The daily household tasks that nobody wants to do willingly at home

Indian families should admire one thing about the lady of the house is that she does all the daily household tasks with a high level of motivation. From making tea to cleaning the house, from putting clothes in the washing machine to laying down the table, she is always in action. The only problem she faces is delegation. If she wants to delegate the same to another member in the family then there are hardly any volunteers.

While all the major tasks are taken care of by the lady there are few menial jobs that no one wants to perform.

Making tea is one of the most difficult daily household tasks

On a winter morning when everyone is under the protective layer of a razai (thick cotton blanket), one of the most challenging jobs happens to be of making tea. The husband makes the first call and asks the spouse to make tea. The success of whether his request will be entertained depends on how long he has been married. In the initial few years of marriage, it’s the wife who gets up first, and even before the husband can demand she is standing next to him with a hot cup of tea.

As time withers there is a role reversal. Now it’s the turn of the husband to prove his mettle. After a heavy argumentative night, the husband decides that the only way to resolve the issue is to wake his beloved with a cup of tea. And from then one of the daily household tasks for the husband is to make tea every morning.

When guests arrive home the mom expects the daughter to not only greet the guests but also make tea for them. But this sky-high expectation is not always met with success. The excuses the daughter gives to wriggle out of this daily household task are varied. From exam preparations to going out with friends, the reasons are unlimited.

Who will attend to the visitor ringing the doorbell?

Ever since online shopping fever has caught up the frequency of doorbell ringing has also gone up. Every day 2-3 courier guys are coming home. Sometimes to deliver a new clothing article ordered by the daughter or a mobile phone cover ordered by the son. Add to this the courier guy coming home to pick up a return delivery as the daughter didn’t like the fitting of the top.

The challenge is who will open the front door to check on the visitor. This is one of the daily household tasks that the mom doesn’t participate in at all. Ultimately it is left to the kids. The daughter, being elder tends to delegate the task to her younger brother. On the other hand, the brother is also smart and knows that the delivery parcel is meant for the sister. He reminds the sister that it’s her order and that she should attend to the doorbell.

Answering the morning hours doorbell is difficult

Attending to the ringing doorbell also depends on the timing of the day. The one ringing early in the morning is the most difficult to attend. Getting out of bed at such an early hour to open the door for the maid is a task no one wants to do. The father delegates it to mom and the mom delegates it back to him saying she is feeling too tired after yesterday’s chores. Ultimately the father gets out of the bed and opens the door.

In the corporate world, it’s said that once you do a job well you get stuck with it. The same is the case with the father. Till the time he doesn’t leave for the office he gets stuck with attending to all the morning visitors. Surprisingly the morning hours witness a lot many visitors – the press-wala, the maid, the milkman, the car-wash guy, and so on. Once the father leaves for office the kids come into the picture.

The daily household tasks that revolve around the kitchen

In every household, the kitchen is driven by the mom. From finalizing the menu for breakfast, office lunch to dinner she is in complete charge. The kitchen chores can be divided into a core job and a side job. Making chapati or a sabzi is a core job while laying down the serving plates and bowls on the dining table is a side job. Mom always expects that someone in the family will assist her when she is ready with lunch and dinner. The question is who will? She has three family members to count on – dad, daughter, and son.

However, all three of them are ready with an excuse and recuse themselves from this daily household task. Dad is busy with his office ppt, daughter is preparing for her exams and son is midway through an online gaming competition. Ultimately mom issues a diktat and nominates a volunteer to lay down the table. During weekdays, it’s the kids and on weekends it’s the dad. Post covid times family members now volunteer themselves to assist mom in this job.

Filling the empty water bottles

Another job that makes mom’s blood pressure shoots up is finding empty water bottles in the refrigerator. The entire family has this habit of walking to the refrigerator and gulping down chilled water straight from the bottle. But when it comes to refilling, the thirsty souls somewhere disappear in thin air. Mom has given umpteen warnings but it seems nobody wants to take the responsibility for such mundane daily household tasks.

Switching off the fans and lights

This is one job where it’s not mom but dad who keeps a close eye on switching off the lights when not in use. After all, he is the one who has to pay the inflated power bills every month. Surprisingly his instructions on saving electricity fall on deaf ears. The daughter hates darkness and ensures that there is a lot of illumination in the entire house. It’s only when she is watching a horror movie, the light goes off to create a real-life viewing. The son on the other hand shows signs of growing up in an Artic country and can’t survive without an air conditioner.

This is one area where even mom is on a weak wicket. She will switch on the lights and the fan in the bedroom and then move to another room while speaking over the phone. It’s the poor dad who keeps running around the house to switch off the lights and fans.

When the grocery runs out

This household task doesn’t have a daily frequency but there are times of crisis at home when mom wants a volunteer to run to the nearest grocery shop to fetch milk or bread or eggs. Most of the time it’s the son who has to perform the duty but in case he is missing in action then it’s the dad who is next in the chain. The daughter is excused from this physical task but the moment the son enters with the milk packet, she is assigned the job of making tea.

These are a few of the daily household tasks that nobody in the family wants to perform. Before I list down a few more, I think mom is already calling to lay down the table. Dinner is ready. Come and help me!

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