How to Make Outdoor Chores Less of a Chore

The truth is, most people don’t wake up and feel all excited to go outside and do chores. After all, they’re called chores for a reason, and they’re usually the jobs you know you need to do but that are going to take time, energy, and motivation.

And yet, keeping the outside of your home tidy actually makes everything feel better, especially when you think that it sets the tone when you pull into the driveway, it makes outdoor spaces nicer to use, and it stops the garden from becoming something you’ll deal with later but never do (a feeling we all know too well). 

The good news is that you can turn these outdoor chores into, well, less of a chore if you think about it and plan things out, and with that in mind, here are some ways to do it

Work With The Weather, Not Against It 

One of the biggest reasons why outdoor chores feel so grim and tough is more than likely to do with timing - trying to mow the lawn when it’s boiling hot outside or clearing leaves when it’s just rained is almost guaranteed to make you feel fed up before you’ve even started. So of course, picking the right moment is sure to make everything a lot easier. 

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If you can, you’ll want to choose cooler times or overcast days for the bigger jobs, and it’s good to remember that early mornings often bring better light, as well as less interruption so you can generally just get on with things.

And if the weather really isn’t cooperating, don’t force things because you’ll only regret it, and some tasks are just better left until it’s a better time - you don’t have to feel guilty about that. 

Make Sure You’ve Got The Right Tools 

There are some outdoor tasks that just feel totally endless because you’re using tools that make them feel harder than they really need to be. Anyone who’s ever swept a patio with a tired old broom knows exactly what we mean, and that’s just one example - it’s the same with trimming hedges using clippers that keep sticking together or raking leaves for hours because the rake is flimsy and keeps catching on the ground. 

That’s where investing in better tools genuinely pays off, and things like a decent lawnmower, a sharp pair of shears, a hose attachment that stays attached, and so on, are all going to help you do the jobs you need to do much more quickly and with less effort. 

And for leaf cleaning, you’ll want the best battery leaf blower you can comfortably afford because the difference between clearing leaves manually and working with a handy cordless tool is night and day, and suddenly a job that used to take hours takes minutes. The point is, when you’ve got tools that make jobs easier, you’ll keep your motivation for longer. 

Break It Down Instead Of Powering Through 

In other cases, outdoor chores feel overwhelming because you’re thinking of them as one massive list, but if you separate them all out and break them down into smaller pieces, they’ll be so much easier to deal with, and you’ll feel like you’re really achieving a lot because you’re ticking loads of little jobs off your list. 

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The fact is, you don’t actually have to tidy up the entire garden in one weekend or afternoon, and instead you can just tidy one corner or clear one path or wash one window, etc, and you’ll still be making progress.

And working in short bursts is often better anyway, so try setting a timer for twenty minutes and see how much you can get done - you’ll achieve something, and you won’t wear yourself out or get frustrated. In fact, you might even want to do another twenty minutes afterwards. 

Turn Tasks Into Something More Enjoyable 

Maybe in the past all your outdoor (and possibly indoor) chores were done in silence and were a lot of hard work, but why? That’s a horrible way to do things, and it’s no wonder you’re not excited to get going.

Did you know that you can add something small to make them nicer, like listening to a podcast you only listen to while gardening, for example, or coming up with a special playlist, putting on a new outfit (that you don’t mind getting dirty) and so on. You could even have a drink waiting for you for when you’re done. 

The point is, rituals like these are exactly the things that turn jobs into less of an issue - if you know you’ve got a pretty relaxed hour ahead with something good to listen to, everything’s going to feel easier and more pleasant before you start, plus it puts your brain into the right place to associate chores with something pleasant, and that makes it easier to get started next time. 

Don’t Aim For Perfection 

You’ll probably find a lot of your frustration comes from trying to do everything perfectly, but the fact is that grass won’t always grow the same length everywhere, leaves are going to keep falling, edges might not be perfectly straight, sometimes plants die… and that’s okay. 

Remember that outdoor spaces are living things, and they’re supposed to change and be natural - that’s basically the point of them. So don’t try to make everything perfect and flawless because it can’t be and shouldn’t be - just make it look as good as you can and be happy with that. Good enough really is good enough when it comes to outdoor chores. 

Final Thoughts 

Outdoor chores can definitely be annoying and they’re not always fun, but they don’t have to be the big issue a lot of people turn them into, and once the job’s all done, your home’s going to look and feel wonderful, so it’s well worth it. 

Just take a look at the progress you’ve made, no matter what it might be, and those visible results should be just the thing to keep you motivated to do more.

[NG-FA]

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