Since I'm not very good at sitting still, I often take care of small household chores, some of which I might otherwise not find the time for, while I'm on the phone. Mindless tasks get taken care of quickly while I'm otherwise engaged. By the time the call's finished, my home has gotten a little extra TLC.
While I usually talk on a landline, which I can easily cradle in my neck, smart phone users might want to use headphones and a clip or a deep pocket for tasks that require two hands. Most of these tasks, many of which are things most of us may put off or even neglect when things get busy, are relatively quiet and mindless ones which don't require a lot of thought and don't make a lot of noise!
- Dry mop the floor: A Swiffer type mop (I actually use cloth rags) makes grabbing dust bunnies, which tend to hang out around electronics, painless.
- Make the bed: Pull up a duvet and shake the pillows fluffy.
- Tidy a drawer: Organize t-shirts and pull the little used ones to donate.
- Fold laundry: A task I hate goes quickly.
- Clean the toilet bowl (leave the flushing til after the conversation's finished)
- Wipe down the sink: Use a magic eraser and then wipe it out with a towel.
- Clean make-up and hair brushes: Soak them in a very diluted shampoo.
- Rearrange the medicine cabinet: Get rid of old medicine, put little used items in a box in the cupboard.
- Cull old magazines and newspapers: gather up yesterday's news for the recycling pile.
- Dust surfaces: a feather duster is a fun way to shine up surfaces.
- Clean doorknobs and light switchplates: a spritz of window cleaner shines them up and keeps germs from spreading.
- Wipe down the computer monitor and keyboard
- Clean out the refrigerator: get rid of "sciene projects", wipe down the shelves with vanilla, and use tired veggies and bits of leftover meat and pasta to make fridge soup.
- Merchandise the closet: arrange clothing by type and then by color
- Plump the sofa pillows: and turn them over if possible
- Clear off the coffee table: tidy magazines and gather up the remotes.
- Return things to their place
(Image: Bradley Peters, used with the permission of the photograher)
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This is great and all...but her dress is way better.
I do this all the time. I really don't like talking on the phone but living far from most of our friends and family I have to be on the phone a lot. I often tidy or clean while talking.
Great list. I will admit, the term "fridge soup" grosses me out. Even though my family makes it, we don't call it that.
Good ideas. That house in the picture makes me shudder! It's everything I am afraid of in my house hunting. That linoleum...that disease carpet...the paneling! AGH!
I read that as "fridge soap" and "fridge soup" isn't any less gross sounding... Really awesome list though, gonna have to post on my fridge so I remember to do some cleaning next time I'm on the phone. I'm a big pacer while talking, and this is so much more productive.
I was surprised how many of these things I do already while on either bluetooth or a headset.
Now am I slacking to just talk on the phone -- and only talk on the phone -- without mega multi-tasking....? Just reading the list wore me out. That photo is 70's delightful, btw; recalling those kitchen wall phones with too-short cords!
I'm with you SKATERJO!
I only multi-task while on the phone @ work. At home, I'd rather pay attention to my friend/family member instead. Only breaking the call to make coffee.
Depending on who I'm talking with, sometimes I NEED to do chores at the same time, just to keep my sanity. I like to do my steam-mopping while chatting. Other people, I'll go into a dark room, turn off all distractions and give them my entire attention.
What a fantastic image. In our world of Facebook, cell phones and blue tooth (even cordless phones have been around since the 80's, I think) I had forgotten completely how I used to try and make the phone cord stretch across the whole house. We had that same jelly-bean-shaped phone in eggshell, and that cord nearly had the curl pulled out of it. I'd get on the phone after school and stay on it until bedtime. Three-way calls, call waiting, party line - that was MY social network.
Ha! I purposely ring my mother when I need to houseclean. I am more motivated, do more and do it fast when I am on the phone! I can talk to her for half an hour or more and get so much done! otherwise I spend too much time on the computer ignoring it all... lol
Doing other things why you are talking to someone whether for business or for pleasure is disrespectful to that person. If you are taking the time to engage someone in conversation, please prioritize them above mopping the floor.
My husband told me off the last time I was talking to him on the phone and cleaning too! But I do this quite a bit!
Slackerjo, it's respectless to call other people when you are bored and kill their valuable time. When those people call me I don't feel guilty in any way to do household chores.
An old woman in the neighbourhood whom I visit twice a week uses to call me as soon as I enter my flat after work. She starts to talk and ends 40 -60 minutes later. All my friends and family call it a waste of time to phone with the woman but I kill two birds with one stone: I have done my household chores and started preparing dinner and meanwhile I made a lonely woman happy.
It's a matter of differentiation.
I hope others do not find this disrespectful, but, really, I like to talk and do chores simultaneously and find no problem listening to the other person and completing my tasks. As someone who lives alone in a city with no friends or family anymore, it is a real lifesaver for me. I like having a friend there with you while you do your chores - just like having a friend over to help move or paint or whatever is energizing and makes it more enjoyable.
