Frugal Living Tip: Do Your Own Household Chores on a Rainy Day
What can you do on a rainy day? Household chores! I work at my job Monday through Friday, and I am working on my dissertation on Saturdays. This leaves Sundays for recreation and household chores.
It so happens that it is currently a rainy Sunday morning in the Bay Area, which means that I can dedicate a few hours to housework (doing dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning the cat litter box).
Although I would much rather have a lazy Sunday afternoon full of guilty pleasures such as watching Star Trek, playing with model trains, having a cigar, or visiting a museum (such as the Computer History Museum), I am embracing the rainy day filled with housework. A rainy day for housework costs no money, other than the usual expenses of dish soap, laundry detergent, and cat litter.
At one point I had thought of hiring a housekeeper or a personal assistant for these mundane chores. But it occurs to me that this is lazy and wasteful when I have my own two hands and a day free of other commitments. And the opportunity costs of doing my own housework (Star Trek, model trains, cigars, etc.) do not justify the added expense.
Of course, if I were to dedicate my one free day per week to philanthropy, entrepreneurship, academic pursuits, or some other important venture, then the cost of a housekeeper would be worthwhile. But because I fill the majority of my time throughout the week on grander pursuits, a day at home filled with household chores, and whatever Star Trek episodes I can squeeze in between them, is just fine with me for the moment.
The beauty of doing your own housework and household chores is that it very easily results in a productive and zero-cost weekend. If you are tempted to brave the rain to go out on the town or to the mall and spend money on a rainy day, do yourself and your finances a favor and just do some laundry or dishes instead. The chores will be done, and you can have some quality family time at home doing chores together.
