The Anti-To-Do List: 10 Things You Don’t Need to Be Doing
Aren’t you busy enough? Give yourself a break and consider letting these tasks go

Laura Gaskill
December 7, 2016
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
I write lots of to-do lists, but sometimes we all just want a break! And with the holidays coming up, this seems like the ideal time to find ways to do less, not more. If you feel the same, here are 10 things to take off your to-do list ASAP.
1. Mowing annoying little patches of lawn. People in areas with cold winters may be off the hook (for now), but in many regions the joys of lawn care never cease. Have those little bits of grass — for instance, between steppingstones or in the driveway — replaced with artificial turf, and you can stop worrying about keeping them trimmed and watered. Artificial turf options are so real-looking now, your neighbors may not be able to tell the difference.
2. Using a top sheet. Do as many Europeans do, and skip the top sheet — pulling on a duvet (with a duvet cover that you can launder) means you can make the bed super fast each morning.
3. Picking up the cat fluff. If it bothers you, consider investing in an automatic vacuum cleaner, and turn it on each time you leave the house.
4. Making photo albums. Stick your printed photos to a magnetic wall (or bulletin board) instead, and you can enjoy your snapshots without slaving over making an album — because let’s face it, even those photo books you order online take time to put together. When you’re ready to shift to a new set of photos, simply place the ones from the photo wall in an acid-free photo box labeled with the date.
5. Decanting pantry goods into pretty containers. A set of matching glass containers looks attractive in the pantry … until you give up on refilling them. Skip the whole process and just go with the original packaging. As long as it’s all behind closed pantry doors, who will know the difference?
6. Drying the dishes by hand. Unless you need to use them again right away, simply leaving your dishes and pans on a rack to dry is a more efficient use of time. Go do something else, and come back to put the dishes away once they’re dry.
7. Putting away all the toys. Sure, the toys that are loud or otherwise bother you in some way ought to be put away. But relaxing the rules a bit to allow certain toys to “live” out in the open can help ease the burden of constantly tidying up.
8. Ironing. Pulling clothes from the dryer and hanging or folding them promptly can work in lieu of ironing for many garments. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always the dry cleaner.
9. Making all your holiday gifts. Giving everyone lovingly homemade holiday gifts sounds delightful … until you realize you have about a week left to finish a dozen presents, and you’d have to give up eating and sleeping to get them all done in time. Let yourself off the hook and shop locally or online for gifts — and if it’s a handmade touch you’re after, concentrate your energy on making one big batch of holiday treats, or a special embellishment for the packages instead.
10. Trying to complete tasks “perfectly.” If it all seems like too much, consider whether you are holding yourself to unrealistically high expectations. A quick tidying up before entertaining is plenty — in fact, your friends will probably feel more comfortable in your home if it’s imperfect.
Tell us: What household tasks do you skip? Share your tips and tricks in the Comments!
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Tell us: What household tasks do you skip? Share your tips and tricks in the Comments!
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How to Savor Your Beautifully Imperfect Home
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mandcsmamadee, you can get the bunny drainer at http://www.dutchbydesign.com. Put "bunny drainer" in the search box. Good luck! And I'm in the same boat as dvd94, of a sort. We downsized from a large home with 26 years of stuff to a smaller, newer, more manageable one. Moving definitely helps because it forces you to choose between what you truly can't live without, and what has been weighing you down over the years. LOVE our smaller home. As for the list, we don't have pets (allergies) or children so that eliminates a lot of time-sucking clean up. I don't iron anything except cloth dinner napkins once a year. If you get them out of the dryer right away, you can fold while warm and they are pressed. We only buy no-iron shirts for the hubs. We do pay a yard service for our tiny yard - worth every penny. Now that we have a smaller house it's a lot more obvious that stuff on surfaces makes it look cluttered. So I take 10 minutes at the end of the day to put things away and can start fresh (breathe free!) when I wake up each morning. And hard surface floors are the bomb over having to deep vac wall-to-wall carpet. Won't have carpet again, only wood, tile and a few area rugs. At 64 I want to spend my time doing things I love - not cleaning like crazy. And I have 2 sets of sheets w/top sheet. Each week one goes on the bed while the other is in the laundry. I wash the duvet much less frequently. I just pull the top sheet up and tuck (not perfectly) b/c it is covered by my duvet! so it takes about 30 seconds to tidy the sheet. Takes me 6 minutes to make the bed, including the bedspread, and throw pillows. I LOVE how it feels to have a made bed. And if I don't have time on occasion, I shut the bedroom door. That is ALWAYS allowed! It's okay to strive for excellence. Perfection is highly overrated. #10 is the best alternative ever - at least for us!
Unfortunately the bunny drainer is no longer available, but thanks for trying.
I get blankets too. Untill i get hot. Then I only want a sheet; after all, i am sandwiched between two mammalian heaters. They move away from me: I get cold and attack snuggle my husband and Probably ( he says absolutely) steals his blankets.
My husband gets cold. He reaches for HIS special, dedicated set of blankets. He is warm. The dog finds out, slips past me like a heat-sinking furry eel, and stars the process of stealing my husbands blankets.
Game on!
So no, i dont think the duvet thing will work for me, but i do have a robot vac and i do airdry dishes.