Do you have any household chores that you truly look forward to doing? Something you clean regularly, even if it isn’t all the dirty to begin with? Something you don’t even let your kids do because you actually enjoy doing it?
Or maybe I’m the only one!?!?!
It’s very common to hear about “least favorite chores” or “dreaded chores” — often accompanied by various remedies or tips to reduce the time and effort it takes to complete those chores.
In my experience, it’s not nearly as common to share a FAVORITE household chore… but that’s what I’m doing today!!
As someone who generally doesn’t mind cleaning my house, I do still have a few “least favorite chores” — ahem, the dishwasher!
However, I also have one household chore that is actually something I enjoy doing — and not just because it results in a cleaner home.
My favorite household chore = sweeping!
Under the table, in the mudroom, in the garage, on the porch, in the bathrooms, out on the driveway — it doesn’t matter WHERE, I simply enjoy AND look forward to sweeping various areas in and around our home every day.
So why do I enjoy sweeping so much?
As I was sweeping last week, I realized how much I truly enjoy this monotonous (and very necessary) household chore. The more I thought about it, I can totally understand why sweeping is so enjoyable for me, my introverted personality, and my desire for a clean home with minimal effort.
Sweeping requires no smelly chemicals or expensive gadgets — just me, my broom, and maybe a dust pan. Nothing to buy, nothing to make, nothing to keep on-hand, nothing to smell up the house.
Sweeping doesn’t require massive amounts of physical or mental energy to do a fairly good job — I can sweep when I’m tired, when my back is sore, when I have a billion other things on my mind, and even when I’m wearing a baby.
Sweeping is not messy or germy — I don’t need to wear gloves, I don’t need to keep the kids away, I don’t need to wash or sanitize myself or the area when I’m finished. I just sweep and move on.
Sweeping can use as much or as little time as I want to devote to it — sometimes it’s just a quick sweep of the kitchen and dining room after a messy meal, other times it’s lengthy periods of time spent meticulously sweeping every last helicopter off our front porch or out of our garage (I’ve been known to sweep the garage several times a week!)
Sweeping is something I can do in complete silence — usually while children are sleeping, playing nicely in another room, or running around outside.
Sweeping is very cathartic — when I’m feeling stressed, when I’m too tired to tackle the rest of my to-do list, when I need to process various thoughts or ideas, when I’m excited about something but can’t take action yet, sweeping keeps my hands “busy” while my mind is free to wander.
Of course, the end results of clean floors and less dirt tracked through my home are “added bonuses” too!
I’ve tried stick vacuums…
I’ve tried dust busters…
I’ve tried vacuums with fancy hard floor attachments…
These tools are all fantastic; however I ALWAYS revert back to a simple broom and dust pan!
My Favorite Sweeping “Tools”:
- Rough surface push broom for the garage
- Metal dust pan for the garage
- Full Circle dust pan and hand broom for the kitchen
- Casabella Wide Angle broom for the kitchen
- Heavy Duty Corn Broom for the porches and decks
- Swiffer sweeper for wood floors
- Reusable sweeper pads (to use with the Swiffer)
There may come a point in my life when I buy a fancier tool to aid in my sweeping efforts… and I might even “let” my children help with this chore eventually!
But for now, I will continue to sweep every day (sometimes multiple times a day) — enjoying the quiet thinking time while my arms monotonously perform this simple task.
What is YOUR favorite household chore?
Dawn says
I love sweeping too. I can do it while I’m on the phone, on hold, etc. If you need a new broom, I have one very similar to this one from Harper Brush, made in Iowa and very fine. I have seen them at farm and home type stores like Tractor Supply, I got mine at an Amish grocery store. It’s held up for 10-11 years I’ve had it, like new. Upright Broom 12″ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8RW4ST/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-ippDbP8D2ZD3.
Andrea says
Thanks Dawn — I’ve put that broom on my Amazon list of potential things I’m interested in buying! 🙂
Natalia says
My favorite – by far – is folding the laundry (and putting it away). Relaxing and satisfying. I don’t mind ironing once I get started, but I find myself putting it off “until I have more time”.
