Puttering as a Form of Self Care
My husband had baseball practice this afternoon, so I decided to dedicate that time to "putter" around the house. Not a big singular project, but instead a dozen or so small chores that get procrastinated, as they're not part of daily, or even weekly maintenance.
- First off was to give a light scrub to the subway tiles in the shower surround. I keep a small cleaning brush in the shower, which I use to occasionally clean while showering. This delays the full scrub, which is my least favorite chore.
- I threw a load of laundry into the wash. Okay, this is obviously a "regular chore," but I'm still including it.
- Next up was the back porch, which was littered with dry leaves and miscellaneous items. I rehomed a couple items, threw away a few things and then gave it a thorough sweep.
- I water houseplants on Sunday, so I checked that from my list. Having a specific day for this task helps to not over or underwater my plants.
- The rosemary in the bathroom was drying out, so I threw it in the compost and went out front to snip a new batch. I have an infinite supply of rosemary in my garden, so it's a year-round display above the toilet. Looks nice, smells lovely and it's free!
- I ran the vacuum through the living room, dining room and kitchen. Again, this is a regular chore, but it only takes a few minutes.
- I took a butter knife and scraped the bathroom floor where the litter box used to sit. The combination of clay litter and steam created a concrete-ish substance, which lived between the tiles. Not hugely noticeable, but I'd put off dealing with it.
- I keep a few bathroom supplies on a tray, which can get a bit dusty. I brought it into the kitchen and gave everything a quick clean.
- I gathered a pile of mail from the dining room table and dumped it on the coffee table, so I can sort through it while watching TV. I've yet to check this from my to-do list, but at least it's now within arm's reach.
- There are five or six nails that pop up from the hardwood floor, so I grabbed a nail set and hammer to tap them back into place.
- I reset all the clocks to Daylight Savings time.
Nothing took more than a few minutes, but my house is noticeably more ordered as a result of my efforts. I'd guess that I spent a bit more an hour on these chores, while also listening to a library audiobook. I get stressed out when my house is messy or disorganized, so these tasks serve as "self care," as well as a "favor to my future self."
It minimizes the free floating anxiety I get from vague unfinished tasks and we get to enjoy the home we paid so much to finally own.
Do you ever choose to hit the random small tasks instead of the big picture stuff? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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(Brisbane, Australia)I live in a compact one bedroom apartment, and am allergic to marriage and housework. My deal is that I do housework while boiling a kettle for a cuppa, or waiting for the microwave to “ping”. I may be in the running for “Most Efficient Woman , ( Vintage Class) 2026”, as I rarely do housework other than that. It is truly amazing what you can do in, say, 5minutes! I can make my bed, including fancy pillow arrangement!while my morning cuppa is boiling, and wipe the bedroom mirrors. Most people mistake sparkly mirrors for high standard cleaning, and that works for me! I have cleaning cloths and sprays stashed in every room , I do what is easy, and having things to hand is half way done already! “Perfection” is the enemy of “Pretty Good”, and I’m fine with “Pretty Good”!
Coral, thanks for the laugh "allergic to marriage and housework." LOL. I like you're way of doing housework. I hate waiting on anything especially my coffee in the morning. I always get a few things done while I'm waiting.
1. Found a beat up purse I curb picked long ago in the garage. It had over a dollar in loose change in it. I put the $ in my change challenge bag.
2. Went to the grocery to check out their plants. I found a receipt in the parking lot to put in Fetch.
3. While scavenging I found 3 bags of dry goods. Looks like they came from a food pantry & were all in date. I put them in my car to hand out to the homeless. Gave a man a jar of peanut butter & a bag of pretzels shortly thereafter who was on a street corner.
4. I had a free loaf of French bread w/ purchase on my Panera app. I got a muffin for 2$ & got the bread free. I use my Sip Club almost every day for hot & cold drinks. It is one of my little treats. On occasion they put free items on my app.
5. Found a small navy club chair by a dumpster. It is likely vinyl but was clean & not ripped. It will look nice in my bedroom corner. I will wipe it down first. I also found a like new air fryer along side the chair. A good day for trash picking.
Wow, you found amazing things!
I call those tasks "tying up loose ends". And you're right, it does create a more orderly home. 😉
My cleaning is a mixed bag. I have a daily routine which is the dishes are done and the coffee maker is set for the next day before I leave for work. When I get home everything goes to the "landing pad" which is a place I set up for my keys, purse, watch, and work bag. The same as the my morning routine nothing is left is the sink before going to bed. This has all become a habit, and I do it on autopilot. I have added one task each day before I shower. Like this morning I cleaned the toilet bowls. Tomorrow I will vacuum the hall. Little things keep me from having to devote too much of my weekend to housework! Overall I am working to become a minimalist. To help with that I have committed to listing items for sale on eBay and Poshmark. Since March 1st I have been listing one item daily. Sometimes more because it's getting over that initial I don't feel like that gets the momentum rolling. I also will set a timer and do pick up and put away events.
