Well, I am still riding the unemployment train and starting to realize that I need to take more action to fill my day. That means that I need to step up the items on my “To Do:” list and come up with weekly chores around the house to at least make my living environment better. Therefore, today’s topic is “Chores.”
Thanks this week go to ACW, Sparky, Lsig, Dr B-Dawg, Belsum, John P, Atmikha, and Wifey. I have collected the similar questions into single repetitive questions.
On to the Questions:
1. Does Little Man have any chores? Any regularly scheduled ones? Is Little Man onto the fact that chores aren't fun and requires an allowance for his perfomance of the chores? List of Little Man Chores:...
Little Man does have some things that could be defined as chores. They involve cleaning up after himself, mostly. So far we are using an achievement based system that rewards him with Go! Diego! Go! Wii games and root beer. He has to keep his train table clean and the trains and track off the floor in the living room and dining room. He needs to regularly “clean” his room (pick up the train tracks in there as well) .
2. Is the house cleaner now, than a year ago? Is the house as clean as you want it? Is the house more clean, laundry caught up and woodpile stocked with freshly chopped wood these days?
We have an almost nine month old in the house right now, so the house is in an absolute shambles. This place is no where near as clean as Wifey or I would like it to be, and the amounts of laundry that needs to be done is a bit staggering much like the amount of clothes that need to be put away.
3. Whole house cleaning or just a room at any one time?
I am a room by room cleaner. Especially since the whole house is such a sty at the moment. The most we can get clean is one or two rooms at a time.
4. Do you employ Little Man to get into those hard-to-reach places?
No, but that is a great idea, and he seems to want to be more and more helpful…
5. What's your forte - dusting, vacuuming, dishes?
I am good at most things, but I really got pretty good at washing dishes in the apartment years of our marriage.
6a. I despise scrubbing the kitchen floor. What chore do you despise? Are there some chores that you can't stand, so you make sure to demonstrate occasionally how unequipped you are to perform it? What Chore do you absolutely hate more than the mighty Hippo? When faced with cleaning bathrooms, I will suddenly see an urgent need to go to the garage, mix up the degreaser and take care of those unsightly oil spots. The bathroom usually has to wait until a certain crescendo of shame and repulsion has peaked. Unless I have to write a big paper, or pay bills. Are there any chores you really can't bring yourself to do?
I hate most chores because of their near endless nature. I get all the dishes put away and then need to eat again. Now I have dirty dishes that need to be taken care of. Unless I naked myself up, and make the fam go nudist for a day, all the clothes in the house are never clean, etc… I hate Chores.
6b. Do you have any chores that you actually like? What Chore do you really not mind at all? When entering chore mode, I make a list, consider it, then invariably do the laundry. Are there any chores you enjoy, or at least don't mind doing on a daily basis?
There are no chores that I actually “like.” It would become an “activity” if I liked it. I don’t mind sweeping, but Wifey does mind when I sweep because I am too slow and too thorough.
7. Cinderella sings a happy tune while doing her endless chores. You?
I curse in as many languages as I can in my head.
8. Did you get an allowance for doing chores as a child? Will Little Man or Q and if yes, at what age will you start? How soon before you put the kids to work on some of your most hated chores? List of Chores you can't wait until Little Man is able to do instead of you:...
I did get anallowance pittance. Anyone who knows my parents know that they were not quite free with their spending. I think when Little Man and Q get to Kindergarten it might be time to introduce them to the concept of the “Chore.” When Little Man can mow I will be a happy man. Sadly he is still quite young for that kind of task.
9. Is writing the blog a chore? Is writing this blog a chore?
Sometimes, yes… sometimes, no.
10. What chores did you have assigned to you as a kid?
I had to mow the yard as well as take out the trash. Vacuuming was occasionally required as well.
11. How do you divide up the chores in your house now? Did you and Wifey have to actively split up duties or did the division come pretty naturally? Who has bug/big hairy spider killing duty? What’s the one thing that you let get to you that doesn’t bother Wifey and vice versa?
So far we have not really sat down and had a “chore summit” for a while. It is definitely time to re-distribute the tasks necessary to keeping a family in a house.
12. Would a chore by any other name be the same? Like, if you called it a game, would that make washing dishes any more fun?
Games have rewards for accomplishments, especially computer games. So unless I can “level up” and do dishes faster or kill orcs whilst washing dishes, no, calling them a game would just be lying.
13. Do you have a weekly/daily schedule of chores, or do you call them as you see them? Are you a list maker or do you just do what obviously needs to be done?
I abhor the concept of lists, yet I think it might be time for me to grow up and use one or two.
14. What is the relationship between time consumption of the chore and the involvement of tools?
I have found that the chores that demand the least tools or the simplest tools are the worst ones. Cleanser and sponge comes to mind.
