Covid Awareness

Chores in Corona

Stone- paper-scissors

Yes! You’re doing the mopping today!

A familiar scene in many a household, especially in India where a clean house is the number one priority. The number of videos storming social media platforms about household chores is no joke. From Katrina Kaif teaching us how to wash dishes to Marie Kondo sharing her wisdom on housekeeping, household chores are all the rage now.

During this time, people have realized how important, if not back-breaking, and time consuming household chores are. Remembering to switch off the fan while working on household chores, smiling inwardly at the frustration we used to experience when the house help used to do the same. Through trial and error, learning how much the mopping cloth has to be squeezed. Painstakingly dusting every decoration piece we’ve set out, wondering why humans need so many objects to make a place livable. Talking to dishes while they’re soaked in water, promising ourselves never to burn anything in the kadhai. Learning how to cook everyday vegetables and mastering the round chapatti.

This lockdown has allowed us to painstakingly experience the toll of daily chores and take the kind of effort that goes into doing them every single day. The renewed love and affection for domestic help can only be explained by understanding the points above.

We’ve also learnt, even thought it was the hard way, that these chores are to be carried out on a daily basis. Skip broom-ing the house for one day and you wake up with your feet in a dusty mess. Don’t chop vegetables for one day and you’ll find yourself eating cup noodles for the next three meals. Daily chores give tough love but at the end of the day, it what is required.

Some of us have learnt to enjoy these chores. You hear of families that water the garden and weed the plants together. But at the same time, you hear stories of washing machines breaking down because the siblings couldn’t decide who’s turn it was.

To do away with the boredom one may feel sometimes while carrying out chores, here are a few fun exercises to keep in mind:

Make a routine

This is much easier to establish when you’re living with others  than when you’re living alone but once it is, the ball is set to roll. Keep a fixed time, say after the morning meetings and tasks are over, to take care of the cleaning. Washing dishes can be a twice-a-day activity, so you can use and dirty the dishes accordingly. Chopping and cooking can be an evening time activity, which everyone can add to. Having a set routine and following it through will allow the house to maintain its shape and will also give the inmates, the sense of peace and satisfaction a clean house gives.

Incorporate games and enjoy the process

Incorporating games and competitions make the chores less monotonous and allow you to have some fun when you’re at it. Become a policeman who catches dirty spots and punishes them by giving them a good washing or pretend to be Sanjeev Kapoor and host your personal cooking show. For the children, you could organize competitions such as - who folds their clothes and puts them in the cupboard the fastest or who can pick up the most number of leaves in the garden? This gives the thrill and joy of healthy competition while getting the work done as well.

Enjoy

Finishing daily chores simply to lift a burden off your shoulders is not the best way to tackle tasks that you have to do every day. Enjoying the process and making the most of it is the best way of moving forward.

Household chores have always been an integral part of all our lives. The lockdown has simply given us the chance to experience its rigors to understand the effort that goes behind.