What was your most hated chore as a child?

Filling the coal scuttle from the coal shed which was located at bottom of garden and had a door that wouldn't stay open. Always tried to find a large bit of coal to use as a stopper but useless if it was windy. How I carried that up to the house goodness knows.

Very good post,reminded me of so many jobs,certainly prepared us for life,I have short cuts for most jobs and really appreciate all our modern convinces——I used to hate brushing the stairs and dusting between the wood stripes on the dining room chairs.

Bazza

Trying to light our open fire, our only form of heating, when I came in from school and before my mum came home from work. I was about eight. It was really difficult to get it to catch and I used to hold up a piece of newspaper in front which would often then catch fire, amazing that I didn’t burn the house down.

I used to have to do that as well Bazza I always had to try & draw it with the newspaper over the front when there were no sticks or firelighters left. Then I only had home made paper sticks and coal to try and get it going ! I used to panic like hell when the Bonanza style fire hole appeared in the middle of the newspaper !

When we were having visitors I had to go round all the window sills and wipe up the freezing condensation. She also had a hideous huge brass wall thing with lions on it. I had to take the brasso to that. Hated doing that too. The upside was that if she was having guests she baked and baked. I loved her baking so it was a trade off of sorts.

The dreaded mangle, in the back yard, in middle of winter it was horrible. Oh and getting coal when it was getting dark,. Cleaning the brass front step every weekend, rain or shine, appearances matter apparently.

To my shame I didn’t do any chores either my mum was a stay at home mum and considered it her job bless her. I so wish I had helped out and feel guilty about it but like others on here have said she said I’d have enough to do when I was married. With 3 DC under 3 she said “I told you you’d have enough to do!”

Trying to light our open fire, our only form of heating, when I came in from school and before my mum came home from work. I was about eight. It was really difficult to get it to catch and I used to hold up a piece of newspaper in front which would often then catch fire, amazing that I didn’t burn the house down.

I hated plucking chickens too, hanging out the washing on a freezing day then bringing it in still frozen several hours later. Putting it through the big mangle outside in the winter.
I didn’t mind the indoor jobs, I’d happily polish floors, sweep stairs, clean windows, wash up, black lead the range, it was just the outside jobs in the freezing weather that I hated. I also bitterly resented my brothers doing very little, although they did work on the farm so I suppose it was fair enough.

Nannan2

Hated shoe polishing?

My Dad always polished our shoes.
I was surprised that DH didn't do this after we got married - I'd left them out for him to clean and he was surprised to think it was supposed to be his job!

He does clean my dirty trainers sometimes now (a compromise).

And one point I meant to make about children helping with chores was that they often had critiques and suggestions about how to do it differently, more efficiently or better, and sometimes I learnt from them and took their ideas on board.

Seems I am not the only one whose worst chore was cleaning silver/brass. It was the feel of the stuff on my fingers. I said to my mother 'No-one will notice it's been done' and she said 'But they'd notice if it wasn't'. I didn't get what she meant then, but I do now. But now I don't have silver and brass to clean!

I'm surprised so many have said they didn't make their own children do chores. Must've come as a huge shock to those kids when grown-up and in a place of their own! I think chores are a part of family life, and kids should help.

I had to clean two birdcages every Saturday morning and a hen-house once a month.

I'd forgotten that, grandetante

I had to clean out the budgie's cage because he was mine. He used to sit on my head (and occasionally poop in my hair) ?

I don't do "like" and "hate" so I always find these threads difficult to add to. I don't remember doing any chores as a child. Our DM was very competent and capable and managed it all on her own, anyway we wouldn't have been able to do it to her standard.

I wish she had trained us better, so that I didn't have to learn everything from scratch later in life.

Having done au-pairing in 3 different households in 3 different countries, I did, however, learn that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and when my children came along, I tried to encourage them to do chores, putting up with lower standards - you've got to start somewhere.

Had a lovely session peeling potatoes with DGS the other day - bits of peel all over the place, but he was the one who wanted chips, so he happily mucked in.

Washing the brown furniture with vinegar solution and polishing it with Betterware furniture polish. Thank goodness it was only twice a year.

Taking the 'Kays' catalogue to various neighbours.
That thing was heavy and slippery!

My mum taught me to bake when I was 9 and I still love baking now but she worked nights so I had to make a roast dinner on a Sunday while dad went to the pub, I was about 12, still hate peeling potatoes to this day. As the eldest I used to have to babysit from about 10 yrs old and I was in charge of taking my baby sister round the block in her pram from when I was about 7 and getting her off to sleep at night

Hated having to clean the brassware - I vowed I’d never have anything brass in my home as I hated the smell of Brasso it made me feel sick. I was still made to clean it all though regularly. Hated having to dig &weed the allotment too.

I had all those Saturday jobs, hated cutting the lawn edges with hand shears, we seemed to have miles of them. Peeling a bucket full of potatoes, enough for a week , the bucket was kept in our large underground cellar which was always cold and my mother changed the water every day, strange thinking about that now. Filling the coal bucket daily in winter. Washing up with my younger sister most days. In the holidays the dusting of the living room three times a week. What I did love was shovelling snow with a big homemade board on a stick, as I grew up in Holland we used to get a lot of snow. I was really good at making paths around the garden from the house doors to the shed, garage and gates and of course that blasted coal bunker and the chicken coop. That really took me back....

Shopping! I hated the weekly Saturday shopping trip to the high street with my Mum. She insisted I went to carry the bags. Trudging from shop to shop looking for the best prices, up and down the market with the bags getting heavier and heavier. By the time we were on our way home they were cutting into my hands.

By contrast I always liked going to the small local shops where people smiled and talked to me, or would give me a sweet or biscuit. Mum didn't like going to the local shops, she said they were too 'gossipy' so she sent me.

I really hated getting in from school and being sent straight back out to the shop with a shopping bag & a list.
Another chore I got roped into occasionally involved going out with a large dustpan and picking up manure after the horses from the local riding school had passed by our house. My dad wanted the muck for his roses & seemed to find it amusing to send me. I would be seething but did it anyway. We had some beautiful roses though.

I had so many chores, parents worked including Saturdays. Plus I was first in at night after school, still hate going in a dark house in winter.
Had to light fire from early age (yikes but true) and chop sticks with a small axe outside - not allowed firelighters as too expensive ? Didn’t like any of my chores but I’m an ace cleaner now although have never had to do it for a living plus I’ve always had fires that look real but are gas ?

Cant remember doing anything I didnt like but I dont like ironing or even housework really, but it has to be done.

Peeling the potatoes but finally got away with it because nan said I was taking to much peel off and took the job off me but I was cooking since age of 7

I was eight when I started. My job was to fill the coal bucket from the coal shed, after school chop the kindling in the garage, the axe was too heavy for me so I used a sharp knife and hammered it into the wood 'til it split. Then.... clean out the grate, make the paper firelighters, add the wood and small bits of coal until it caught, then gradually adding more. Also collect my baby brother from nursery. One parent family, only had a dad.

Cleaning out the fire and using something called a" gas poker", to put it on. It was a metal tube with holes, attached to the gas supply and you lit it with a match. Smelt awful and gave out quite a flame.