How Many Days Do You Spend Doing Chores in a Lifetime?

People tend to have routines when it comes to keeping their homes in order. While some people have a regimented approach to their chores, opting to complete them every week, some people’s routine involves waiting until they’re out of silverware before running the dishwasher.

Our team is in the business of keeping your laundry pile under control so you don’t have to, and we were curious – how often do people actually clean? And how much of our lives are devoted to the upkeep of our living spaces? So, we decided to find out.

We ran a survey asking people how often they clean their homes and how long they spend on upkeep weekly. Based on the results, we compiled state-by-state insights into the graphics below.

Based on the responses we got, most people will spend one hour cleaning their homes each week. We calculated the number of years people will live on their own based on the average life expectancy per state and the estimation that they moved out at 18.

In every state, you will spend the equivalent of 100 days of your life cleaning, assuming you live to a ripe old age! Hawaii had the highest number of days at 138 days spend cleaning, while Mississippi had the lowest at 122 days of cleaning over the course of their residents’ lives.

Most people estimate that they spend half an hour per week vacuuming. Based on each state’s life expectancy, most people will spend the equivalent of between 61 and 69 days vacuuming before they die.

Most people also estimate that they spend 30 minutes cleaning their bathroom each week, so in addition to vacuuming, people will also spend between 61 and 69 days of their lives scrubbing their bathroom.

While most people use dishwashers these days, there’s still a good amount of prep work to do before you let the machine do the rest. Most people say they spend around 5 ½ hours per week doing their dishes. Based on this estimation and the average lifespan of each state, people will spend a whopping 722 days of their lives washing dishes in Hawaii, and at the very least will spend 643 days washing dishes (if you live in Mississippi.)

Overall, people tended to keep a pretty tidy house! The majority of people clean their bathroom once per week, wash their sheets weekly or bi-weekly, and wash their towels every 2-4 uses.

Based on the responses we received, people seem to underestimate the amount of time that they spend cleaning every week! People say they spend 1 hour weekly cleaning but between vacuuming, dishes, bathrooms, and laundry, it looks like people spend much more time keeping their living space livable. If you’re looking to cut down on the amount of time you’re spending keeping house, contact us here! Laundry is our specialty, but we can also handle other types of tidying up so you can go out and live your life.