I remember growing up and having a small list of chores waiting for me every morning during my summers off between school years. Since my brother and I didn’t have other obligations like jobs or school (we were in junior high/early high school), our parents figured it would be good for us to do a little bit of housework while they were away at work. Looking back now, I think I enjoyed it. They never made us do anything that we hated or that took more than an hour in total. In a way, it was a good way to get us up and moving during the day so that we weren’t sitting around playing video games all day or sleeping in too late. Some days, the list was shorter with just 2 or 3 main chores. Other days, we’d find the list to be almost 10 chores long. I recall working with my brother to divvy out the chores or decide what we should tackle together. (And I also recall fighting with him over who had to mop the floors haha.) But for the most part, it worked out so that we always had an equal load. It also taught us negotiation. There were times he’d offer to cook me lunch if I took on an extra chore from the list. Considering that all I ever ate when I was younger was cereal and chips, well, I was happy to do another task so that I could have a cooked meal. With that said, here are a few I recall doing that I actually liked. Perhaps you can have your kids do some of the chores from this list without it overwhelming them or making them feel like they’re “working” for you. Wiping down windows This is such a simple task that makes a world of difference for the cleanliness of your house. While my parents didn’t have us wipe down every single window in the house, they would ask us to clean the screen doors, the main bay window, and the french doors. With a little windex and a paper towel, the cleaning job went a long way and was simple enough for us to tackle. Unloading the dishwasher My parents didn’t typically have us wash the dishes or load the dishwasher (well, until I got my first job in high school washing dishes at a restaurant, then they did). But they’d have us unload it almost every single day. Between my brother and I eating random meals throughout the day, my parents making dinner at night, and other dishes, they’d always have the dishwasher ready to unload in the morning without fail. Mow/pick up sticks
Admittedly, they didn’t have us start mowing until we were in late junior high. Any earlier than that and they probably would’ve worried about our safety on the lawn mower or, worse, using the push mower. But this was a big time saver for them, especially because the dead of summer saw the grass grow like no other.
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Often when I’m walking around my apartment, I find myself quite content with the layout of the place. It’s got three stories, first off. The upstairs portion houses two bedrooms and a bathroom. The main floor has a few closets, a living room, dining room, and kitchen. And then the basement is actually big enough to have a lot of stuff in it. We choose to use it as the laundry room and a party room (adorned by a big couch, a TV, a dartboard, and a table to play cards at). In all reality, it’s a dream of an apartment for its price and location. We’re located right along a strip of bars and just behind a brewery. Everything we need is within a few minutes walking distance, meaning we’re hardly ever driving anywhere we want to go. The locale, the culture, and the community is all exactly what we want here and now. There’s really not much else to ask for. And did I mention we have a deck that butts up against a walking trail? I’ve got my grill and some patio furniture on the deck, so in the summer we’re often found just grilling, drinking, and people watching. It’s a dream. But one thing I’ve found wanting for is some more natural lighting within the place. We’ve admittedly taken a big chunk of that away by putting a huge home entertainment center up against our front window (which is quite big in comparison to all the other windows in the place). The thing is, that’s the only place it would fit. But in terms of other windows, they’re not as big or plentiful. Perhaps it’s my bias considering we’re still in the winter season and natural lighting has been scarce as it already is. But our lack of windows made me think about how apartments are generally set up in the first place. A big reason we don’t have more is because we’re smashed between two other apartments, so side windows are inherently not an option. That leaves the front and back of the apartment. Well, as I already said, the front isn’t an option because of how we set up the place. So we’re left to want light from the back of the apartment.
And one of the biggest reasons I’ve been wanting more natural lighting is because we’ll be adding a few succulents in our apartment come this spring. So, there’s pretty much only one logical place to put them, and that’s on our main floor under the back window. So, my wife’s birthday is coming up soon, and I’m hot on the trail of unique gifts to give her that don’t just involve giving her a simple item. While I’ve done that in the past and definitely won’t stray from doing that in the future, I’m trending towards getting gifts that involve experiences, growth, and something to learn from the gift itself. I feel that that’s got more value to it than a simple material object that would normally be expected. So! What is it I have in mind? Well, one of her favorite things is succulents. I’m not exactly sure where that love grew from, but she loves cacti and the sorts. Perhaps it’s because they’re easy to take care of what with needing little water and care throughout the day. But I’m quite fond of her love for succulents, so I figured getting a few small decorative pots and quality soil for her birthday and then taking her to pick out succulents is a great idea. While we live in an apartment, it’s lucky that we have a back deck to place the plants outside during the summer. But during these months? Well, we have a huge window at the back of our apartment that could use a small desk to place the succulents on for ample sunlight. That’s the thing that a lot of people don’t take into account when it comes to hosting plants inside their homes. The plants will be easy enough to water (so long as you keep up on the routine). But sunlight is absolutely essential to all plants, even if some require less or more than others. So, having a big window to place them in front of is quite important for their survival and health. The other thing with our big window is that succulents love the sun. Heck, they practically bake in the sun in the southwest. And temperatures aren’t as important as people believe for them. They don’t need extremely hot environments as the desert night is quite cold. A little water and a lot of sunlight will do them just fine. So what kind of plants can you imagine having in your home? Oftentimes, people will opt to plant herbs and spices within their house to grow, pick, and cook with. That’s quite sustainable and a great way to enjoy fresh, homegrown ingredients. Others enjoy having plants for decorative reasons. No matter what you choose, though, take care of them. They’re living things, too.
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Morton WeatherlyTraveler, Part-time interior designer, Fitness Enthusiast ArchivesCategories |