Your post really made me sweep and sweep and keep on sweeping everywhere after I read it, yesterday. And this morning, when I read the comments, I thought it would be fun to invite all your readers to my house for a “working bee party”. However, since no one mentioned “cooking” yet, I’ll wait a little bit longer 🙂
Mariele says
Interesting! I despise sweeping and mopping. I adore vacuuming. It’s quick, easy, you can do as much or as little as you want, the sound is the sound of “clean”, the tracks the vacuum leaves in the carpet instantly make the home look loved… I just love vacuuming! I always like to go over everything I can when I’ve got the vacuum out… lampshades, upholstery, sometimes even flat surfaces as a quick way to dust, haha. Because of this, it is frustrating to me that kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways aren’t carpeted. 😉 I will always insist on full carpeting throughout a place (except for the aforementioned spots, of course… I have to get by with washable rugs in there)!
Lee Cockrum says
It’s funny how people are so different!! I hate carpet! We do use rugs, but inexpensive ones, so if they get ruined by our pets, it is not a huge loss.
Jennifer says
I like doing dishes and laundry. I’m a water person, so I guess dishes follow suit. No dishwasher, so good thing I don’t hate it. Laundry is relaxing and easy, and I adore my son’s little clothes. When we owned a house I LOVED mowing. It was my personal karaoke session! Haha! No mowing living on a sailboat, but I now love scrubbing the decks. Water! Sun! Mental release just like sweeping.
Rebecca M Tabb says
Andrea why do you like the swifter so much for wood floors instead of a broom? We just moved to a new house with LARGE areas of hardwood and I used a regular angled broom to sweep all the hardwood today and it about killed me. No way I’ll have time to do that regularly so I’m looking for way to make it more efficient.
Can you also talk about what you do for mopping hard wood? I tried my moms Norwex mop today and it’s good but so expensive. Would love a cheaper option and I’m hesitant to use chemical cleaners on our beautiful wood floors.
Thanks!
Becky says
Mine is ironing…..I know, I know, nobody irons anymore. I’m showing my age. I find there are very few things in my life where I can start with a jumbled pile and end with a row of crisp and orderly. I know it’s a lot to attribute to ironing, but it seems symbolic for bringing order out of chaos–especially at times in my life that I can’t “make” things orderly
Andrea says
This is the same as my grandma — she just LOOOOOOOVE to iron!
Ironically, I never iron — literally never!
Dave does all he ironing, which I’m thankful for!
Margaret says
Several favorites, actually. I love hanging out laundry–I’m always a bit disappointed when the weather’s bad and I have to use the dryer. I like folding and putting away, too–a good thing, because part of my job is doing patients’ laundry, so I’m doing it for 16 people every night. Yes, I’m fast:) I like weeding, but hate mowing, and I have to do it before work tonight. Probably my all-time favorite is clearing out and reorganizing; I’m sure that’s why I hang out on blogs like this one!
No, not true. My favoritest favorite of all is grooming my dogs. Brushing is very Zen. I can brush for hours and not even be aware that time is passing. I keep a grooming table set up in my dog room, with all of my equipment organized to a fare-thee-well.
Andrea says
well dog grooming is not on my list since we don’t have a dog, but I do love brushing Nora’s hair — and she seems to really love it when I brush for extended periods of time while she reads or watches a show on Netfliex.
Rabecka says
I like mowing quite a bit but my favorite task is watering everything. We have an irrigation system but it doesn’t get quite everything and I have alot of pots around the yard. It takes me over an hour but I really love having the time to admire all of my plants and see who’s blooming! Inside, my favorite is the laundry. Love the sound of the washer/dryer running.
Andrea says
I LOVE hand-watering plants and pots… but I don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like because I always have other things that need my time.
Gloria says
I love to vacuum. 7 days a week.
It’s therapeutic and makes me want to continue cleaning. I love to clean.
