[Dual-Income] How a 20-something full-time working couple found a way to do housework without trying too hard

Hello, this is Yui.

It has been half a year since I started living with my boyfriend, who is two years younger than me. We have been through trial and error with housework, but I would like to share how we manage it without any strain, even though we both work full-time.

5 time-saving appliances we use

As a premise, we have these appliances in our home. I love "automation," so I have been collecting them little by little since my first year as a working adult. Haha.

• Dishwasher (Panasonic Petit）

• Washer-dryer (Sharp）

• Robot vacuum (Anker Eufy with mopping function）

• Smart remote (nature remo mini）

• Smart lock (Qrio Lock）

We recently introduced the Qrio Lock, and it is quite good...!
It has a feature that automatically unlocks the door when you get home using your smartphone's Bluetooth, and an open/close sensor that automatically locks the door when you leave the house.

I was able to eliminate the action of fumbling through my bag for keys in front of the door when leaving in the morning and locking it. Not having to use my brain for that alone makes things much easier.

Time-saving appliances have a high initial cost, but they support our lives for years, so I believe thatthe more you have, the better, and if you are hesitant, just buy itis the way to go. The next thing I am aiming for is a Hot Cook.

I wrote a note about the dishwasher and the robot vacuum, so please read it if you are interested.

How we divide weekday housework

First, I will introduce how we handle weekday housework.
My boyfriend's and my life rhythms are a bit off... He leaves the house at 7:00 AM and gets home at 7:00 PM. I leave at 8:30 AM and get home before 8:00 PM.

We are both full-time regular employees, but we don't have much overtime these days. So, the weekday division of labor is roughly like this.

[Boyfriend's responsibilities]

• Taking out the trash in the morning.

• Bringing in the laundry at night. Grocery shopping and cooking (on days when there is pre-made food, heating it up and setting the table).

[My responsibilities]

• Running the washing machine in the morning. Towels are dried as is, and shirts that I don't want to wrinkle are hung on hangers and put in the bathroom dryer. (If I have time, I run the robot vacuum and dishwasher)

• At night, helping with meal preparation.

4 points for finishing housework efficiently

I think there are four key points to doing things efficiently within this routine.

1. Do laundry and dishes frequently

I suppose this is obvious, isn't it? Haha.

I used to do three loads of laundry all at once on the weekend and dry them at a laundromat, but it took time and was heavy to carry. Plus, it was hard to get them dry.

So, I started doing smaller loads frequently during the week. Since the amount each time is small, I can dry them at home just fine, and it's better for my mental health since laundry doesn't pile up in the basket now.

Doing things frequently applies to dishwashing as well. It's my least favorite chore, but by keeping the sink clear, I get the feeling of, 'If it's just a little, I might as well do it now!'
(*Though sometimes it does pile up... haha)

Pots have to be hand-washed, which is honestly a hassle, but ever since I started using the daily disposable kitchen sponges that were trending on Nitori, I've been able to keep my sponge clean at all times, which has significantly lowered the hurdle for hand-washing.

I always keep three boxes in stock, and once they get oily, I use them to scrub the sink and then throw them away. They drain well, and I highly recommend them.

2. For home cooking, make large batches in a waterless pot and store them

The person who gets home first, my boyfriend, is usually in charge of dinner on weekdays (I'm so grateful...!).
We have two Vermicular Oven Pots in different sizes and shapes, and we use them for cooking. You can cook without water, and it tastes delicious no matter what. The vegetables get so sweet.

I make rice, miso soup, and stews all in these.

And what's important is to make as much as possible at once. That way, you reduce the frequency of washing pots and cooking, and the vegetables you left half-used won't dry out.

I can't stand eating bad food for days on end, but if it's delicious, well, I don't mind it repeating... The Oven Pot makes that possible.

The Oven Pot 2 (22cm) we bought is the standard size for four people, and since buying it, we've been able to make large quantities. It was a pretty expensive purchase at about 27,000 yen, but it's the #1 thing I'm glad I bought last year.

I follow a flow of making about three days' worth of food as meal prep and storing it in iwaki glass containers.

These glass containers are so easy to use, don't require plastic wrap, and don't absorb odors, so I treasure them. I've been buying more little by little and have a ton in different sizes.

3. Don't push yourself with home cooking. Store-bought side dishes and eating out are fine too!

Even though we cook at home, we don't push ourselves.

While using meal prep, we add one or two side dishes from the supermarket. On one or two weekdays, we meet up at the nearest station after work to eat out.

After all, eating out lets you have dishes you don't usually make yourself, eating in a spacious environment is relaxing for the mind, and not having to clean up is super easy, isn't it...! I want to incorporate it actively.

In addition, after reading an interview article about Eri-san from SHElikes the other day, I consulted with my partner, and we decided to try tsukurioki.jp starting in July. It is a service that delivers homemade meals.

