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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 24, 2018 11:01:00 GMT
Well it's that time of year again folks, when one must prepare oneself for the big spring clean.... In fact just this morning I was out in the grounds, smoking my pipe, watching Tonkin (my groundsman) busy himself. . Good chap, I thought. Anyway this latest Death Match asks which are your least favourite household chores. You know, the ones you hate and put off at all costs, hoping someone else will do them... Knowing full well that outside of Grimm's tales, 'chore fairies' don't really exist and at some point you're gonna have to roll up your sleeves.  Yeah, for sure I know much of this stuff has traditionally been seen as 'women's work', and that the majority of our forum users on here are men, but being a man of the world I like to think we live in more enlightened times these days and that many of these jobs are now considered unisex. . . . Now where did I put those marigolds? So which are your LEAST favourite household chores? Pick 3. What's that? You're a good housekeeper and deserve more choices...? Oh all right then, if (and only if), you're a good housekeeper, you have an ace up your sleeve and you get a bonus fourth choice. See the Death Match Overlord isn't such a bad guy after all is he?  This week you'll notice that the DM poll is all higgledy-piggledy, with no alphabetical order or anything. What a mess.  Time to get stuck in. As suggested by: Tonks! |
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Post by thecraftyleek on Mar 24, 2018 15:27:08 GMT
The secret is to get a cleaner in. Once every two weeks should be enough to do the really dirty stuff, like washing floors and oven cleaning. Happy days.
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Post by jno on Mar 24, 2018 18:23:25 GMT
The secret is to get a cleaner in. Once every two weeks should be enough to do the really dirty stuff, like washing floors and oven cleaning. Happy days. Sadly we ain't all as rich as those at Leek Towers.  Nice death match! |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 24, 2018 18:48:24 GMT
The secret is to get a cleaner in. Once every two weeks should be enough to do the really dirty stuff, like washing floors and oven cleaning. Happy days. Sadly we ain't all as rich as those at Leek Towers. Or in some cases as easy to part with our wedge  |
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Post by plasticpenguin on Mar 24, 2018 22:24:39 GMT
Hate cleaning our windows. The reason is simple: We live right on the edge of a big common. When the wind picks up there's no buffer and every piece of c##p gets blown in our direction.
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Post by jno on Mar 25, 2018 3:53:03 GMT
It seems DIY is in front. I certainly voted for it!
I don't mind the DIY that gets you more than what you have at the moment i.e. something totally new, but the 'fixing of the old' i.e. mending snags - this is the burden.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 25, 2018 7:54:52 GMT
It seems DIY is in front. I certainly voted for it! I don't mind the DIY that gets you more than what you have at the moment i.e. something totally new, but the 'fixing of the old' i.e. mending snags - this is the burden. I hope all those that have voted to say they hate DIY, realise that when you do that you are playing straight into the hands of Knick Knowles!  Knick wants you to hate DIY, that way he stands more chance of being able to come over to your house with his team of 'DIY experts'. Wheedle his way in like a vampire, and once over the threshold who knows what might happen? Probably getting free cups of tea off your wife and trying to chat her up.... unbeknownst to you of course, coz you've just gone to work as normal, with no knowledge that your wife has sent a letter to the BBC saying: 'Dear 'Can't DIY, Won't DIY', Please will you come over to our house for the purposes of daytime light entertainment TV and put down some decking. The problem is my husband hates doing DIY blah blah blah..' Well, you get back from work, only to get home and find the decking's been done but so have you. Knick's upstairs in bed with your wife and the crew are all hidden in cupboards waiting to jump out and surprise you, while Knick's music cd plays some Ed Sheeran covers in the back ground!! If I were you and I'd voted DIY as a least favourite, I'd probably be changing it about now! After all, you can never be too sure... |
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Post by thecraftyleek on Mar 25, 2018 9:47:39 GMT
Sadly we ain't all as rich as those at Leek Towers. Or in some cases as easy to part with our wedge I spend it on a cleaner. You lot spend it on box sets. You pay your money, you take your choices. |
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Post by jno on Mar 25, 2018 10:16:46 GMT
Or in some cases as easy to part with our wedge I spend it on a cleaner. You lot spend it on box sets. You pay your money, you take your choices. That's fair, but then again sitting around all day I probably don't make as much mess. |
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Post by thewoodster on Mar 26, 2018 15:10:08 GMT
DIY for me starts with a small job which grows and grows and by the end you’ve made a full conversion...lol
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Post by ace5150 on Mar 26, 2018 17:18:30 GMT
Why have we gone all American with "chore"
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Post by daz on Mar 26, 2018 17:32:48 GMT
We have brown bins which we put our garden and food waste in and during he winter months it is virtually just food waste. Anyway during the winter months when the temperature plummets, the bottom of the bin and all its contents freeze up and has only now defrosted leaving something disgusting at the bottom which needs to be scraped off and cleaned out.
