In the past people had to deal with a lot of things all by themselves. Today’s conveniences weren’t present. The big city with the busy corporate life was non-existent. There were mostly rural areas and you simply had to be handy in order to survive. Being able to handle everything life throws at you in terms of daily chores was considered a virtue. We can’t deny that today most people in Europe, the UK and the USA would rather have someone else take care of daily home tasks for them while they’d gladly pay. So is that the right thing to do or should we all maintain our households ourselves?
A person who goes to work daily, needs to stay in the office even in the afterhours and spends about 2 hours travelling to and from work rarely has time for anything at home. Young people nowadays simply don’t develop that part of their character. Very few people who live in cities are eager to get home so they can cook or iron their clothes. Doing laundry is also a pain. Even raising a child has turned into something we’d rather see someone else do for us. Older people wouldn’t be happy about that at all. Their understanding is that home has some sort of sanctity. It needs to be cleaned and well organized by the inhabitants themselves. Homemade food is a top priority and buying something pre-cooked from the supermarket is a serious “no-no” according to them.
So how has life changed? From an economy standpoint it has improved. Busy people with decent jobs value their time. At least that’s the US and British style. People are paid by the hour. So they take that amount and compare it to what they would need in terms of time in order to finish a chore at home. Let’s say you are an accountant in London and you’re paid £20 per hour. Having to cook for an hour at home means that you basically lost £20 or at least that’s the logic. By following this idea, that would mean that ordering food or obtaining it from the supermarket might be a better idea as it would definitely cost less and you will save time. By needing services from other people we encourage employment. The fact that we can’t take care of everything allows others to make money – money that we pay. Clever entrepreneurs have already figured that out and they’ve strived to include as many services as possible in their companies with similar nature.
A person who goes to work daily, needs to stay in the office even in the afterhours and spends about 2 hours travelling to and from work rarely has time for anything at home. Young people nowadays simply don’t develop that part of their character. Very few people who live in cities are eager to get home so they can cook or iron their clothes. Doing laundry is also a pain. Even raising a child has turned into something we’d rather see someone else do for us. Older people wouldn’t be happy about that at all. Their understanding is that home has some sort of sanctity. It needs to be cleaned and well organized by the inhabitants themselves. Homemade food is a top priority and buying something pre-cooked from the supermarket is a serious “no-no” according to them.
So how has life changed? From an economy standpoint it has improved. Busy people with decent jobs value their time. At least that’s the US and British style. People are paid by the hour. So they take that amount and compare it to what they would need in terms of time in order to finish a chore at home. Let’s say you are an accountant in London and you’re paid £20 per hour. Having to cook for an hour at home means that you basically lost £20 or at least that’s the logic. By following this idea, that would mean that ordering food or obtaining it from the supermarket might be a better idea as it would definitely cost less and you will save time. By needing services from other people we encourage employment. The fact that we can’t take care of everything allows others to make money – money that we pay. Clever entrepreneurs have already figured that out and they’ve strived to include as many services as possible in their companies with similar nature.
Dry cleaners’ purpose is no longer limited to only erasing stains off clothes. They’ve turned into our artificial wardrobe. They will also provide some ironing assistance for you and even return you your clean clothes on hangers and plastic bags. This way you don’t need to buy an ironing stand or an iron at all for that matter. You also don’t need to improve your ironing skills at all (not that it’s too hard). Some dry cleaners are so busy (especially in London) that you might need to book them in advance. They in turn will often give discounts on certain days. It’s a full blown business.
And since we mentioned cleaning, you don’t have to be some sort of a noble aristocrat in order to afford a cleaning lady at home. They don’t charge that much today and they won’t need to live in your house full time like in the movies. You pay someone to come once or twice a week, vacuum, clean the bathroom and the windows and leave you be. This business has also become pretty popular in the UK to the point that there are companies offering even garage clearance in London. They usually pair with the regular removal companies so that you can get a package deal.
And since we mentioned cleaning, you don’t have to be some sort of a noble aristocrat in order to afford a cleaning lady at home. They don’t charge that much today and they won’t need to live in your house full time like in the movies. You pay someone to come once or twice a week, vacuum, clean the bathroom and the windows and leave you be. This business has also become pretty popular in the UK to the point that there are companies offering even garage clearance in London. They usually pair with the regular removal companies so that you can get a package deal.
Cooking is another aspect that today’s young fellas resent having to do. It’s a common understanding that women are usually in charge of that at home but often times they are busier than their husbands. Decades ago it’d be absolutely unacceptable for a family to order take out on a nightly basis and eat outside during the day but now it’s a usual thing. Again we pay someone else to take care of the preparation, cooking and serving for us. Yes, there are many old fashioned men who would adamantly require their wives to prepare food at home but this trend also seems to slowly fade away. One thing needs to be said though: home cooked meals are healthier and tastier for sure. But we don’t seem to care about that anymore and the only times we are reminded of what we are missing is when we visit close relatives in the countryside. Some supermarkets will offer a wide range of foods such as:
- Salads
- Desserts
- Soups
- Cooked meals
- Drinks
Doing laundry is another thing that can be done outside of home. It also comes cheap and most laundromats provide drying too. You simply need to put clothes in a huge bag and take it to laundry which is probably just around the block. Many new apartment buildings have basements that are equipped to provide such a service. This allows many people living in flats to never even buy a washing machine. It takes up a lot of room and after it breaks it’s good for nothing.
We are at point where we need to decide if not taking care of daily tasks at home and paying people to do it for us is a rationality or a product of our laziness. Arguments can be made for both sides. In truth people really don’t have much time for everything. We didn’t even mention children in the article above. People living in the countryside need to realize that the city population spends a lot of time outside of home and dealing with everything in order to look flawless during the day is almost impossible.
We are at point where we need to decide if not taking care of daily tasks at home and paying people to do it for us is a rationality or a product of our laziness. Arguments can be made for both sides. In truth people really don’t have much time for everything. We didn’t even mention children in the article above. People living in the countryside need to realize that the city population spends a lot of time outside of home and dealing with everything in order to look flawless during the day is almost impossible.