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There are a great many things I'd rather do on the weekend than clean the house. Nonetheless, I do appreciate a tidy home, and am constantly in search of ways to keep my space looking its best without dedicating big chunks of time to doing chores. Here are some suggestions for simplifying household chores.

1. LAUNDRY: Invest in a laundry hamper with several compartments so that laundry can be continually sorted. Even very young children can be trained to put their dirty clothes in a hamper. Make it a small one, and help them sort their laundry into the family hamper every few days. When a bin is filling up, run a load of laundry. When it's washed, put it straight into the dryer. When it's dry, fold it and put it away. Each task takes only a few minutes, and you never feel that the laundry is piling up and you never run out of clean clothes or towels.

2. KITCHEN: When you're in the kitchen cooking, run the sink full of water and add some dish soap. As you use pots, spoons, measuring cups, drop them straight into the wash water. While the meal's cooking or the cookies are baking, wash up your cooking utensils or move them from the sink to the dishwasher. If the dishwasher fills up, set it to wash while you're eating. If there's anything burned onto a pot, don't waste time trying to scrub it clean. Let it soak over night, with either dish soap or baking soda in the water.

Do the dishes after every meal - no matter how few there are. If you have a dishwasher, put the dirty dishes in and run a rinse cycle if you don't have a full load. When the washer's full (don't overfill it - if there isn't enough space between the dishes half of them won't get clean), add dishwasher detergent and run a wash cycle. When it's done, open the door and let the steam help to heat the house. If you let the dishwasher dry the dishes, any residue that didn't wash off will be baked on. When you empty the dishwasher, check for any dishes that didn't come clean. If the washer wasn't overfilled and the dish didn't come clean, it likely won't do any better on a second wash. Squirt a drop of dishwashing liquid on the dish and fill it with hot water. Let it soak for a few hours, give it a quick swish with a dish brush and put if back in the dishwasher.

Hand wash the big pots, the popcorn bowl, the wooden salad bowl, and plastic containers that can't go in the dishwasher. Don't bother drying the dishes; letting them air dry is supposed to be more sanitary. Take a few minutes instead to clear any

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