Unsolicited Advice: Put Your Servants to Work

No, we aren’t talking about your kids – that’s another post.

This is about your twenty-first century servants, the ones that usurped the positions of human servants not long after the turn of the twentieth century. You know, the ones that heat things up, cool things down, and make things clean.

Did you ever read productivity advice that recommends you use the first hour of the day for only your very most important priority and save mundane tasks for later when you have less mental acuity? There is wisdom in that, particularly for workplace situations, but for homekeepers I think there is another factor to consider.

A wise mistress prepares her servants and sets them to their tasks first.

That excellent woman King Lemuel’s mom talked about in Proverbs got up early and provided food for her household and a portion for her maidens. She fed them so they were fit to do the work she intended they should do during the day. She made it possible for them to serve her well.

Twenty-first century translation:

1. Care for equipment so it is able to serve you. Change the vacuum bag before clouds of dust erupt when you turn the thing on. Don’t forget to clean the dryer filter.

2. Keep appliances ready to serve by keeping them empty. The washing machine and dryer aren’t closets, so keep the laundry moving in and out of them. In our house, we run the dishwasher last thing before bed unless it is practically empty. The first thing I do after starting the coffeemaker in the morning is to unload it. It takes me four minutes, tops, and then it is prepared for use. I find other family members are much more likely to put their used dishes in there if they don’t have to take clean dishes out first.

3. Set appliances to work before you start to work. What are your plans today? Housecleaning? Teaching somebody the times tables? Working on a knitting project? Whatever you hope to accomplish, you will enjoy it more and be far more productive if your servants are working while you are working. Go ahead and start a load of laundry before you sit down to do a puzzle with your preschooler. Switch the load to the dryer and start another one before you clean the bathrooms. When you are going to make a meal, if it makes sense for the menu, get your cake or whatever baking first. Let your oven be working while you are chopping produce and using the stovetop for other items.

You have other servants besides appliances, and this last principle applies to them, too. Think about it. Most household cleaners are more effective if you give them a little time to work. If you make it a habit once a day or so to spray degreaser on your stovetop just before you deal with the dishes, by the time you finish the cleaner will have reduced all of the cooked-on gunk to soft, easily-removed gunk and you will have saved yourself minutes of scrubbing.

And, if earlier you had the presence of mind to fill your sink with hot, soapy water and drop dirty dishes into it as you cooked, your dish-washing session will involve a lot of items that have practically cleaned themselves. That, my friends, is a double win for setting your servants to work while you work.