me are NOT the best of friends for a simple reason that it NEVER ‘clicks’ me to switch it on 😐 . So the whole house can go on a coughing fit when I cook a particularly spicy veggy, heck even I have to blow the smoke away from my face and wipe my tears as I stir the ladle, and yet, the fan sits there mutely, its blades looking on imploringly while I completely forget it exists!! (and EVERY TIME, the BF stalks in fuming, switches it on with a loud click and stalks off after glaring at me hard enough!)
- Folding laundry! The MOST difficult/irritating task in this world! Sure I do it, but with very little pleasure and even lesser finesse! It is specially unnerving when I have to fold itty-bitty inner-wear of the twins which barely covers my palm! I’m just waiting for the twins to grow old enough to start folding their own stuff!
- I cannot look into a toilet bowl while washing it 😐 Go figure! I turn my head to one side while I do the scrubbing on instinct. I would like to blame it on all the hollywood movies which showed creepy-crawlies flying out of the toilet bowl. Phobia? You bet!
- Picking up stuff after the children! Now this is a relatively new work. When I was pregnant and the spine was bent till my head touched the back of my knees, I never knew that for the rest of my lifetime, I would spend with my spine bent , my head touching the front of my knees, picking up the zillion tiny things the twins throw all over the house. And just when I’m done with that last piece of lego and plunk myself on the sofa, the super brats start their ‘game’ all over again! The worst part? When I throw caution to the wind and say,”what the heck?! Am not picking up stuff anymore” and in walk guests, take a look at the shabby house and then turn to look at me. Oh lord, open up the floors and swallow me whole!! Pleeeease!!
disclaimer : As God is my witness, I bear no traces of guilt for the lack of talent in handling these tasks. I’ll do it, but I’ll continue doing it my way 😉
These are just the few challenges I face on a daily basis. Do you have any such regular household work that gets your goat? Is there anything that you do but do it awfully?
Please do share 🙂
Edited to add : The verdict is out. Folding laundry ranks way up there in the list of household challenges! Enterprising people can look into the lucrative business perspective of this hated job 😀
In random order
1. make the twins fold their clothes..they are 2.5 na? make it a fun task and take pictures they will enjoy it..or make them compete..even if they are a bit untidy..they will learn
2. Exhausts work only when the husbands walk in 😉
3. No one below the age of 50 can roll round rotis from triangle shapes..we all like pointed rotis..like RD says..kya farak padta hai…taste toh wohi hai na
4. make the kiddos pick up their stuff…and otherwise just let it lie..if anyone looks at you accusingly tell BF in a loving tone..arey aapko bola tha na..woh baacho ke toys hai yahan pe 🙂
LOL!!!
RM, your suggestions totally ROCK 😀 !!
Specially point number 4 😉
Am so itching to use that line on the BF next time 😀
R’s mom you rock lady 🙂 Making mental notes for my future 😉
He he!!
Same here 🙂
I have my list as well:
* I don’t like to make chapati dough..I hate it…so SS does it..he has done it from day 1 🙂
* I don’t like folding laundry but still do it..else they will never get folded 😦
* I have recently learned how to wash clothes properly earlier my motto used to be “more detergent=more foaming power=more cleaniness”. But I was wrong, those stains never came out that way… Earlier only 1-2 clothes used to have stain so wasn’t a big deal…But after munchkin, I had to find a solution since all her clothes used to have food stains…Luckily I learned how to treat stains and do laundry…. 🙂
I dont like making the dough myself, but i’m good at it 😉
Thanks for sharing your list 😀
oh let me top my list…
I hate making tea or coffee and they are always awful 😀
LOL!!
This is really topping the list!
oho! I totally agree with running the house – Now I wonder how Moms managed in joint families – Just like you are doing now.
Yeh maids ki toh har zagah yahi problem hai – I dont have a maid for 2 weeks now and guess what – I HATE folding clothes too and everytime someone comes home – no matter how many times I clean it – there will be stuff all over the floor – can you imagine – a spoon from the kitchen, a bangle/kajal pencil from the bedroom, a small car or his own chaddi sometimes! Eesh! These days I dread anyone coming home…
hey!! Your home description sounds exactly like mine 🙂
I’m relieved 😉
I hate folding clothes too! Sigh, but I try doing it some of the time and at other times the L & M does it 😀
Doesn’t mater what shape the chapati is. Just enjoy eating it 🙂
I don’t mind picking up after the no-longer kids but the-all-grown-up Martians. But on one condition. I want them all to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and not return till I am done. So on holidays my house is a mess because I won’t budge. Sigh and guests do come when your house is in the worst condition. I like R’ Mom’s suggestion though. Hehehe…
LOL!!
I’d LOVE to throw the twins out too….just waiting for them to be old enough to find their way back home 😉
totally agree with rotis and folding laundry! in my defence, i learnt how to make rotis about 3-4 months back, and the maid does the folding laundry job YIPEEEEEEEE 😀
Hehe, good for you 🙂
I’ve just recently asked the twin’s nanny to do the much needed folding 😀
Folding clothes is much easier when you are folding it off of the line instead of dumping them first and then folding IMHO
I don’t fold clothes, I dump them neatly in the closets and lock the closets 🙂
A technique which I wholly approve of 😐
I’m with you on folding clothes and picking up toys. How I HATE the two. and these are the two things that make the house look like ahurricane ripped through.
Got a maid for both but she’s no good at picking up toys.
So now I’ve got a big basket. I make the kids pick up everything and dump it in the basket. I clean it out once a week. Takes just about over half hour and I’m saved the daily fight.
Ditto for clothes.. two baskets.. one for ironing one for washing. I get to them once a day or once in two days. Works for me.
Hmmm…the basket idea seems good (for the toys at least)
For clothes, givent he number of people in my house, we’d run short of baskets 😀
How about one/two of those foldable baskets in each bedroom? Or just some hooks on the rear side of each bedroom door to hang clothes on? Given the mess in my house even with only the two of us, I have no right to comment, but throwing in ideas is free, innit? 😉
The hooks, me-heartie, are ALL used up 😦
In fact, we’re falling short of hooks. The BF refuses to drill anymore holes in the wall!
The baskets are a good idea….but givent he twins tendency to upturn stuff, I think I’ll just have more tidying up to do 😦
Thanks for the ideas though. Once the two-per brats are older, i’ll think about them baskets 🙂
I love folding laundry and rolling chapatis-to the t!! I’m really good at these and hence I love them 😉 😉
not yet reached a stage where I’ll have to pick up things after Chirpy..so sigh of relief there 🙂
but there are chores like jhadu and pocha which I can’t do at all..and yes the cleaning of toilets/baths…no way..I puke even with the thought of me doing it!
But on the other hand along with laundry folding,I love washing utensils..so whenever the maid is on leave I’m the one taking full charge of the sink 🙂
Where art thou feet, oh-holy-woman-of-household-tasks!! Pray tell !!
You have me flummoxed at the washing/scrubbing utensils and folding laundry
😐
hahaha it’s just the preference for a piece of chore..otherwise I’m lazy bum that ways 😉
LOL!!
Honest confession??!
😀
yekdum honest bawa !!! 😉
😀