Not looking forward to this, as this year it has exceeded expections in the stench stake.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 26, 2018 18:28:25 GMT
Why have we gone all American with "chore" So all the bl00dy yanks that come on here don't feel left out or victimised! Ace, in these times of global turmoil I feel it best if we make the Death Matches as inclusive as possible. Which is why the next DM will be to choose your favourite Eskimo word for snow. On a more serious note, I wasn't actually aware it was an American word.... So I looked it up and it turns out it's a mid 18th century English derivation of the middle (1150AD-1500AD) English word Char, Charre or Cherre: as in charwoman. Char meant task or odd job. Basically the American's (possibly) or someone (the English just as likely?), began pronouncing it incorrectly and over a period of about 300 years it changed to chore.  |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 26, 2018 18:35:19 GMT
We have brown bins which we put our garden and food waste in and during he winter months it is virtually just food waste. Anyway during the winter months when the temperature plummets, the bottom of the bin and all its contents freeze up and has only now defrosted leaving something disgusting at the bottom which needs to be scraped off and cleaned out. Not looking forward to this, as this year it has exceeded expections in the stench stake. You've got kids, right? Children are often approximately bin sized and like adventure would you agree? If not, they also like eating and having a roof over their heads, right? I think we both know where I'm going with this. The problem is parents are too soft these days. |
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Post by jno on Mar 27, 2018 6:18:22 GMT
Chore - don't worry ace, Arch often uses this word - down in Stanton Hall we all think it is some horror story reenactment, but actually it just like The Waltons, with Arch in the role of John Boy telling the story of Tonks and his army of kids chopping wood all day to earn a crust. At least that is what happens when tourists pop by to ask for directions ...  |
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Post by ace5150 on Mar 27, 2018 8:32:41 GMT
Not many on that list I don't mind doing.
Car cleaning and maintenance, spending time with family can be a task. Attending to children features high as I don't have any and kids annoy me a lot. I also ticked 'other' although I can't think of one at the moment.
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Post by chopper on Mar 27, 2018 19:36:44 GMT
Re cycling with those stupid bags is a chore, especially after 2 weeks. It’s over flowing by then!
Where as the wheelie bin could be emptied every 2 weeks & recycling weekly.
I hate ironing & changing beds.
The “other” is the biggest time waster known to man & one I rarely do - cleaning a car, what a complete waste of time! Dirty again in a day.....
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Post by Portland Road on Mar 28, 2018 7:27:15 GMT
I notice that DIY (painting, wallpapering etc) is heading the list. The preparation, and then clearing up, is the part of the task that is the chore  |
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Post by KarinB on Mar 28, 2018 12:06:23 GMT
I must say that I've sighed at the thought of starting all of those tasks at one stage or another. I must be a lazy cow. Well not the 'Re-Itemizing Equipment - includes devices in Torture Chamber, Armoury, and Wine Cellar etc.' Well my house isn't big enough for those luxuries. I just copied and pasted the words and the system ticked it for me.  Quickly untick ! Surely no one would pick 'pet duties', well the feeding and walking is fun, but what comes out the other end isn't sometimes during a walk. I always use baggies but it is hideous. Ok change of mind, I am going to have to pick 'pet duties' just because of that. Gardening - weeding and mowing. Strangely I feel very accomplished when I've finished them but I hate mowing. Why does the grass grow so damn quick. My neighbours get out and mow if it there is even a tiny bit of growth.  I did notice further up the street that two houses next to each other share one piece of nature strip grass (I don't know what you call it in England, but the bit of grass separating the road and the footpath). Their houses evenly sit as halves along this long stretch. This is unusual because normally driveways separate the allotments. Anyway one neighbour had mowed this piece of grass but stopped where his house finished ! Half pristinely cut and the other a wasteland. Wouldn't you think you'd walk the mower a few more paces? Neighbourly love these days ! I hate cleaning the bathroom because my shower is old so old grout in tiles is awful and falls out. |
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Post by flyingsquad on Mar 28, 2018 12:25:23 GMT
I must say that I've sighed at the thought of starting all of those tasks at one stage or another. I must be a lazy cow. Well not the 'Re-Itemizing Equipment - includes devices in Torture Chamber, Armoury, and Wine Cellar etc.' Well my house isn't big enough for those luxuries. I just copied and pasted the words and the system ticked it for me. Quickly untick ! Surely no one would pick 'pet duties', well the feeding and walking is fun, but what comes out the other end isn't sometimes during a walk. I always use baggies but it is hideous. Ok change of mind, I am going to have to pick 'pet duties' just because of that. Gardening - weeding and mowing. Strangely I feel very accomplished when I've finished them but I hate mowing. Why does the grass grow so damn quick. My neighbours get out and mow if it there is even a tiny bit of growth. I did notice further up the street that two houses next to each other share one piece of nature strip grass (I don't know what you call it in England, but the bit of grass separating the road and the footpath). Their houses evenly sit as halves along this long stretch. This is unusual because normally driveways separate the allotments. Anyway one neighbour had mowed this piece of grass but stopped where his house finished ! Half pristinely cut and the other a wasteland. Wouldn't you think you'd walk the mower a few more paces? Neighbourly love these days ! I hate cleaning the bathroom because my shower is old so old grout in tiles is awful and falls out. We call it grass verge. |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 28, 2018 12:46:53 GMT
I must say that I've sighed at the thought of starting all of those tasks at one stage or another. I must be a lazy cow. Well not the 'Re-Itemizing Equipment - includes devices in Torture Chamber, Armoury, and Wine Cellar etc.' Well my house isn't big enough for those luxuries. Karin it really is important for one to make occasional sacrifices when it comes to living arrangements, no matter what size of property you live in. These days I'm not even sure I could cope without my wine cellar or torture chamber. |
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Post by fordcapri on Mar 29, 2018 12:04:32 GMT
Can I tick all of them? And add a few more...?
