How to Stay On Top of Household Chores When Appliances Break
Experiencing an appliance breakdown can throw your entire household routine off balance. For example, think about how much a faulty dishwasher would impact your day. Dirty dishes will inevitably pile up, eating into the time you'd allocate for other tasks.
Understanding this potential for major disruption not only helps in managing your immediate response to appliance faults, but also allows for long-term planning. To that end, here are some things you can do to steel yourself to face down worst-case scenarios.
Why Managing Chores with Toddlers Around Matters
First up, it’s worth discussing why you need to be so on the ball when it comes to keeping up with everyday domestic duties when you’re looking after younger children.
The truth is that kids are naturally curious and active, so when an appliance breaks and things start piling up, they might get themselves into mischief. For example, piled-up dishes can become a towering health hazard as well as an attractive climbing frame for adventurous youngsters.
Meanwhile, if the laundry is delayed for even a day, it could lead to all the clean clothes being used up much quicker than you’d think, creating a nightmare scenario in which you’re having to re-use grubby garments, which isn’t a good look.
Broken appliances also disrupt familiar routines that help bring structure to your children’s lives. When established procedures falter, it may result in added stress not only for you but also for young ones who thrive on predictability.
Lastly, maintaining cleanliness during appliance breakdowns becomes crucial considering how good small children are at spreading messes around. Proactive measures will save you from future headaches, while also ensuring a hygienic environment for your family.
Creating a Backup Plan for Essential Chores
Since appliances can malfunction at any time, it's wise to have contingency plans in place, as mentioned. Here are some simple ways you can ensure your chores continue uninterrupted when problems arise:
* Manual alternatives: As old-fashioned as they might seem, manual tools like brooms or washboards can be highly effective when your automated appliances give up the ghost. We’ll talk about your options here in more detail later.
* Sharing equipment: Teaming up with neighbours and sharing big appliances like washing machines could alleviate the burden of broken ones.
* Outsourcing: Some tasks such as laundry can also be outsourced temporarily to local services.
The idea is not necessarily to replace all appliance functions, but to work out how to keep your chores ticking over regardless of the circumstances. It’s a good starting point for generally getting organised, even if your appliances aren’t currently compromised.
Effective Cleaning Strategies Without Modern Machines
Functional appliances often make cleaning simpler and quicker. However, when they break down, you may need to revert back to more traditional cleaning methods:
* For floors: A good old broom and mop can effectively clean your floors.
* Dishes: While it takes longer than using a dishwasher, washing dishes by hand ensures that they're thoroughly cleaned.
* Vacuuming needs: Using a dustpan and brush or an old-fashioned carpet sweeper can substitute your vacuum cleaner.
It’s no secret that manual methods will demand not only physical effort but also a significant time investment. As such, finding efficient techniques is crucial for maintaining cleanliness while reducing the stress levels you experience.
Repairing Faulty Appliances Promptly
You don’t have to throw out any appliance the moment it starts failing, because more often than not the issue will be down to a single worn component, rather than the entire gadget being too long in the tooth to survive.
That means identifying the problematic part and replacing it post-haste is a good strategy, and thankfully it’s easy to find both guidance on what to look for and compatible components via the web.
For instance, you can get everything from parts for vacuums to replacement spares for Neff washing machines via reputable online retailers like PartsCentre. And a quick search is also the best option for finding a local repair service that will handle the actual repair itself, if you don’t fancy taking it on solo.
Prioritising Tasks When Appliances Fail
When appliances break down, prioritising chores becomes even more critical. Here are some tips on how you can effectively organise your tasks:
* Essential vs non-essential: Consider what needs immediate attention such as dishes and laundry while tasks like deep-cleaning the carpets can wait.
* Time sensitivity: Chores that rely on certain conditions (like mopping when it's sunny so floors dry swiftly) should be higher up the list.
* Effort required: Rank tasks by the physical effort needed. Focusing on those that won’t leave you tired first is better than burning through your energy reserves right away.
There’s always going to be a long list of household tasks to tackle, so concentrating on urgent and important duties when appliances are on the fritz is your best bet.
Alternate Ways of Dealing with Daily Chores
When your trusty appliances are not functional, a bit of creativity and resourcefulness can be great allies. Here are some useful alternatives:
* Cooking without an oven: Use cooking methods like stovetop grilling or slow-cooking which don't require your oven to be in working order. You could even look into microwave-focused recipes, of which there are a surprising variety.
* Hand-washing clothes: It's time-consuming, but it works! Save water by soaking several items together in the sink or bath, before hand-rubbing to remove dirt.
* Natural drying for dishes: Instead of relying on a dishwasher drying functionality, allow dishes to air dry naturally.
These tips underline the fact that sometimes opting for simple solutions can give you as good, if not better, results than using high-tech machines.
Final Thoughts
Amongst all of the issues that can come along when an appliance starts giving you trouble, the most important approach is one of serenity and acceptance. You can’t change the fact that an important piece of kit has failed you, so try to be zen and focus on the things you can change, rather than flying off the handle. And of course don’t be afraid to ask for help, as a problem shared is a problem halved.