Table of Contents

• Parenting Manga “Easy and Short-Time with Home Appliances” (Japanese only)
• More space in your daily life! Housework tips to create time

Parenting Manga “Easy and Short-Time with Home Appliances” (Japanese only)

Profile
Eiichi
After working for a design company in Tokyo, he became a freelance illustrator. He is a hard-working father who creates animation, manga, and illustrations, including winning the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival’s International Short Film Showcase Division Excellence in Animation Award.

More space in your daily life! Housework tips to create time

Three attitudes make housework more comfortable!

　How can busy moms and dads reduce the burden and time spent on housework? We asked Yuki Takahashi, Executive Vice President of Bears Inc.

Preparedness to reduce the burden of housework

Simply being aware of the following three major things will change the way you think about housework.

Let’s enjoy housework!

You don’t have to do housework.

Prevention and Habits

　First, about the first one, “Let’s enjoy housework. Recently, there is a social development that values the concept of “well being,” and I agree with this idea. Well being is the state of being physically, mentally, and socially fulfilled. I think it is important to be aware of this “well being” and aim to maintain a good state of “now, I am happy” and “now, I am happy” in our daily lives.

　Taking the home as an example, we might ask ourselves, “Am I doing housework to please my partner? “Do I not want to see my child grow up in this one and only life?” I would like you to ask yourself, “Why should I not watch my child grow up in this moment of my life? By shifting your mindset to “I want to do housework and childcare to enrich my life,” I believe you will naturally change your attitude to enjoy housework.

　The second idea, “You don’t have to do the housework,” is a great way to eliminate discord in the home. It is a shame that marital relations can be strained by feeling that housework is being done or by forcing one’s partner to do housework.

　To do this, first, the couple should discuss and list the chores that need to be done, and try to share the “chores you want to do” with each other. Then, there will remain “chores that need to be done but that you do not want to do. If it is still too difficult, then outsourcing to a housekeeping service may be an option to create a situation where they “don’t have to do” the chores themselves.

　And lastly, I would like to talk about prevention and habits. Many people take the time to do major cleaning at the end of the year, but the bottom line is that if you keep up your prevention and habits every day, you will not need to do major cleaning. The trick is to take care of a little each day before it becomes a big stain. For example, try to reset the dirt after each use, such as quickly wiping down the kitchen faucet area after each use, or rinsing the mirror with water after taking a bath. Small daily efforts will lead to big time savings later on.

Handmade cleaning products reduce cleaning time!

　We have talked about the importance of enjoying housework, but some people find it a hurdle when they decide to do it. Cleaning, in particular, is one of those chores that is difficult to find interesting because it is a process of returning a negative situation to zero. Therefore, we would like to introduce you to some homemade goods that allow you to enjoy and comfortably shorten cleaning time with simple things that you usually use!

◎Military gloves for wiping with children

　Put on rubber gloves or other gloves on both hands and wear military gloves over them. This is the only way to make your hands work as a substitute for a rag. Have your children put on the gloves and clean together as if it were a game. It is useful for wiping leaves of hard-to-clean houseplants, remote controls, blinds, bicycles, and many other places!

◎stocking dumplings

　By using used stockings and socks, you can easily make a stocking dumpling that can absorb dust! To make a stocking bun, simply cut off the stocking at the thigh of one leg, place a tightly rolled sock in the toe portion, and roll it up. The size varies depending on the sock, so make the size you prefer and use it. Stockings are a soft material and are static-electrostatic, so they can be applied to remove delicate dust, shoe polish, and mirror polish!

Technology is Mom and Dad’s Best Friend! How to Use Home Appliances to Generate Time

　Improvements in the functionality of home appliances due to the development of AI technology and ^IoT* have assisted many households in their chores.
In this issue, we spoke with Makiko Tanaka, who introduces home appliances in many media as a home appliance writer, about techniques for generating time by using home appliances.

*Abbreviation for “Internet of Things. Abbreviated name for “Internet of Things. A technology that connects home appliances and other objects to the Internet, enabling remote control and other operations.

Let’s use “time-producing” appliances that produce time!

　There are many chores that need to be done daily, such as cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc. By using convenient appliances such as robot vacuum cleaners and drum-type washer/dryers, these chores can be done without being left alone, creating free time to spend on them.

　The change may be hard to notice when viewed on a daily basis, but if you clean for 20 minutes every day for seven days, for example, you are spending 140 minutes a week cleaning. However, if you use a robot vacuum cleaner during the week and only use the vacuum cleaner on two days on the weekend, you will only need to do 40 minutes of manual cleaning yourself, creating 100 minutes of free time.
When you look at it on a weekly basis like this, you can see the benefits of using appliances effectively!

Great introduction to the features of the appliances!

　Here are some examples of time-production appliances that can be a reassuring friend to busy moms and dads.

＜Dishwasher

One thing that can change the quality of life by incorporating it is a dishwasher/dryer. According to one manufacturer’s survey, the average time spent washing dishes per load is 20 minutes. Although it depends on the amount of dishes, the amount of time that can be generated by relying on a dishwasher to wash dishes multiple times a day can be significant.
In fact, it saves more water than washing dishes by hand, making it a worthwhile appliance to use from an SDGs perspective. Another advantage is that the detergent is highly effective in sterilizing the hands, making it less likely to cause roughness.

<Drum-type washer/dryer

Drum-type washers and dryers have a very significant time-saving effect because they can spin and dry clothes regardless of weather conditions, eliminating the need for drying time and labor. In addition, recently, the use of warm water has improved the cleaning power of drum-type washers and dryers.
Recently, an increasing number of models allow you to use your smartphone to run the washing machine. If you count backward from the time you return home and run the washing machine, you can take in the laundry as soon as you get home, saving you time when you get home and run the machine.

<Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Using a robot vacuum cleaner saves time and effort in vacuuming. Some people say that once they start using a robot vacuum cleaner, they get into the habit of tidying their rooms, such as keeping things off the floor as much as possible. Also, recently, some dining table chairs can be hooked onto the table and float, which is one way to create a home environment where the robot vacuum cleaner can easily move around.
Once an environment is created in which the robot vacuum cleaner can move easily, the time and effort required for cleaning by hand are greatly reduced, which can be expected to have a significant time-product effect in the long run.

<Electric cooking pot

The Corona disaster has increased the amount of time people have at home, which has led to the proliferation of electric cooking pots. They are extremely popular for the fact that cooking can be done simply by cutting and throwing in the ingredients, and the reservation function allows cooking to be completed in time for when you get home, while still providing a delicious meal.
To make cooking more time efficient, instead of chopping ingredients for each meal every day, you can prepare ingredients in batches when you have time, such as on weekends, to further reduce cooking time.

Let’s discuss and choose appliances as a couple!

　It is obvious that appliances are useful, but many people may find it a hurdle to purchase them because many of them are expensive. Such families should discuss the chores they are not good at and choose the ones they really need.
In my case, cleaning was not one of my favorite household chores, so I adopted a robot vacuum cleaner. It has relieved me of the stress of having to clean the house, and my husband now voluntarily cleans the areas where the robot vacuum cleaner could not collect enough debris, giving me more time and peace of mind.
It would be a good idea to have a discussion with the couple as an opportunity to reevaluate the division of household chores, and to incorporate appliances that suit each family.

We have found that a little forethought and appliances can save labor in household chores.
There is no need to feel guilty that relying on home appliances is a lazy way of doing things. There is no need to feel guilty about relying on home appliances. If we can create time for communication between husband and wife and for interaction with children by making good use of home appliances, it will eventually lead to the well being of the family.