Andrea says
wow — good for you! I try to vacuum 2 times each week, but my kids don’t like the noise so it’s tricky finding a time to vacuum (especially in the summer when they are all home!)
Erin says
Love this post. I love mopping or swiffering and weeding. I live in the desert so our landscaping has a lot of rock beds where weeds sneak through. I tell the kids in the spring that they must pull 5 weeds before we go inside.
Andrea says
I honestly don’t mind weeding either — it’s so satisfying when you know you got all the roots!
Pam says
Mine is laundry – everything about it is so relaxing for me. I was actually sad when my daughter turned 14 and I decided it was past time to teach her how to do her laundry!
Andrea says
haha — well your daughters future room mates and/or future spouse will thank you for teaching her how to do the laundry!
Meghan says
I enjoy sweeping, the toilet brush aspect of toilet cleaning, the shining the glass cook top, and cleaning our big sliding door. The chore I love the most is weeding my flower beds. Most evenings I go alone and pull the few weeds, grasses that have popped up. It’s very peaceful and I can enjoy the beauty of the flowers. Also, this is kind of morbid, but I’ve battled Japanese beetles for years with sprays and powders with limited success. I recently read the best thing to do is hand pick them off and put them in a cup of soapy water. It’s been really effective in keeping damage to a minimum. It’s pretty satisfying too! Lol
Andrea says
I’ve never had the patience for the Japanese beetle trick (although I’ve heard it works, so glad to know it works for you too!)
Ashley says
I love the end result of sweeping! Clean floors are my happy place. I don’t love the act of sweeping though. Give me a basket of laundry to fold though, and I’m pretty happy! (Just don’t make me put it away…. 😉 )
Andrea says
yes, I LOVE clean floors!
Ann says
MOWING THE LAWN!
Ashley says
I actually enjoy this too!
Kristi says
This is my favorite too! It’s my thinking time.
Andrea says
Dave really enjoys this too. I told him that once all the kids are in school, I might have to take it over! haha!
Charlene Uchtman says
I think sweeping is an active persons equivalent to rocking in a rocker maybe. I like it too. I also like any chore that smells clean when I am done.
Andrea says
haha — you’re probably right!
Kate says
I love vacuuming. I think I’d like sweeping more but I feel like itd less effective. But vacuuming automatically allows makes a room look tidier. It’s my quick go to for a space if it feels unkept
Andrea says
my kids have always hated the noise of the vacuum (especially as babies) and since we have so many hard floors, I’ve just gotten into the habit of sweeping whenever I can versus vacuuming. That said, I do love me some nice vacuum lines! 🙂
Kate says
We do this too and super helpful and quick. Just quite messy mid process. 🙂
Kate says
This was meant to comment on the leaf blower comment
Andrea says
yes, we’ve done the leaf blower method too and it IS fairly dusty — but everything looks nice in the end!
Calliope says
My most favorite household chore is laundry from start to finish! Even ironing that in summer I do once a week.
As for sweeping, It happens A LOT here since windows are open almost year round and what made it tons easier was that I got the dustpan with the long handheld stick so I don‘t have to bend anymore!
Annette Silveira says
I need a new broom and I’m thinking I’ll get one with the long-handled dustpan. Why bend over when I don’t have to?
Andrea says
I have nowhere to store the dustpan with the long handle — otherwise I’d also get one of those!
Andrea says
I realize the sweeping might get old… but it sure does sound lovely to have windows open all year long!
Shelley says
So here’s just a quick tip that might not apply to you as much as it may help others. Use a leaf blower to blow out your garage! It was my kids job to clean the garage every Wednesday which they then finished up by sweeping it out. I could hear the leaf blower running one time and I opened the door to ask them what in the world… It was the cleanest garage ever! It had blown dust off the shelving as well as almost everything off the floor! Never gone back❤️
Rabecka says
That’s hilarious!! I love it.
Andrea says
you know — dave does this fairly regularly too. It’s a big mess while he’s blowing, but then it looks fantastic once he’s finished. We also go crazy sometimes and powerwash our garage floors after blowing them! They shine like new!