House work vs free time

I don't mind housework - I find it quite satisfying - but it would be nice if someone actually noticed, and appreciated, I was doing the bulk of it. (I love your comment pensionpat).

There are loads of things you can do in retirement (assuming you are not living in an extremely remote part of the country).

There are many choirs, sewing/knitting/patchwork groups, book clubs, U3A and WEA courses (online, Futurelearn at the moment is doing free courses in collaboration with the OU). There is free language tuition on line (Duolingo, I believe, is free). Some people have allotments or enjoy gardening - or - if you like walking - The Ramblers. There are lots of art clubs and art courses. If you're politically minded, you could join a party (or any other campaigning organisation), help with campaigning and join in the social events. If you like animals, you could buy a dog (or volunteer at a re-homing centre or foster a pet) and that should ensure at least one walk a day, meeting people on the way. Speaking of exercise, I believe most areas have a Park Run scheme and some councils offer free or much reduced price swimming sessions to the over 60's.

You could volunteer in a charity shop or at a club for older or disabled people. Beanstalk always welcomes volunteers for their reading schemes in local schools.

If/when you are eligible for a free bus pass, you can plan a day trip using the bus. (not at the moment, obviously).

Actually, I think you'll find you'll want to retire completely, since you won't have time to do even a small proportion of all these activities!

I have learned the hard way that it's all less of a burden if you do a little bit every day. Cleaning the bathroom takes 6-7 minutes if done quickly after everyone's cleaned their teeth, but if I leave it too long it mounts up. So I do everything every day when I can. It makes for variety with all the little minijobs and I don't notice time passing as I listen to podcasts while I'm doing it.

I don't really do any housework, I did before my husband retired, then he took over, his choice, but later on he got sick of the heavy duty cleaning baths and showers and got a cleaner. I tidy as I go though, my husband washes the pots and pans and loads the dishwasher after I've cooked a meal. I do food shopping, cooking, sort and load the washing machine, ironing, that's enough!

Enjoy your retirement OP, don't get bogged down with housework especially when the weather is good.

I reserve Mondays to do house work, changing beds, hoovering and dusting upstairs and down, through cleaning of bathroom and cloakroom and that is it for the rest of the week. The kitchen is cleaned everyday floor swept once a day and the bathroom is wiped round as when needed. Toilet cleaner used overnight. the rest of the days devoted to my social activities. Since lock down even Monday has gone out the window
. Gardening sewing and knitting has take over. The hoover was last used about two weeks ago and this morning i just wiped the windowsills down and used wipes to clean the bathroom. Covid has taught me life to precious to worry about housework. Mondays i now go walking with a friend SD observed. Fridays weather permitting i meet two friends in someone's garden for coffee and catch up. I now go food shopping once a week, and Sundays one or the other of my children is my focus. Housework will always be there but life might not be!!!

I am with Smileless.I am sure people think I spend all day cleaning but really it doesn’t take long each day to keep on top of it.

Once everything is ship shape I can relax and go about my day.

Why not carry on doing the housework when it needs doing? You're free to fill your own time as you like. Please yourself - join some clubs, meet friends for lunch, go out for coffee, see family (if you've got family), enjoy YOUR time

We moved our corner unit yesterday to clean behind it. We hadn't done this for 2 years! Disgusting I know. Found loads of things underneath and behind it - lots of dust, cobwebs, 25p, balls, various toys, crumbs - I could go on, so no I don't do much housework.

You are retired, like me. Mr Barmey and I just do it when we feel like it, despite having a cat. Life is just to short to worry about an untidy or dusty house. I do tend to sweep the kitchen floor every day as it does seem to get the most much. Enjoy your retirement doing what you like the most.

When we married we lived in hospital rented accommodation - which had formerly been "temporary" housing for prisoners of war. My husband was a nurse so it took us some time to be able to buy our own home - without him having gained a better job at another hospital and us therefore being able to borrow from the NHS over a ten year period a deposit for a house, I doubt we would ever have been able to save enough.

So I continue to be eternally grateful and very attached to our home - especially these days when many young people can only aspire to buying a poky flat - if they are lucky.

