In 2020, many Americans had to stay indoors for months to curb the spread of the COVID-19. Suddenly, they found extra time to bond with their family, fix up their homes, and do more household chores. There was even a surprising upside to lockdown: men stepped up doing more housework. But as the economy reopens, many professionals found themselves going back to their busy pre-pandemic work routine.
Whether you’re single or married with kids, juggling work with household responsibilities can be tough. After work, you might no longer have the time or energy to do laundry, tend the lawn, or do some repairs. And if you try to catch up on housework on weekends, you end up having less or no time for self-care.
Outsourcing Housework Could Make You Happy
Fortunately, many workers and companies can lend you a hand in maintaining your home. Although hiring someone to clean your yard or do your laundry may seem unnecessary considering you can do these tasks yourself, doing so outweigh the cost of hiring someone to do them. Some researchers found outsourcing chores could make you so happy—like you just got an $18,000 salary raise.
Say you hate doing your laundry because it takes you three hours to finish a week’s load. If you hire someone or bring your laundry to a laundromat instead, that’s three hours a week less of doing something that stresses you. Plus, imagine all the fun things you can do in that extra three hours a week.
Start reaping the emotional benefits of outsourcing housework. All you have to do now is to stop being hard on yourself. Allow yourself to get the hours you need to relax, catch up on your reading, or just sleep. Hiring someone else to do your household chores doesn’t make you less of a responsible adult.
Start Leaving These Tasks in the Hands of Others
Can’t decide on which home tasks to outsource? Start with the following household chores:
1. Laundry duty
You have probably dropped some of your clothes on dry cleaners. But why don’t you leave your entire laundry duty to a shop? Sure, doing laundry can sometimes be therapeutic. Let’s face it, though. It’s a chore that’s anything but quick. You won’t feel relaxed if you have to do the laundry for over three hours.
Laundry duty can also be extra difficult if you have kids who enjoy playing in the backyard often. Rather than spend hours every weekend washing, drying, and folding the clothes of the entire household, collect all the dirty clothes and drop them off at laundromats. Some laundromats even offer pick-up services.
- Plumbing work
In 2020, it was probably fun for you to go on YouTube, watch a tutorial, and start fixing all the leaky faucets in your house. But you can’t say the same if you need to commute to the office again. Besides, plumbing repair isn’t something you can always DIY. That’s especially true if you’re facing a not-so-minor plumbing issue. Sometimes, trying to fix such issues on your own can only do more harm than good. It’s better to leave major plumbing repair tasks in the capable hands of a local professional plumber.
- Deep house cleaning
At this point, you’ve probably heard of all the studies and news saying a messy home can bring more stress to your life. That makes sense. After all, it can be difficult to focus with clutter lying around your home. You can maintain the cleanliness of your space by sweeping and vacuuming daily. What about the hard-to-reach areas like under your heaviest cabinet or the nooks and crannies of your busy kitchen?
This is where professional cleaning companies come in. They can come every month or quarter to deep-clean your house. They can clean everything your daily sweep can’t cover. With a spotless and organized home, you can focus on being productive on your work, projects, or other household tasks.
- Grocery shopping
With or without a pandemic, going out to shop for groceries can be tiring and time-consuming. It’s better to do it online. Since last year, many grocery stores have reinvented their services to follow social distancing and other health protocols. They now allow shoppers to buy goods from them online. Then, you can do a curbside pick-up or pay extra to have the goods delivered to your doorstep. Either way, you no longer have to spend hours walking around grocery aisles and lining up at the checkout counter.
With online grocery shopping, you can plan your purchase better. While looking for products to order, you can quickly look at your panty to check stocks. Plus, you won’t be tempted to pick up candy bars at the checkout counter. You can focus more on eating healthy meals within your weekly budget.
The threat of the COVID-19 virus is still here. At a time of a global crisis, you need all the help you can get to reduce stress in your life. Outsource these tasks to take a breather and care for yourself.
