Household Games We Play Even Though We Know We Shouldn't

Household chores are no different than any other daily task in life: Some are more enjoyable than others. Even though you know you need to do them, sometimes your motivation levels just don’t match up with your knowledge of your need level, and that’s when the household games begin. Perhaps you’ve done these, or maybe you’re looking to this as more of a guide on how to start your latest match of the chore games in your household. Some of these are solo matches against yourself, and others involve all members of your household. So read on, and let the games begin!

The Look and Leave Fridge Game

Have you ever gone to your fridge looking for something to pull out as a last-minute supper or to munch on as a midday snack only to find a container of food that leaves you with more questions that answers? You know what it is, but you can’t recall how long it’s been in the fridge. Is it still safe to eat? What day of the week did you have that on? Was that the meal you weren’t sure you should even put in the fridge, but you thought would eat it in the next day or two? How long can that even last in the fridge for? If this is day one of your mystery fridge food, and you’re already questioning the safety of consuming it, you know deep down it’s not getting any fresher if you put it back: unless you have one of those magic fridges where time stands still for anything inside it in which case, good call on putting that container back. For most normal fridge owners, that container should be thrown straight in the garbage, but where is that fun in that? Instead, you ponder your fridge find, and make the play to put in back. This is where the games begin. What will happen first? Will you break down from hunger one day and take the chance on that mystery meal? Will you decide to throw that “food” in the garbage? Or will you successfully get another member of your household to toss that rapidly decaying meal in the garbage? Only time and the battle of the wills will tell.

The Garbage Can Compression

Does it seem like you’re continually the one that empties the garbage can in your household? Most of the time you know it’s an essential task that just needs to be done. And then there are other times where you feel like you shouldn’t be the only one swapping out that full bag for a new one. On these days, that is when you employ the garbage can compression technique. Sure, that bin is getting full, but if you manage to squish that garbage down a little bit, can you create enough room to accommodate just a little more garbage? And, if so, how long can you delay the inevitable changing of the garbage bag routine? Better yet, can you delay it long enough for another household member to take notice of the expanding bag and take care of this one chore on your list this one time? May luck be on your side in this garbage game.

You have a drawer full of socks, but it seems to happen without fail that you pull out that pair with the hole or holes in them. What should you do when your socks cease to function as socks? The logical answer is to throw them out, but there are days when that doesn’t seem to enter your mind. This is a game you often play in your own head. Sure, they aren’t good anymore, but you could use those to make sock puppets with your kids. And what do you do with the mate that is still intact? Does it seem fair to toss a perfectly good sock just because one in the pair couldn’t stand up to the pressures your feet put on them, and you also don’t want to have a sock bin full of unmatched socks. You could also fix them even though you’ve never heard of anyone investing more time and resources into successfully darning a sock to the point where it could be worn comfortably again rather than just replacing them with a new pair. One day you might throw out those socks, but more likely you will just continue to pull that pair out and quickly place them back in their drawer only to be drawn again another day. And the game goes on.

The Paper Pace

This is usually a game to play in a household. You all know a good supply of toilet paper is needed, but who really wants to do all that work to change over that roll when it finally gets to the end? You must remove the old roll, get a new one from your stock selection, and recycle or throw away that old roll’s tube. Who really has the time for that? Well, you might, but, more so, who has the desire? It becomes a game of pacing on this one. How little can you get away with using so there is an amount left on the roll that justifies leaving the existing roll rather than replacing it? Other factors also enter the equation like, do you have another bathroom with a higher stock of paper? Can you hold it in (not advisable, but sometimes it happens)? There is so much strategy and risk involved in this game. Often though, we know this game ends when that one more risk averse household member finds the stakes too high and voluntarily changes the roll before a situation reaches a critical level, and that’s when the game can begin again.

I’m sure this is a very common game in most households. The Pile and Pull is what you might have guessed: the laundry gets washed, the laundry gets dried, it all goes into the hamper to be folder, and then sits there leaving those looking for something to wear sifting through the pile and pulling out pieces of clothing they wish to wear. Ideally, all the laundry would be wash, dried, folded, and put away all in the same day…or, realistically, in a few days. But there is something about that pile of mixed clothing pieces that just screams tedium at the highest level. It often gets put to the bottom of the list when it comes to things to do. And thanks in part to inventions like wrinkle free materials, this is often a project that can be delayed with little consequence until either you get the ambition to start folding, or, fingers crossed, someone else gets tired of the game and folds the laundry for you. The latter scenario might not be as likely as the first, but let your dreams soar on this one!

And that concludes our list of household games. We hope you enjoyed. If you do participate in any of the above games with your household, we wish you luck!