15. “Chore” rhymes with “bore,” is that intentional? Please explain the origin of the word Chore.
I think the rhyming is more serendipitous than intentional. And etymology is a chore to me, so find out its origin your damn self.
16. Are there any household duties that you really don’t mind doing but become chores when expected regularly? For me that would be cooking dinner. I like to cook but coming up with a quick and easy supper plan every night gets old.
Little Man’s bath comes to mind as well as cooking. If we have an idea of what we are going to eat that week, cooking isn’t so bad, but it is difficult to continually “whip something up,” so to speak.
17. Martha Stewart made a fortune of celebrating the "Art of Living," in other words, the elevation of tedious household cleaning and maintenance tasks to exercises in artisanal excellence. Would you consider her a saint or a nut job?
She is whacked in the head, a complete nutter.
18. Why is it that as a kid, mopping the floors and mowing the lawns seemed like way more fun than taking a nap?
It turns out that kids are not that bright.
19. What is the opposite of chores?
A nap.
20. What motivates you to do chores?
An abject fear of Wifey.
And an extra five from Wifey, cause she deserves it.
1. I know someone is going to ask you you're least favorite chore...and I'm not sure what your answer will be, but I'm sure you won't mention your seeming inability to throw something in the trash once it's used up. So...why is that your least favorite chore? Even if you walk past the trash on your way to doing something else, you won't throw things away. Why?
Next questions please!
2. Which chore is more enjoyable: bathtime with Q or bathtime with Little Man?
Q enjoys the baths so much, hers is pretty fun, but there is also a splash zone that you might find at a Sea World or Gallagher show
3. Do you think the way we split chores at our house is fair and equitable?
No, it needs to be renegotiated since I am not working 40 hours a week in a Hell Hole.
4. Seriously?
Yeah.
5. What's the most chore-y thing you do that you enjoy?
I like folding clothes to some degree… I’ll fold them if you want to put them away…
To recap:
The-Man-Who-Was-Once-Named-Lord-Pithy sent in some questions but only after I had already written the bulk of this post
So here are 5 more questions:
Job hunting sucks
I think both the kids may be out to get me
At least they are both doing what they can to keep me from sleeping well
Darn Kids!
Reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Listening to Wallflowers by MC Frontalot
Thanks this week go to ACW, Sparky, Lsig, Dr B-Dawg, Belsum, John P, Atmikha, and Wifey. I have collected the similar questions into single repetitive questions.
On to the Questions:
1. Does Little Man have any chores? Any regularly scheduled ones? Is Little Man onto the fact that chores aren't fun and requires an allowance for his perfomance of the chores? List of Little Man Chores:...
Little Man does have some things that could be defined as chores. They involve cleaning up after himself, mostly. So far we are using an achievement based system that rewards him with Go! Diego! Go! Wii games and root beer. He has to keep his train table clean and the trains and track off the floor in the living room and dining room. He needs to regularly “clean” his room (pick up the train tracks in there as well) .
2. Is the house cleaner now, than a year ago? Is the house as clean as you want it? Is the house more clean, laundry caught up and woodpile stocked with freshly chopped wood these days?
We have an almost nine month old in the house right now, so the house is in an absolute shambles. This place is no where near as clean as Wifey or I would like it to be, and the amounts of laundry that needs to be done is a bit staggering much like the amount of clothes that need to be put away.
3. Whole house cleaning or just a room at any one time?
I am a room by room cleaner. Especially since the whole house is such a sty at the moment. The most we can get clean is one or two rooms at a time.
4. Do you employ Little Man to get into those hard-to-reach places?
No, but that is a great idea, and he seems to want to be more and more helpful…
5. What's your forte - dusting, vacuuming, dishes?
I am good at most things, but I really got pretty good at washing dishes in the apartment years of our marriage.
6a. I despise scrubbing the kitchen floor. What chore do you despise? Are there some chores that you can't stand, so you make sure to demonstrate occasionally how unequipped you are to perform it? What Chore do you absolutely hate more than the mighty Hippo? When faced with cleaning bathrooms, I will suddenly see an urgent need to go to the garage, mix up the degreaser and take care of those unsightly oil spots. The bathroom usually has to wait until a certain crescendo of shame and repulsion has peaked. Unless I have to write a big paper, or pay bills. Are there any chores you really can't bring yourself to do?
I hate most chores because of their near endless nature. I get all the dishes put away and then need to eat again. Now I have dirty dishes that need to be taken care of. Unless I naked myself up, and make the fam go nudist for a day, all the clothes in the house are never clean, etc… I hate Chores.
6b. Do you have any chores that you actually like? What Chore do you really not mind at all? When entering chore mode, I make a list, consider it, then invariably do the laundry. Are there any chores you enjoy, or at least don't mind doing on a daily basis?
