After school, I could tell my mother wanted to clean the house when we’d come home to music blaring. My brother and sister would always moan and try to hide to get out of it. We hated it, but despite our dislike, the experience taught us valuable lessons. Kids these days won’t understand the value of good old-fashioned chores. Here are 10 chores that kids these days would never understand.
Washing Dishes By Hand
Grab the scrub brush because the dishes need to be cleaned. Back in our day, we didn’t have the fancy dishwashers you see in stores. No. We had to wash the dishes by hand after every meal. We couldn’t just pop them into a fancy smancy dishwasher and press “on.” We scrubbed until our fingertips turned to prunes. They won’t ever understand how easy they have it.
Scrubbing the Floor On Your Hands and Knees
My house growing up had wood floors, and every Sunday after church, my siblings and I would spend hours on the floor. Our knees would turn red from being on our knees for so long. And the soap stung our hands. Nowadays, you hardly have to bend down at all. Just hold the handle and steer it like a vacuum. Press the button to shoot the solution onto the floor. Hey! Careful where you shoot that thing.
Mowing the Lawn With a Reel Mower
In the summer, I recall mowing our property with a reel mower, the kind you often see in old cartoons. The sun blared and heated the air, which was suffocating; sweat poured down my face and drenched my shirt. Teenagers today mow the lawn like they’re driving a go-kart. Those riding mowers make mowing the grass quick and easy—nothing like what it used to be.
Raking Leaves
Ugh. Same with this one. In the fall we always had to rake leaves. Sometimes I’d rake them all into a big pile and jump in them with my brother. It took strength and a long time and to rake up all the leaves. There’s a boy in our neighborhood that mows the lawn almost every Saturday afternoon. I see him riding around his mower with vacuum-like suction. Kids these days will never experience the proper joy of the season.
Washing Clothes By Hand
Our family mostly had to wash things by hand because we didn’t have enough money to buy a washing machine. Sometimes, we’d take our laundry to the laundromat. We’d lived in a rural area and I remember having to get water from the river. Then heat it. Then scrub the clothes against the washboard. Now washing clothes is a cinch. Just push a button. The kids don’t understand how much easier they have it.
Hanging Clothes To Dry on the Clothesline
My mom and I would do this every spring and summer. After we’d washed the clothes we’d hang them on the clothesline, letting the warm air dry out our britches and blouses. Along with the washing machine, the dryer made washing clothes simpler. Once they’re done in the washer, toss them into the dryer and push a button—wow, that’s soo hard. Kids won’t know the smell of fresh laundry.
Polishing Shoes
Every summer, when we visited my grandparents in Iowa, my grandfather would have me polish his shoes sometimes. I remember hating it because the black stuff would never come off your hands. People no longer wear pure leather shoes as much. This younger generation no longer takes pride in their possessions. If they had only one pair of shoes they’d come to learning the meaning of value. Ha! Get one scuff and get a new pair.
Beating Dust and Dirt Out of the Rugs
My grandmother would have my sister and me pat out the rugs with this weird spatula-like thing. We’d take the living room rug outside and hang it over the railing. Then we’d beat the rug until the dust stopped coming out of it. I especially disliked this task because the rug was so heavy. It felt awkward to carry, plus I’d get dust in my eyes. All kids have to do today is vacuum the rug.
Shovel Snow Off the Driveway
Before my parents gave money to the guy down the street who had a plow on the front of his truck, we’d have to shovel the driveway by hand. Sometimes my brother and I would get into a snowball fight. It was so much fun. Nowadays, whenever the children get a snow day, they spend it inside playing video games. We had to work hard.
Dusting EVERYTHING
And the one task I disliked the most: dusting. Whenever my mother made me clean the bookshelf she’d make me take down all the chotzkies and candle holders onto the ground. Sometimes I’d try to get away with wiping the shelf between the knick-knacks. I’d always groan. Nowadays, kids don’t have chores. But what can you do? Times have changed, growing up is much different now, and they will never know what doing real chores was like.
