20 Chores We All Did As Kids

2 years ago

1. Set the table

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Setting the table is something we ALL did as a kid, walking around the table thinking 'knives on the right'. And, there was a certain satisfaction in counting the knives and forks and making everything look aesthetically pleasing on the table, even if we were just five years old.

2. Matching the socks from the laundry pile

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How do we all end up with a pile of unmatched socks? Nobody knows where the other one goes or how they get separated but we all have that growing collection of unmatched socks. And our job as a kid was to sift through them all and find their partner!

3. Make the bed

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Making our own bed is one of the first chores that we are given as a kid. It's our own bed and it is the start of taking on small responsibilities and taking some responsibility for yourself. It's a good job to start with because there's nothing for a kid to break.

4. Washing up

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We all washed up as a kid. And there was something about the foamy bubbles and splashing around in the water that made us actually want to do this chore. And it was brave of our parents to let us, because it's a guarantee that they'll be more water on the floor than there will be left in the sink.

5. Visiting elderly relatives

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Now visiting elderly relatives is by no means a chore and it is certainly a blessing - but as a kid, it is harder to understand and it can feel like you're always having to visit somebody which in their eyes is just less time to play. You're told to be polite and on your best behavior, which as a kid never sounds appealing.

6. Dusting the surfaces or ornaments

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Give your kid a soft duster, it looks like a toy, and it's soft so it can't actually cause any damage. It was a fool-proof chore that we all did as a kid. This had to be one of the best because carrying around the feather duster in itself was fun enough to keep us entertained.

7. Watering the plants

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Who got the chore of watering the plants as a kid? This was another one which was enjoyable. You've either got the small watering can for the inside (which still managed to go everywhere) or you got given the spray where you really can't go wrong or make a mess. OR, you were lucky enough to have the hosepipe for the outdoor plants.

8. Grocery store shopping with an adult

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The dreaded grocery store shopping which felt like it happened every day. But, there were some undeniable perks. Sitting in the trolley or riding on the back was a huge incentive. And, usually, if you were good whilst you were in the store you might even get a little treat...

9. Putting the laundry out

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As a kid, there was something kind of fascinating about the washing machine. And going to pull out the wet clothes from the machine was fun. It was something about the way in within that little circle, the clothes just kept on coming like some kind of magic.

10. Walking the dog

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Walking the dog was a chore for the older kids. And when you'd reached the point of walking the dog you had got to a certain level of independence. Walking the dog was one of those that when you were asked you couldn't be bothered, yet once you were out you'd enjoy it.

11. Helping out with the younger ones

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If you were a sibling, or you had a lot of younger relatives, you'll know that one of the recurring jobs was to help out with the younger ones. This one was fun because you were older and felt like the one in charge even if you did pretend to moan about having to deal with the little ones.

12. Washing the car

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Washing the car was one of the best chores we did as a kid. There were buckets full of bubbles, sponges which seemed huge at the time that we could basically throw at the car, and afterward, there was even the HOPSEPIPE. It was a recipe for mess which made it super fun.

13. Cleaning the windows

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The whole reason we probably needed to clean the windows in the first place was because we put our hands all over them and there were our prints all over the glass. But cleaning them seemed just as fun as making them messy in the first place, although we can only imagine the streaks we left in them.

14. Tidying our room

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Tidying our own room was one of those chores which just couldn't sound more boring. The dreaded words 'go and tidy your room' seemed like a mountainous task at the time. If we'd have spent less time complaining we could probably have finished it in five minutes.

15. Feeding the animals

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This image pretty much sums up what 'feeding the animals' would look like. The packet of dry biscuits or whatever it was seemed to feel so huge and when you lift it straight from the bottom, we learned the hard way that it poured all over the floor. On the plus side, the animals loved it.

16. Putting the groceries away

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After the grocery store, some of us had the chore of putting the groceries into the fridge. And you can bet that everything ended up in the bottom drawer or on the bottom shelf to the point that we could reach the easiest so that we could finish the chore and go to play!

17. Help to clear the table

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Clearing the table was one of those chores that you earned when you'd shows a certain level of responsibility. ESPECIALLY if you were handling breakable crockery. You had to have your most sensible head in and walk very carefully to be able to do this chore.

18. Cleaning the pet's space

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The golden rule was that when you were mithering your parents to get you a pet, you'd bargain with 'I'll clean them out'. Now, this promise was upheld by our parents quoting us every time we tried to get out of it. So many of us had to clear out the rabbits, guinea pigs, or whichever animal we'd asked for.

19. Unstacking the dishwasher

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One of the older ones, unstacking the dishwasher was not something we did until we were older kids and it was less likely that we'd get things out and immediately drop and smash them. Most of us will have memories of arranging the cups in the cup cupboard.

20. Rake the leaves in the garden

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During fall the garden would get so full of leaves. And most of us would see these leaves and see the potential piles we could create and jump right into. And when we had the chore of raking the leaves, that's exactly what we would do, which probably wasn't what our parents had in mind.

21. Sweeping the porch

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The porch was always covered with small twigs and leaves, yet because of the porch roof it was never too dirty and it was definitely not one of the worst chores we had to do. We'd be given a broom or a sweeping brush and we'd have t sweep the dirt off the porch steps.

22. Weeding the garden

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Weeding the garden was one of those chores which actually gave us good skills for the future because we'd learn to identify what was supposed to b growing in the garden and what wasn't. And, one of the things we all came to know was just HOW difficult dandelion roots are to remove.

23. Putting laundry away

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When it was time to put the laundry away we knew this wasn't a super quick chore. We had to put the clothes from the clean pile into our draw. And, as a kid folding clothes seemed impossible to do neatly so it all ended up being stuffed into the draw to do it as quickly as possible.

24. Arranging the school uniform and necessities for the following day

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One chore for certain we all had to do was prepare our things for the following school day. Arranging our school uniform and laying it out at the end of the bed ready to get dressed in the morning. And, pack your bag and make sure you and your pencil case is ready.

25. Taking the trash out

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Taking the trash out was a chore we all hated. It was stinky and gross and it was one of those chores where we really acted like it was way worse than it was. In reality, it would take two minutes, in our head it was the worst chore ever, and no doubt we'd complain about it.

26. Hoovering the floors

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What was it about hoovering that as a kid seemed fun, and now seems like the most boring and repetitive chore ever? Watching the Hoover suck up pieces of dirt used to be kinda fascinating as a child. Once the novelty wore off we realized just how boring it really is.

27. 'Babysitting' our younger relatives

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Being the babysitter for the younger relatives wasn't exactly an official babysitting role. It was what the adults named keeping an eye out for the children, yet we'd be given a glorified title to make us feel more important and make us fulfill our role better,

28. Wiping down the surfaces

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Usually, we'd be handed a moist cloth from an adult and we'd be told to go and wipe the table or to wipe the surfaces. It was usually something we couldn't do wrong. But does anyone else remember wiping the table and instead of gathering the leftover crumbs and food in your hand, just wiping it straight onto the floor?

29. Drying the dishes

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Who remembers the production line; there was the person doing the washing, there's be the person second in the line who would be drying the dishes and then there'd be someone at the end who would put it all away again. And, your role would switch up day to day.

30. Bringing the mail in from outside

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'Fetch the mail from outside'! This was a very quick chore. It was one of the good ones because it was so quick to do, but we still felt important to have a job that we could complete alone. You'd run out to the mailbox, pull out the mail and take them back into the house.