There are no chores that I actually “like.” It would become an “activity” if I liked it. I don’t mind sweeping, but Wifey does mind when I sweep because I am too slow and too thorough.
7. Cinderella sings a happy tune while doing her endless chores. You?
I curse in as many languages as I can in my head.
8. Did you get an allowance for doing chores as a child? Will Little Man or Q and if yes, at what age will you start? How soon before you put the kids to work on some of your most hated chores? List of Chores you can't wait until Little Man is able to do instead of you:...
I did get an
9. Is writing the blog a chore? Is writing this blog a chore?
Sometimes, yes… sometimes, no.
10. What chores did you have assigned to you as a kid?
I had to mow the yard as well as take out the trash. Vacuuming was occasionally required as well.
11. How do you divide up the chores in your house now? Did you and Wifey have to actively split up duties or did the division come pretty naturally? Who has bug/big hairy spider killing duty? What’s the one thing that you let get to you that doesn’t bother Wifey and vice versa?
So far we have not really sat down and had a “chore summit” for a while. It is definitely time to re-distribute the tasks necessary to keeping a family in a house.
12. Would a chore by any other name be the same? Like, if you called it a game, would that make washing dishes any more fun?
Games have rewards for accomplishments, especially computer games. So unless I can “level up” and do dishes faster or kill orcs whilst washing dishes, no, calling them a game would just be lying.
13. Do you have a weekly/daily schedule of chores, or do you call them as you see them? Are you a list maker or do you just do what obviously needs to be done?
I abhor the concept of lists, yet I think it might be time for me to grow up and use one or two.
14. What is the relationship between time consumption of the chore and the involvement of tools?
I have found that the chores that demand the least tools or the simplest tools are the worst ones. Cleanser and sponge comes to mind.
15. “Chore” rhymes with “bore,” is that intentional? Please explain the origin of the word Chore.
I think the rhyming is more serendipitous than intentional. And etymology is a chore to me, so find out its origin your damn self.
16. Are there any household duties that you really don’t mind doing but become chores when expected regularly? For me that would be cooking dinner. I like to cook but coming up with a quick and easy supper plan every night gets old.
Little Man’s bath comes to mind as well as cooking. If we have an idea of what we are going to eat that week, cooking isn’t so bad, but it is difficult to continually “whip something up,” so to speak.
17. Martha Stewart made a fortune of celebrating the "Art of Living," in other words, the elevation of tedious household cleaning and maintenance tasks to exercises in artisanal excellence. Would you consider her a saint or a nut job?
She is whacked in the head, a complete nutter.
18. Why is it that as a kid, mopping the floors and mowing the lawns seemed like way more fun than taking a nap?
It turns out that kids are not that bright.
19. What is the opposite of chores?
A nap.
20. What motivates you to do chores?
An abject fear of Wifey.
And an extra five from Wifey, cause she deserves it.
1. I know someone is going to ask you you're least favorite chore...and I'm not sure what your answer will be, but I'm sure you won't mention your seeming inability to throw something in the trash once it's used up. So...why is that your least favorite chore? Even if you walk past the trash on your way to doing something else, you won't throw things away. Why?
Next questions please!
2. Which chore is more enjoyable: bathtime with Q or bathtime with Little Man?
Q enjoys the baths so much, hers is pretty fun, but there is also a splash zone that you might find at a Sea World or Gallagher show
3. Do you think the way we split chores at our house is fair and equitable?
No, it needs to be renegotiated since I am not working 40 hours a week in a Hell Hole.
4. Seriously?
Yeah.
5. What's the most chore-y thing you do that you enjoy?
I like folding clothes to some degree… I’ll fold them if you want to put them away…
To recap:
The-Man-Who-Was-Once-Named-Lord-Pithy sent in some questions but only after I had already written the bulk of this post
So here are 5 more questions:
1. Would growing your nails to an unreasonable length be considered a chore?
Cleaning under your unduly long finger nails would be the chore.
2. Cleaning the bathrooms or polishing the silver?
Why kind of money do you think we have? There is only one option in that question that is applicable. I wish we had silver to polish.
3. Are you one of those insane people who would clean the house before Molly Maid arrived?
I am one of the, “God I wish we could just hire Molly Maid to do this shit.”
4. Whistle while you work, spoon full of sugar, or some other Disney song to make the work go faster?
Nope, no songs make chores go any faster, and no cartoon dwarf work gang can tell me different.
5. How high can the laundry pile before you can no longer ignore it and finally do a load?
There are 4 of us in the house, it takes no time for Laundry to pile up to un-imaginable heights, but honestly the height of the pile is not the determining factor, it is the amount of clean underwear.
Job hunting sucks
I think both the kids may be out to get me
At least they are both doing what they can to keep me from sleeping well
Darn Kids!
Reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Listening to Wallflowers by MC Frontalot