Show me a successful person and I'll show you a list maker.
Indian households are so severely dependent on maids and servants that even if for a day the maid/servant doesn't turn up, the entire machinery of the household seems to crumble into a disorganized heap.A little self sufficience can go a long way.Your house does not have to look like a pig sty even if you are a busy bachelor/bachlorette. Some families have full time servants and maids.I shake my head in disdain and disbelief at the idea of a person who is not a member of your family, having unrestricted access to all the corners of your house and your life 24 hours a day!
All you have to do is to reign the lazy impulse in and accommodate a little time in your daily schedule for general chores.
Here's a list of things to do before you go out of the house in the mornings.
Wake up atleast an hour before the time you usually leave the house.Make it 1.30 or 2 hours if you wish to include an exercise schedule (highly recommended)
The bedroom
Make the bed, straighten out the sheets, fold the comforters, blankets etc
Lay out the clothes you plan to wear for the day on the bed before you hit the shower.
The bathroom , right after you shower.
Take a stiff bristled, long handled brush and remove the hair and other gunk from the shower drain(yechh I know, but see what it turns to if you DON'T take care of it daily), Don't pick it out of the brush with your fingers! Use several layers of toilet paper or old newspaper to pick it out of the brush, and toss the crumpled paper into the bin.There! wasn't so hard was it?
Now wipe out the shower curtain, the mirror, the counter top around the washbasin.Keep a rag in the bathroom for this purpose.You can skip this step if you like having water droplet marks everywhere.
Collect all your dirty laundry and toss it in the laundry bag.Try and use separate laundry bags for coloured and whites.
If you wish you can flush the john, pour some toilet cleaning fluid in there and put the seat down, You can come back from work/school and scrub it at leisure later. (You can skip this step everyday, and leave it for just once a week)
It would be excellent if you get an small fan or an exhaust fan installed in your bathroom.Leave it on after you shower, alternatively you can leave the bathroom ventilator or window open. A dry bathroom is hostile to mildew and mold! (less tile scrubbing terror later)
Also keep a long handled wiper mop in the bathroom to quickly direct the water towards the drain.
If you get ready in the bathroom itself, put all the makeup, hairbrushes back in their place after you use them.You don't want to end up putting toothpaste instead of foundation on your face accidentally (which is what my mom would have done once, had I, the superhero(ine) wasn't there to take note and stop her in her tracks)
Ditto even if you get dressed in front of a dresser.
Note - Do not ever use a hair dryer or other hand held electronic appliances in the bathroom, no matter what!
Okay the bathroom's set , it may look tedious but its not, it takes no more than 5-10 minutes. sometimes even less
Off to breakfast table
After you are done having breakfast,
Wipe the crumbs off the dining table
Fold the newspaper back (had you been reading it) Ideally you can wash the breakfast dishes right then if you are having dry food for breakfast (eg. toast), but most people I know, including myself have a problem with doing dishes once they are all dressed up to go out,So you can leave the dishes etc soaking in a sinkfull of detergent water and come back and do the dishes later.By that time the detergent will have loosened the grime and grease on the dishes and they'll pretty much clean themselves.
Since you are in the kitchen already to put the dishes back might as well wipe off the kitchen top and the burners etc.This prevents any grease from accumulating in the long run and more importantly keeps pests away.
Last minute check before leaving the house-The Important Stuff
Turn the bathroom fan / exhaust off
Unplug the iron/hairdryers/microwave oven and other such appliances.Someone, especially the elderly and children may accidentally turn them on and forget to turn them off.Recipe for disaster.
I do not recommend leaving the computer on unattended while you're not home, even if you are fond of your massive movie downloads.
Check the cooking range and make sure its not on.Even if there's no flame, still make sure the knobs are turned to 'off' position.(put florescent paint dots on the 'off' position marker as well as the tip of burner knob so you can clearly see that they are aligned, hence OFF.. a good way to teach children how to turn the gas off as well), Gas leakages can cause potentially life threatening disasters!
To be on an even safer side, turn the knob on the gas cylinder off before leaving home.(Recommended! Small children absolutely love turning cooking range knobs around haphazardly)
Close all the open windows and doors, latch them good, lest some unwanted guests drop by!
Make sure you are wearing your work shoes, not the comfy bunny slippers you trot around the house in.
Also make sure you are wearing pants
and/or have the curlers out of your hair before you dash out.
Parents please note that inculcating a habit of undertaking chores in your children , however young they may be, is not cruelty.It is the greatest act of kindness you can perform towards them.Dependence is a curse, if babied enough as children, adults get stuck in the infantile mode, unable to pick up after themselves in the house and life itself.This attitude translates to other aspects of life as well, such as inability to accept responsibilities in relationships and at work, inability to cope with life's challenges etc.
and yes boys needn't be treated any different than girls.What a girl is taught in an Indian family, a boy must know too.That includes making round chappatis!
There you have it.Please credit me or leave a link back to this blog if you use this article anywhere.I read all the major dailies and women's publications in India, and a few from abroad so I'll know 
And please comment if you found this article useful in any way to you.
Have a productive life!
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