I always do this as one phone call with my mom can usually last for about 2-3 hours. I value the call, but 2-3 hours is a long time to just sit and do nothing. I also do my dishes and prep supper along with the other things listed, but I can do anything that's mindless without feeling like I haven't been paying attention to the phone call (and I usually tell her what I'm doing anyway). Aren't women the ultimate multi-taskers? ;)
I know people are busy and like to multitask but I actually hate it when people do this to me. My best friend, who is always doing a million things at once and is always super busy, is constantly organizing, cleaning, typing or doing something while we're on the phone. It makes me feel like I have to hurry up with my problem/issue/story because she's clearly very, very busy. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking ten minutes and just listen, paying full attention, to the person you're talking to. It might be inconvenient to you but it makes a world of difference to that person.
I always pace when I'm on the phone, but even doing menial tasks would take my attention away from the phone call, and I would feel rude. I agree with slackerjo. Someone else is taking time out of their day to speak with you - you should respect their time.
I love your suggestions, I will send them to my sister who also likes to keep busy when talking to me on the phone, except that she has the bad habit of picking up the crumbs under the dining room table with a small vacuum cleaner and it sounds like a tsunami in my fragile ears.
Thanks again,
decogirlmontreal.com
that home in the pic needs a MAJOR overhaul! yikes! woodpaneling, formica, HOLY CHRIST ON A CRACKER!
I swear I'm more</> productive at home tasks when I'm on the phone than when I'm not.
I recently decided to reorganize the closet while talking to my mom. After an hour, I finally hung up and saw the damaged I'd managed to inflict. I'd successful pulled everything out (unintentionally) and it took me a full week or so to finish. I felt like I was playing Tetris in the closet!
While it was a bit overwhelming at first, it's a huge relief now that our one and only closet/storage area is incredibly well-organized! We were also able to donate another big batch of items that were lurking around in there. Living in a loft has it's challenges, but it's helped me become more aware of our belongings and finding creative ways to stow things.
Is that a landline phone? With a cord?? Lol. And this house is a big brown nightmare! But good list! My house would be spotless if I did anything more than pace around while on the phone. Why do people do that anyway?
Reni, this totally made me smile. :)
An old woman in the neighbourhood whom I visit twice a week uses to call me as soon as I enter my flat after work. She starts to talk and ends 40 -60 minutes later. All my friends and family call it a waste of time to phone with the woman but I kill two birds with one stone: I have done my household chores and started preparing dinner and meanwhile I made a lonely woman happy.
It's a matter of differentiation.
I still have a landline with cord - it gives me an excuse not to do stuff while I'm talking on the phone.
I just got off a 2-hour call during which I cleaned out my fridge, picked up and put away all lost and random objects in the apartment, and packaged up the trash and recycling (which I took down the moment I hung up).
I'm feeling pretty darn good right now!
Great list! I feel very self-satisfied to read that I do all of those things (esp. when on the phone with my lovely but long-winded mother).
But that aside, that photograph is TREMENDOUS. Thank you for linking to the artist's site, it was great to be able to check out the rest of his amazing work. I appreciate that you used a real "art" photo instead of a stock image or something from Flickr (not that Flickr doesn't have real "art" photos, just that linking from there is more de rigueur).
I'm with Kiana on this one. I have a friend who always cleans the kitchen while talking on the phone, and it drives me nuts. Even if I couldn't hear the pots and pans banging in the background, I would know anyway because it's obvious she's only ever half paying attention to the conversation. I'd much rather have a shorter conversation with someone who was giving the call their full attention.
I only do things that don't generate noise. I'd never wash pots and pans. And I only multi-task if it's a telephone "chat". If it is a serious call, I sit down.
I do this all the time! At least 2 or 3 times every day. It makes cleaning sinks, toilets, and mopping floors go by faster.
I live across the country from everyone I know outside of my fiance, I also have a lot of time on my hands, so I end up talking on the phone quite a bit. I spend about 6 hours on the phone a week, and I do some wiping down of counter tops and little tasks like putting away things, but if it takes me away form the conversation, I will stop. Other than that I have a tendency to pace around, but I feel like it helps keep me in the conversation better. The people who I communicate with, often times, have a lot busier lives than I do, so I try and be as respectful of them as possible.
Every Catholic family had that exact Jesus painting.... ours was at the top of our stairs.
Disrespectful how, exactly, SlackerJo? I don't really see cleaning while on the phone as any different than, say, knitting at a stitch n' bitch or quilting at a quilting circle. Keeping my hands busy doesn't do a thing to my ability to carry on a conversation (unless I'm writing a letter, chatting on the internet or something else that requires the language centers of my brain.) I chat on the phone with my folks every night while I make dinner and have never heard a complaint from them. Of course, they're usually doing dishes.
I pace or tidy when I'm on the phone. The last time I was on the phone with my best friend, it was about a half an hour, and my living room ended up clean. The last time I was on my sister for about an hour and a half, I clocked about three miles consistently pacing around my mom's house.
It's amazing what you can get done when you're not texting.