Chores

Many people change their sheets every week. It makes the bedroom smell clean and fresh when you put clean sheets on your bed.

Some people keep their cars in their garages. Others use their garages for storage. In my opinion, someone needs to clean this garage.

If you have a cat, you need to change its litter often or else it starts to smell bad. Did you know that kitty litter is also very useful if your car is stuck on the ice?

Sometimes you need to really scrub the kitchen sink. Other times, you can just wipe the sink with a cloth.

You should wear gloves when you clean the oven because the chemicals are strong and harsh. The oven is under the stove. Make sure the stove is off when you clean it so it is not hot.

If you don't have a dishwasher, doing the dishes as a team makes it more manageable. One person washes the dishes and the other person dries them.

At my sister's house, her son empties the dishwasher each night. He has a list of chores to do every day.

At my brother's house, his wife puts the dishes in the dishwasher and he empties the dishwasher and puts the dishes in the cupboard.

When you wipe down the counters, you normally use a cloth or a sponge and an all-purpose spray cleaner.

In English we often say "doing the laundry" instead of washing clothes. This is probably because when we do the laundry, it means both washing and drying the clothes.

You should always separate your clothes into different piles. You should do a load of whites on hot. Your darks and colors can be washed using cold water.

First Joe takes the clothes out of the washer (the washing machine), then he puts them in the dryer.

If it's not too cold, my aunt likes to hang her clothes on the line to dry. She thinks they smell fresher than using the dryer. In the winter, she either puts the clothes in the dryer or hangs them on a rack in her laundry room.

Sheets and towels are the easiest laundry to fold. Sometimes there is a cabinet in the bathroom for towels and sometimes there is a linen closet in the hallway for towels, blankets, and sheets.

Jack helps his daughter put away the laundry. He is handing her the clean clothes and she is placing them in the drawer.

Some clothes belong in drawers, other clothes get hung on hangers and put in the bedroom closet.

She has a routine for putting away her clothes.

Jamie's shirts get wrinkled in the dryer so he needs to iron them. Be careful! Irons get very hot!

Do you make your bed every day? Melissa makes her bed on the weekdays (Monday through Friday), but on the weekends she doesn't make her bed.

I do my mending while I watch TV. I can sew buttons and fix small holes. I try not to prick myself with the needle.

If you have a lawn or a yard, you need to mow it. If your grass gets too high, your neighbors might complain.

We mop our floor once a week. We usually do the mopping on Saturday.

Make sure your workspace is organized so that you don't waste time looking for supplies. You can also keep your closets and drawers organized if you want to be more efficient and save time.

My mom refused to pick up my dirty clothes when I was young. She told me that if I didn't pick up my dirty clothes and put them in the basket or the hamper that she would donate my clothes to charity.

Have you ever stepped on a Lego? Have your kids pick up their toys when they finish playing and put them away.

You must water your plants or they will die. Some plants like a lot of water and some plants don't need much water.

You might have a hamper, you might have a basket. Either way, dirty clothes shouldn't be on the floor of the bathroom or the bedroom.

If you want to sweep the floor, you will need a broom and a dustpan. It is a good idea to sweep the floor before you mop the floor.

You should never mop a carpet or rug. You need to vacuum the rugs with a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust and dirt properly.

Rachel uses a soft cloth and glass cleaner to wipe down her bathroom mirror. I don't know why she wears gloves, glass cleaner isn't dangerous.

Sometimes, the toilet gets blocked. Try using a plunger to unblock it yourself before you call a plumber. We call this plunging the toilet. Plumbers are very expensive.

If a house is clean, you just have to straighten up (or tidy up) before guests come over.

Wednesday is recycling day in her neighborhood so on Tuesday nights, Jessica takes the recycling out to the curb.

Julia takes out the garbage on Thursday night and puts it in the bin. Garbage pick-up day is on Fridays where she lives.

For our regular meals we only put out placemats but for holidays, we use a tablecloth. Placemats are more casual.

For a formal dinner in the dining room, there is a proper way to set the table. On the left, the salad fork and the dinner fork are on the napkin. The plate is in the middle. To the right of the plate is the knife and the spoon. The glass is above the knife.

After a meal, someone has to clear the table. This means that they take the dirty dishes and utensils from the table to the kitchen sink (or to the dishwasher) to be washed.

NOTE: in a restaurant, clearing the table is called "bussing the table" and the person who does it is the "busboy" or "busser".

Pam puts her groceries away as soon as she gets home. She doesn't want them to spoil. Food is expensive and she's on a tight budget.

Before Sheila cooks, she prepares the meal. She chops, cuts and seasons all of her food before she starts cooking.

Cooking requires heat. You can make a salad, but you cook most of your vegetables and meats on the stove or in the oven. If you cook outdoors (outside) it's often called a BBQ.

Alexandra has bad allergies. She dusts twice a week or the dust makes her sneeze.

Cecelia brings her boxes of summer clothes up to the attic each fall. She puts them in storage for the winter.

Chrissy feeds the fish once a week. Her older brother takes the dog for a walk and feeds and brushes the dog. Her younger brother feeds the cat and cleans the litter box.