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Post by Arch Stanton on Mar 29, 2018 17:16:50 GMT
Can I tick all of them? And add a few more...? No 3 choices. Unless you are a good house keeper then you get a bonus 4th choice. So I only got three choices. |
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Post by KarinB on Apr 1, 2018 1:32:01 GMT
Karin it really is important for one to make occasional sacrifices when it comes to living arrangements, no matter what size of property you live in. These days I'm not even sure I could cope without my wine cellar or torture chamber. When it comes to 'standards' you've really written the book Arch Stanton. |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Apr 1, 2018 7:33:55 GMT
When it comes to 'standards' you've really written the book Arch Stanton. Damn straight. You'd love those 'rooms' Karin, most women do.. I mean they sound a bit extravagant or maybe even sinister initially, I'll be the first to admit that. But physical pain and pleasure, crossed with a certain vintage of classy intoxication.... I mean c'mon, what's not to like, right? Every home should have them. Trust me. I mean rooms at the Hall, like the scullery and the barking pit require little attention when compared with those two. |
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Post by KarinB on Apr 1, 2018 11:48:18 GMT
Damn straight. You'd love those 'rooms' Karin, most women do.. I mean they sound a bit extravagant or maybe even sinister initially, I'll be the first to admit that. But physical pain and pleasure, crossed with a certain vintage of classy intoxication.... I mean c'mon, what's not to like, right? Every home should have them. Trust me. I mean rooms at the Hall, like the scullery and the barking pit require little attention when compared with those two. And there was I thinking that room was used for trespassers found in the stately grounds while awaiting the arrival of the uniformed authorities. How the other half live. Lol |
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Post by Portland Road on Apr 5, 2018 8:10:01 GMT
I always use baggies but it is hideous. Ok change of mind, I am going to have to pick 'pet duties' just because of that. You're right Karin. ....especially when the doggy has made a deposit there.... |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Apr 5, 2018 8:15:21 GMT
I always use baggies but it is hideous. Ok change of mind, I am going to have to pick 'pet duties' just because of that. You're right Karin. ....especially when the doggy has made a deposit there.... Yeah that's right Portland. If Karin got out with those baggies quicker, maybe the lawn wouldn't grow so quick. |
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Post by Arch Stanton on Apr 7, 2018 5:49:26 GMT
I knew a woman once used to iron bed sheets and towels etc.. I found that a complete waste of time.
Hanging washing is a pain. Thank heavens for dryers that's all I can say. This winter in Cornwall (well since October) it would have been very hard work without one.
It seems to have rained constantly.
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Post by daz on Apr 7, 2018 19:20:50 GMT
I knew a woman once used to iron bed sheets and towels etc.. I found that a complete waste of time. Hanging washing is a pain. Thank heavens for dryers that's all I can say. This winter in Cornwall (well since October) it would have been very hard work without one. It seems to have rained constantly. An old friend of the wife does that too Irons everything and has even been known to iron her bedsheets in the morning if looking very creased. To me life is far too short for that sort of nonsense. The same friend I always thought was something not right about her or her husband, but was surprised nonetheless to read in the paper one day years ago that he had killed his dad and dumped the body in the wheelie bin, then she become really freaky. |
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Time to get stuck in.
Quickly untick ! 
I did notice further up the street that two houses next to each other share one piece of nature strip grass (I don't know what you call it in England, but the bit of grass separating the road and the footpath). Their houses evenly sit as halves along this long stretch. This is unusual because normally driveways separate the allotments. Anyway one neighbour had mowed this piece of grass but stopped where his house finished ! Half pristinely cut and the other a wasteland. Wouldn't you think you'd walk the mower a few more paces? Neighbourly love these days ! 