That is probably why I am so keen to look after our house because for several years we were renting and thinking we would never have a home of our own. My husband fitted our kitchen about 25 years ago and it still looks pretty good, ditto our bathroom.

It seems to be almost a badge of honour to say "I rarely do housework and my house is a bit of a tip, but I have all these other interesting things to do". I agree - there are lots of interesting things to do - and I do them, but I still make time to keep the house nice.

I do a clean through, including bathroom and bed changing every Friday. Kitchen cleaned every day , have an open plan living/dining/ kitchen in a flat so floor swept most days . Dusting done once a week. Laundry/ironing as needed. Quick tidy every day. The big clean only takes me about 2 hours and I might spend half an hour a day on bits. Plenty of time for doing as I like and I still work 1.5 days a week . I used to volunteer as well but that’s stopped at the moment

I do half an hour every morning, basics like making bed, cleaning round bathroom, kitchen and hoovering ( we have a dog). Then a good clean through once a week. It does the trick.

I'm a bit OCD and I can't stand seeing things dusty or untidy. So I tend to spend possibly too much time cleaning.

Oh well I am both boring and ugly I actually enjoy housework and have not a single fridge magnet - you have to take them all off to wipe down daily. I thought everybody would be madly cleaning everything now in the era of the supervirus.

The posts here have made me happy. There are people like me. I have a sign that has.... I cleaned my house yesterday, sorry you missed it. I can always think of things to do rather than clean. I do sweep the cat fur that my two cats seem to moult continuously at the moment. I swear I could knit a jumper from it if it was spun.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202006/medium-597448-f6e9a77c-3ed0-4aa4-a0ba-c2e6ee723c62.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202006/medium-912160-8a8fe039-aa87-4fcd-a481-bf490ce7264b.jpeg

!!!!

When I retired, I was told to join everything I could, things I'd always had an interest in and new things. As time went on, I'd decide what I liked doing, and who I enjoyed spending my time with. It was brilliant advice.

My advice? Carry on with your minimal housework routine - life's too short.

I do housework when I can write my name in the dust. Otherwise I live for the garden where I am sublimely happy.

Find your local U3A and see what they have to offer, fit housework around retirement commitments! A stress-free head is more important than a dust-free home.

Your free time is more important than the dusting or vacuuming. Provided your home is clean and tidy enough for you, that’s all that matters - now I’ve just seen a healthy layer of dust on my sideboard - better find the duster!

I too was not put on this earth to do housework. There are so many more interesting and productive things I can do, why waste time on repetive cleaning. My home is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

Go visit places of interest, gardens, visit friends and family, pilates, choir, craft group, all the regular interests when times were normal. Tidy up daily ie put things back in place (10 mins); clean kitchen surfaces, bathrooms, vacuum, mop floors, dust twice a week, ( 1 hour unless I am distracted by something on my rounds). You'll find loads to do when life gets back to normal.

I usually have a cleaner but not at the
One good dude to Covid. I do some most days on a rotational basis but always do my countertop and hoover the kitchen/diner floors every day.
I’m not a joiner of clubs. I don’t play well with others.

I normally have a cleaner each fortnight but haven't had her since lockdown began and won't have her until everything is back to 'normal'. I just try to keep the flat looking tidy in the meantime, vacuuming when necessary. It's the dusting that causes me the most pain as I find it very painful to stand and lean to dust, so that has been left mostly. But the flat still looks all right. And I'm happy with it and that's all that matters.

I’m retired as well as my husband ( who retired at 50)...he does sod all... so now I just do what’s necessary. Washing... shopping.... and hoover when I see dirt only..... I now NEVER
iron anymore ... my daughter taught me that ...what a total waste of time and energy!!!! To think of the hours..and hours..and hours of frigging ironing I’ve done...non -appreciated , un-respected, un-paid. My husband would never do an hours work that wasn’t paid work. I now follow same ritual. I cleaned out the u-bend under sink the other day as it was slow running ...I took £50 out of his account and transferred it to mine! Told him a plumber would e charged £150 at least .

My fridge is covered in magnets. Always buy one wherever we’ve travelled to, plus friends and family give us some too. It’s a personal choice and I love to see them.