the results are in!

A few weeks ago, inspired by childhood reminiscing of sheet-cleaning traditions, I sent out a survey about household cleaning habits. 45 responses* and a few Excel charts later, here are the quantitative results. The survey also included an open-ended question about the strangest household chore you do - results from that coming in the next installment.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Enjoy comparing your answers with the aggregate.

First, what chores were important to you to feel at ease in your home.

Dishes and general de-cluttering were obvious front-runners. And let's be honest, no one cares about dust until guests are coming over.

Second, who definitely has to make the bed before sleeping in it, and who could care less.

(Note: "Yeah.." in the graph above corresponds to the answer choice "Yes I have to make the bed before sleeping in it, but I'm trying to get over it")

Third, what course of action you take when you notice the trash getting full.

I am disappointed that more people don't just get out another bag. That's what I do. My trash is in the same room as my washer/dryer. I can get 3 trash bags going, plus a trash can full of recycling as well as stacks of boxes filled with smaller boxes spilling off the washer/dryer tops. All ready to be taken out to the garage. (Yes, I deliberately used the passive voice in that last sentence. Trash is not on my chore chart.)

Fourth, a grab bag of detailed household cleaning tasks.

Really, I think the hot water heater is feeling like a neglected appliance compared to the washer. I hazard that most of us have lived in places without a washing machine but not without hot water. Let's show a little more respect.

Also, for the person who has folded his/her dirty laundry - please comment on whether you felt pride or shame when admitting to that in the survey.

Fifth, how often do you do a variety of household chores. For this visualization, I looked at the median response as well as responses in the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles and ordered the chores along this frequency line accordingly. Semi-scientific, and if all the statisticians will close their eyes here, I'll claim that semi-scientific is close enough in most situations - particularly in the social sciences.

Okay, so I'll wash my sheets more often than each December 24th. But you can't make me clean my silverware tray annually. Really, more often than cleaning windows and oven?

*86% of respondents were female