I don't love housework, and since I live alone, I only have to meet my own standards. I go for tidy, not perfect.
I have a new plan, which I'm going to try out this week.
Monday - Laundry
Tuesday - Floors
Wednesday - Surfaces
Thursday - Furniture
Friday - Appliances
Saturday - Car
Sunday - Nothing!
Just going to tackle what needs doing in the designated areas.
Running the dishwasher, making the bed, wiping the shower walls, hand washing are all daily things.
As needed: cleaning the aquarium, watering the plants, organizing inside drawers and cabinets, sweeping the landing.
Yes! Not only doing these small things, but checking them off my list is very satisfactory.
I was really good during COVID lockdown initial few months of doing one "random" chore and one larger chore a day. I made it part of my routine & it really does help you mentally remember to do things like dust the table legs, or whatever. I haven't been as good about it lately, although I do try to go back & clean things i've noticed. I'm typically in between a meeting (work from home) & because I don't have time to do it exactly then, sometimes I forget. I suppose jotting it onto my list would help. Yesterday DH & I were putting our shoes on in the garage before heading out on a hike. I noticed that the metal part of the exterior door jam was absolutely filthy. I grabbed a cleaning cloth & wiped it down, and it visually looks a lot better, and likely keeps dirt out of our house.
I sometimes find myself in a mood to putter. Here are some recent "putterings":
I switched up some paintings to different rooms to give the house a new look.
My day for watering my house plants is Monday so that will get done today. Like you Katy, it helps me keep track of when they get watered to avoid over/under watering.
I washed all the throw blankets we keep on the back of the sectional after using them all winter.
I wiped down the backsplash with soapy dish water after doing dishes.
I used the dust buster to vacuum the rug on the stairs. I vacuum upstairs and downstairs but seem to neglect the stairs.
I finally put away a few Christmas decorations I had mistakenly left out after the holidays.
I tot6relate to this! Just a couple days ago I blogged about mood boosters and one of them was decluttering! https://practicalwalk.com/2026/03/08/mood-boosters/
Love that bathroom tile so much!
I also like to putter. It feels so good to get those little annoying things that bug out of the way.
Random small tasks here: picking up garbage (putting it in actual garbage bags rather than on the floor). Considering how to deal with assets as I age since I have no immediate family left (I do NOT want the state of Oregon making decisions about my "stuff" after I'm gone.) Cleaning litter boxes *1 cat, 3 boxes, because I was planning on adopting more than 1 cat * Scrubbing the toilet (not my favorite thing to do but you gotta do what you gotta do LOL) Drinking a nice cold brew from Dutch Brothers.
In the UK we call it pottering. That will be me today, I'm in a bad mood from the wretched time change and just feeling overwhelmed about the world. I will do some refreshing of bookcases and perhaps a bit of sewing. I must plant a few flower starts. I have requested my account be deleted with a supplement company that has the worst checkout I've ever experienced. I've also blocked the website on my computer.
A little beware about ebay-I ordered an item and it came from Amazon! The seller is taking orders on ebay and then ordering on Amazon, which is against ebay policies. I left feedback about the shop, so hopefully other buyers will see it, and I also reported it to ebay. So I have to return that item today. I'm sticking to my principles.
I hate the week after changing clocks.
I don't particularly care which reality we live in, just have a lot of trouble adjusting in between.
Yesterday I invited three friends to join us for an Indian dinner featuring four entrees from the caterer in the hood. Not quite as much food as I expected, so I cooked a many bean dal and a pot of rice to fill out the menu. The Mister does his best (and often only) work under pressure. Before company came, we trimmed the rug pad, replaced the furniture, took down the clothesline on the screen porch, took down the Christmas lights in the windows, set up and set the table for dinner on the screen porch. On the trip to pick up ice cream for dessert and the catering, we dropped plastic wrap from the pattress and the rug in recycling.
i read once that there are two ways of cleaning: Picking up and Scrubbing.
I definitely am the first-- my house is picked up, but not particularly scrubbed or dusted.
I try sometimes to do what I read in someone's frugal hints: If a task takes less than ten steps or twenty-five seconds, do it as soon as you notice it.
Yes, I am the ultimate putterer.
Yes, I put away a few winter decor items, dusted the buffet, then continued on to dust the whole living room. We heat with a woodstove, so always dusty.
Then cleaned the fish tank, and vacuumed.
Was any of it on my internal list. Nope
"The Ultimate Putterer" sounds like it should be said in a deep "wrestling announcer" style of voice!
I get up early to exercise before work but there is often 10-15 minutes before we have to leave so I use to do one of these small chores. Empty the dishwasher. Clean inside the microwave, a quick scrub on the window in the shower. Put away some of the 1-032 34592384723948234 things that end up on the dining room table. Just a little bit really does help.
I love puttering. Saturday morning is usually my putter time. For me it often involves cleaning Ziploc bags or glass containers that have been hanging around the sink all week -- things I want to reuse. Or picking a random drawer to clean out. Or trying to get a stain out of something. It's so satisfying!