We all have our dreaded household task. Our personal behemoth is vacuuming (followed closely by laundry and dish washing.) But as Mary Poppins pointed out, "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap! the job's a game," so we set out to find the snap in vacuuming...
- Music: Music can help any task go faster. For us, it's gotta be either danceable or singable. Cheesy power ballads, hip hop and dance remixes are all good. Currently on rotation: Mos Def's Quiet Dog, Endless Love, Sonny J's Can't Stop Moving (Mirwais remix), Gladys Knight and the Pips Midnight Train to Georgia and Justin Timberlake's SexyBack and yes, I take dance breaks.
- The right equipment: I prefer a stick vacuum to a canister. I find it easier to navigate, the canister's not always bumping into things and it takes up less room in the closet.
- Carpet deodorizers: I like to throw down something that I can vacuum up so I actually feel like I can see results. Plus they make my rugs smell better. Trader Joe's lavender sachets and baking soda are some of the things I use.
- Imagination: Whether you're using your light saber against Darth Vader or waging a war against summer flies, go for it. One friend thinks of vacuuming as a mini scavenger hunt.
- Time it: I put on a timer and race to finish in each room. This way I know that I'm only vacuuming for a finite time, not "forever".
- Give up the idea of perfect: Since I race to finish each room, I don't have time to get to every nook and cranny every time.
- Do it regularly: Putting it off just ups the feeling of dread.
- Think of it as time with yourself: We're not meditators of the sit and Om variety. We do out best thinking engaged in mindless tasks. Vacuuming gives us time with both our contemplative and our silly sides.
- Promise yourself a reward for finishing: sitting down and putting my feet up with a nice cup of tea, a few minutes with a new book, downloading new music off of ITunes are some of the ways I reward myself for getting the job done.
[image: gadl, from his flickr with a creative commons license]
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Comments (23)
Oh, no. Vacuuming is NOTHING compared to bathroom cleaning! (Still looking for the "element of fun" with little optimism.)
you can always attach a flowbee to the vacuum for even more fun
Dishes are my dreaded chore...only because I've somehow gotten my boyfriend to agree to clean the toilet every time it's due. Im taller and my counters are shorter than the average so it's a very (back-breakingly) awkward position that I have to hunch in to do the dishes.
Two cute bearded guys with nice "light sabers" make ANY task more pleasant.
But seriously, the ONE chore I don't mind is vacuuming. I could go until the motor burns out.
And on behalf of your neighbors, if "Music" is a vacuuming necessity, use headphones.
I hate vacuuming. It's improved a lot since I traded in the canister vacuum for an upright one (too much bumping into things, as was stated). But it's still a pain in a teeny apartment with little room for navigation. Particularly a teeny apartment with miniscule two story areas connected by a flight of stairs. I tend to use the Swiffer Clicker a lot, just to avoid hauling out the vacuum. Doesn't freak out the cat as much either.
As for the bathroom, I've never minded it that much. Even with a less than accurate boyfriend. Right, right. I know you guys aren't trying to miss on purpose, but it's not fun cleaning it up particularly when it's not yours. But I don't tackle it all at once. I keep a hand sweeper (teeny bathroom) and dustbin behind the toilet and just try to give it a sweep every day. Clean the floors with actual cleaner on its own day. Sink/mirror/cabinet takes little time and gets its own day. Toilet gets its own day. Shower gets its own day (and I do that right before getting in the shower; easier to clean when you don't have to worry about getting all wet and sudsy since you'll be showering off in seconds); just be sure to rinse it all down again last thing as you're finishing up. Helps a lot if you have a shower head with the hose thingee (which I do). May not be more fun, but you get several little things to do which don't take a lot of time on their own. I also keep those Lysol wetnap things around for quick "OMIGOD, I didn't expect company" moments. They can help you clean quickly in a pinch.
I too break the bathroom items into days (and clean the shower right before taking one) but what really helps is wiping the sink/counter daily while I rinse with mouthwash. The only part about vacuuming I mind is emptying the canister because I can't figure out a way to do it that doesn't create a dust cloud. When it's warmer out, I do it on the balcony.
Like the geek vacuuming pic. That said, my personal bane is laundry, because I have to haul it to a laundromat. I always feel like a bag lady.
I hate hate hate vacuuming! Ever since I got my sister's Roomba my life is way happier, though it still freaks me out when it hits my closed, hollow doors and I'm in another room. I'd take bathroom chores over it any day. I actually like laundry, it's zen-like to me and feels a lot more accomplished than vacuuming for some reason.
Hmmm...this is an interesting post. Switching back and forth between first person (I) and the royal "we?" What could this mean?
iRobot Roomba. That's the only fun element to vacuuming. Buy the cheapest one, be prepared to replace it in a year. But consider all that time you had to do other things.
patrick said it best.
I love vacuuming! But only when I have a good, working vacuum. My little Kone vacuum was a dream and perfect for my itty bitty apartment... but then it started to only hold a charge for about 2 minutes, and although I'm quick, that is not enough time vacuum the 280 sq feet of my apartment. So as of now, vacuum is a huge pain... until I find another perfect little vacuum (preferably a compact canister that plugs into the wall).
"Our personal behemoth"...royal "we" aside, I don't think that means what "we" think it means.
i used to walk around my room snapping for hours, hoping my room would magically clean itself...thank you mary poppins
I agree w/ Patrick, cute bearded guy(s) would help with any chore, not matter how unpleasant ;)
I thought this post was going to be about how to make your vacuum look like a light saber. Aw, man!
A corollary to #1: Podcasts, especially if you can stream them to your stereo, are an awesome cleaning motivator. Doesn't work for vacuuming unless you wear headphones, though.
And since I NEED to clean tonight, I wonder if there's a new episode of Will and Iris...
It's not like taking the MCATS hung over or scraping gum off of the sidewalk. It's vacuuming and it takes a few minutes.
Dang... I thought you were going to tell me where I could buy a light saber attachment for my Hoover. With two Star Wars fans in the house, I'd never have to vacuum again!
I like vacuuming too. I get a weird kick out of seeing all the dog fur I've picked up when I empty the canister.
If you come up with a Mary Poppins idea for dishes, let me know!
Are these guys identical twins or clones?
I used to hate vacuuming until I moved into a place with no carpets.
Turns out I just hate cleaning floors period. I feel like I'm always sweeping and/or mopping! I easily sweep the floor once a day, but I'd never dream of vacuuming daily.
@wally3 -- the author of the post confused "behemoth" (a very large thing) with "bete noir" (which I can't spell properly because I can't make the accents, and which means "my personal demon", although it translates word-for-word to "black beast".)