I didn't know there were household chores I didn't have to do.

My impression is that in Germany, many people rationally discard waste in both work and housework, finishing things precisely in a short amount of time.

"I don't cook because it makes the kitchen dirty."

At first I thought it was a joke, but it's a serious topic I hear from time to time in Germany.
It's a simple logic: if you can't clean it yourselves and can't afford to hire a professional, then you just shouldn't use it.

Since the culture is different, I can't copy it perfectly, but I will write down some armchair theories that I think might make life easier by extracting and hybridizing ideas.

●Table of Contents
1. Why is housework so hard in the first place?
2. Discarding the "shoulds"
3. What are the chores you don't have to do?
4. Rethinking life rather than simple life hacks
5. Armchair theories

1. Why is housework so hard?

I thought about why housework was so difficult for me in the past.

① I didn't know I didn't have to do it
② There were too many things, and it was inconvenient
③ Being "precise!" felt good
④ Lack of understanding of how amazing modern appliances are
⑤ I didn't have time to research and think
⑥ I was taught that cutting corners is lazy and bad

I'm glad I woke up from those many curses...
Especially number ①, which is difficult to improve on one's own.

"I didn't know I didn't have to do it"

This.
Common sense ingrained from childhood is extremely troublesome.Because you think it's natural to do itso even if someone tells you "you don't have to do it," the response is usually just, "No, no, no, no, you should do it, right?"

The wall of common sense is so thick that it's meaningless to just list information and tell you about it.
Let's start by breaking down this wall of common sense.

2. Discarding the "shoulds"

What you "should" do changes depending on the situation.
If caregiving tasks are added, many of your fixations will eventually be abandoned as "impossible" anyway, so you might as well stop them early and live a more relaxed life.

While raising a toddler on my own, I was also caring for my two large foreign parents-in-law, cooking for everyone, cleaning a two-family house every day, and working on top of that,

"I can't do it all"

I realized this obvious fact only after my mind and body exploded. Hahaha.

In the midst of a great storm, focus all your energy on survival and quickly throw away your cargo (useless routine work, obsessions, etc.) as fast as you can.

Life is more important than ideals or appearances.

If you don't secure time to live as a human being, the cracks will gradually grow larger. And actually, every day
spending time in a relaxed way can even increase your income.Once you enter the spiral of increased time and increased income, you can just live even more leisurely.

In normal times, operate at 80% effort and always keep the remaining 20% for emergencies.

Whether you are a parent with infants or a single person, it is important for everyone to drastically discard tasks until you can manage at 80% effort during normal times. Because you set things at 100% from the start, you are always overwhelmed and living in a state of constant crisis all year round. For the sake of emergencies, discarding tasks that are hard to let go of and securing the remaining 20% every day is the entrance to a virtuous cycle.

● Take measures and act while you still think, "I'm still okay."

Even habits and ideals that are hard to discard will eventually have to be abandoned when you face an emergency like nursing or long-term care, so you can start discarding them now. It's about securing time and savings rather than perfect housework. If you increase your income and always have savings and spare capacity, you can clear most critical situations more easily.

But there is no time to be relaxed thinking, "My parents are still healthy..." Collapsing always happens suddenly. There are also partners who collapse at a young age. Escaping from a difficult situation with little capital and time is a daunting task. You should start improving your life to an 80% effort level right now.

If you think, "How can I do it?" instead of stopping your thinking by saying "I can't," the future will change. Even so, when you feel like giving up and saying "I can't,"

try imagining the regret you would feel if you or your family collapsed just once.

3. What are chores you don't have to do?

Summarized by the "I don't cook because the kitchen gets dirty" at the beginning, all chores that cause no problems if left undone are "chores you don't have to do."

It is best if professionals or machines can do it for you. If you don't cook and keep the kitchen clean, it is your personal freedom if there are no problems.

However, the latest appliances are expensive, and professional fees are also high. But it is important to distinguish that as a separate issue.

Circumstances vary by household, but use your "time, budget, and effort" to fully eliminate all the chores you don't have to do yourself.

4. Rethinking your life rather than simple life hacks

Even though there are many time-saving recipes and housework techniques, why are so many people busy? It is probably because they do not provide a fundamental solution to a relaxed life.

Saving a few minutes is meaningless if you are wasting hours every day elsewhere.
By changing bad habits and conventional wisdom to aim for fundamental solutions, you can create significant blocks of time and increase your happiness.

By the way, you don't need to change to a diet like the Germans. Japan didn't have the same eating habits in the past as it does today, and there are simple meals, too.

You should stop having a diverse menu that changes every day like a family restaurant, or dinners that feel like a party every night. The bar is set too high.

5. Armchair theory

Changing lifestyle habits and conventional wisdom is a daunting task, but if you truly desire it, you can change.Change your mindset that puts you at a needless disadvantage as soon as possible!

・Events
・Meals
・Wake-up time
・Watching TV
・Internet usage, etc.

I understand there are problems like, "I live with my family, so I can't change even if I want to." Even so, if you involve your family and change things little by little where you can, the future for everyone will change.

It is often said that "you cannot change others," butit is a different story when it comes to your life partner and children compared to complete strangers.As a family team, aim for a comprehensive positive outcome in life.

For things like "But my kitchen is small..."stop looking for reasons why you can't and failing to take action.Think and act to make changes.

"But because of XX, I can't do YY"
↓↓↓
"Even though it's XX for now, what can I do to be able to do YY?"

If the person truly desires to change themselves and aims for the victory of the family team, I believe they can change.

You will change!
Unless you are patient enough togive up on a good life and spend your whole life that way.

So, how exactly should you go about changing?

I plan to serialize each item on note in the future. (*Free)
I intend to categorize them to make them easier to read.

Summary

・Break down the walls of conventional wisdom
・Discard the "shoulds"
・Usually operate at 80% effort, keeping the remaining 20% for emergencies
・Relax every day because you have 20% spare capacity on weekdays
・Prioritize savings and conserving energy over perfect housework
・A spiral of increased time and increased income
・Take measures and act while you still think "it's still okay"
・Imagine the regret you would feel if you collapsed
・Eliminate chores you don't have to do with all your might
・Review your lifestyle rather than looking for simple life hacks
・Develop the habit of asking "How can I go from can't to can?"
・Stop the habit of making excuses for why you can't and not taking action
・Change little by little, starting where you can
・Don't endure

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