It costs 9,580 yen for 4 servings x 3 meals per week, so, hmm, it's not cheap...!? I wonder about it.

We both like cooking, so I'm not sure how well it suits us, but I'll report back after using it for a while if it's good.

④ Wake up 30 minutes early, start the appliances, and leave the house

Regarding my area of responsibility.
I leave the house at 8:30 on weekdays, but I wake up at 7:30.

My routine after waking up is like this.

I am a person who loves multitasking (setting aside the idea that multitasking = inefficient... lol), and I am so happy when I can have the appliances work while I go about my own tasks so I have various things running in the morning.

The sound of the dryer and the dishwasher is quite loud, and the robot vacuum is also a nuisance moving around my feet, so I try to press the buttons right before I leave so that the housework gets done while I'm out as much as possible.

Getting housework done in the morning has nothing but benefits.

• Self-esteem boost from being able to utilize morning time!

• I can be happy again when I come home to a clean house

• Since I wake up early, even if I oversleep a little, I won't be late if I skip the housework lol

That is the weekday routine.

On weekends, I tackle heavier to-dos like washing bedding, polishing water areas, and cooking.

▼ Please check out my latest note too ♡

Mindset and habituating housework

In the first place, I think the reason couples and married people argue is over how to divide housework? Is the usual balance not good? points.

We have adopted the following four things in our home.

① It's easier if you divide tasks according to your strengths

I myself had wondered for a long time how couples divide housework... but in our case, our roles were naturally decided based on our strengths.

He is strong, so he takes out the trash, buys groceries, and goes to the laundromat. Also, cleaning the bathroom.

I am good at detailed tasks, so I handle inventory management for the dishwasher, robot vacuum, and detergents. Also, cleaning the toilet.

As for him, he notices physical messes, so he picks up the socks I’ve left lying around (the worst, lol) and puts them in the laundry basket, or puts my bag back in its place if I’ve left it on the floor.

On the other hand, I am good at cleaning things that are hard to see, so I polish the kitchen trivets and mirrors, or wash sneakers.

(By the way, ever since I bought a Yamazaki Jitsugyo door hanger, my commute bag has a designated spot, so I don't leave it on the floor anymore. Lol)

We both like cooking, so we often stand in the kitchen and make meals together.

Personally, carrying heavy loads is in my top 3 least favorite chores in the world so I am extremely, extremely grateful that he does it for me...

I believe that if we each do the chores we are good at, there is less stress and the quality of the housework improves.

We have regular meetings to talk things over, and we concluded that neither of us has any complaints.
For now, we plan to divide tasks loosely as described above, and adjust them according to future circumstances.

2. Decide on the frequency of chores and share them on a schedule

When we first started living together, we didn't decide on the frequency or timing of chores, so things like 'Should I clean the toilet...?' 'Yeah, I guess...' or 'Oh, today was burnable trash day...' 'Ah, I should have taken it out' happened often.

Reminding each other is a hassle, so we decided which chores to do on weekdays and which on weekends, and we share them on Google Calendar. That way, whoever notices it can take care of it.

We also register and share personal plans like drinking parties on the calendar.

3. Report to each other and praise each other

If someone does a chore for you, thank them! Praise them! If you do it yourself, make sure to mention it! Lol

Even if you worked hard on something, just hearing a 'thank you' makes the fatigue blow away, so this is quite important.

In a book I read recently, there was a passage like this:

Maybe this is a common occurrence...?
It's all about making sure to mention it when you've worked hard! Lol

4. Don't overdo it, give up if you're tired

Housework is an essential job for living, but if you only work hard at that, nothing else gets created.

The basic premise is that we are both company employees in our 20s, and we are in a phase where we want to work hard and excel. We want to go to bed early and wake up early every day, take long baths, and have time to read at night.

Therefore, our top priority is to rely as much as possible on time-saving appliances and services, and not push ourselves too hard. Since our family motto (tentative) sets the guidelines for this, it's easy to think about.

Is this a point about not overexerting ourselves?

• For the tea we take to work in the morning, we buy plastic bottles in bulk from Amazon instead of using a thermos.

• We keep a stock of microwaveable rice, and on days when we can't cook rice, we just heat that up and eat it.

• We buy triple-length toilet paper and paper towels to reduce the hassle of managing them.

• We use mini bath towels to shorten drying time.

• When we're tired, we don't do anything. We give up. Haha. We can survive even if the house is a little messy.

That was our way of doing housework without overexerting ourselves as a 20-something dual-income couple.

We both recently changed jobs, but we haven't moved, so our house is small and far from our offices. Our way of doing housework will likely change again once we move.

Speaking of job changes... I'll wrap this up with a note about the Loewe case I bought as a job-change gift to myself, and the fact that I'm struggling a bit after changing jobs.

I'll write again soon.