Scrubbing toilets, vacuuming floors, sorting through the pile of mail, these are all chores.
Sometimes, I don’t mind chores. Most of the time, I hate them and they always seem to be outstanding, never completely done.
I’ve heard about people swapping houses with a friend, in order to clean. Doesn’t that sound weird?
On the surface, it sure does. But let’s stop and think about it.
When I’m doing chores, I’m usually jumping from one thing to another, to another. I’m trying to make dinner at the same time, so I forget that I sprayed Windex on the bathroom mirror, but then the oven timer started going off. I go to check on the oven and then proceed to hand wash a few dishes. By the time I remember to go back to the bathroom, the Windex has completely dried on and I have to do that step over again. This time, making sure to get the dried on Windex spots off the mirror.
Not fun.
Not efficient.
If I am doing something for someone else, I am focused and single-minded in purpose. There’s no “oh, I should deal with this piece of paper that’s in the way on the kitchen counter.” I am the exact same way when it comes to writing freelance articles. When I am writing for someone else, I am on the clock, motivated to get it finished, because the faster I can finish it, the higher my hourly rate works out to be. If I’m writing for myself, I tend to take a much more leisurely approach. I get distracted looking at site stats. I check my adsense revenue, I respond to “just one thing” on twitter and end up chatting or reading an interesting article that showed up on my feed.
Not efficient.
That’s where swapping houses with someone else, in order to do the cleaning, comes in. If you go to their house, the piece of paper on the counter is just a piece of paper. You move it, you wipe the counter, you move on. You’re not cooking, so the oven timer isn’t your problem, you can focus on the Windex. (Yes, focus on the Windex.) Let’s say you spend 2 hours per week cleaning things in your house. I’m including laundry and stuff in there. Alternatively, let’s say that you always MEAN to spend some time cleaning each week, but it just doesn’t make it to the top of the priorities list.
Find a friend and try out a swap. Commit to 1.5 hours at each other’s houses. Meet up, determine what you want done and what your priority list looks like. Here is what mine would look like:
1 – Ensuite Bathroom
2 – Guest Bathroom
3 – Clean the Kitchen and Entrance Tile Floors
4 – Handwash dishes
5 – Vacuum carpets
6 – Towels and Bedding
7 – Dusting Living Room and Wiping Coffee Tables
After that comes things that only I can do, like putting things away, dealing with the mail and paperwork, plus the occasional things like wiping down the baseboards and cleaning the windows.
Once you understand each other’s priorities, go over where your cleaning supplies are and whatnot, with a tour through each other’s houses. Set a time, and swap. (Alternatively, as pointed out by Kathleen, do it together! Maybe add a glass of wine as a reward when you are done, and use the whole thing as an excuse to catch up on life.,)
I bet you’ll get a lot more done, than if you spent the same hour and a half at your own house. Plus, you’ll get the luxury of coming home to your house and things being done, and you didn’t have to do it.
Would you ever consider swapping cleaning with a friend?
I don’t know if I could just swap with someone but I would definitely like having help or offering help.
Trish recently posted…Why I am Happy Christmas Vacation is OVER
It’s definitely a weird concept, with an uncomfortable feeling to it… but it works!
Swapping houses for house-cleaning? I would first have to overcome my shame at the state of our home.
Prudence Debtfree recently posted…Fruclassity Commandment #8: Gratitude
Hahaha, yes! I have similar problems at times. Sometimes my spouse will call me, “so and so is coming over, do you want to madly clean in case you are embarrassed at the state of the house?” My spouse doesn’t really care, but I do!
I’ve never thought about this either but it seems to be a great idea. I would do this with a friend.
Alexis recently posted…5 Ways To Pay Off Your Student Loans Faster
I’d love to see it happen, in real life 🙂
Anne recently posted…The Benefits of Hiring a Liberal Arts Graduate
What if you “leveled up” and instead of swapping actually spent three hours together? If we lived in the same place that is what we would do. Start at your house, talk, catch up, clean, then head over to mine. Time spent catching up plus clean houses equals we would TOTALLY earn the wine we would of course drink anyway!
Kathleen recently posted…Use Viralwoot to Increase Social Traffic
I’m so in. Want to come clean my house with me? It’s only a ten hour drive.
I don’t know why, but I would never do this. I feel like I’m pretty “good” at cleaning so I feel like I’d always get the raw end of the deal.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted…How to Make $200 an Hour with a Side Hustle
Interesting. I think it has to be just the right person, you know?
Hmm, I’d totally be down for this. It makes total sense really. Now to find a friend that lives nearby to switch with 🙂
Alicia recently posted…How to Reach My 29th Birthday Goals
See, that’s the tricky part!
What you said makes total sense! I’ve never considered swapping homes with a friend to clean it yet I can see how effective it would actually be.
I can envision it too…. now, to actually pull it off is a whole other thing.
I can definitely relate! Just cleaning up my closet takes me forever because I check every receipt stashed and then I think if I should keep it or thrown it haha! Will definitely try this trick!:)
How To Save Money recently posted…Cash Deals can Save Money
Half the time I end up just chucking all of the receipts… sometimes, I live to regret it.
I have done this swapping with my best friend. It started with a challenge because my best friend volunteered to clean my house, which I disliked at first. Then, we ended up swapping. Actually, I liked the idea because I got to know her more and the thought that I had to clean her house the way she wanted it to be. Then, I was surprised that my room became more organized. I would like to do it again.
Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…I’m paying for G20 to come to town this weekend
More organized space is awesome!