We do the week's chores by 10 a.m. on Saturday
Weekdays used to feel like running a marathon every day. Home from work, tired, still figuring out what to cook, dirty clothes piling up in the corner, the house a mess.
My wife and I both work office jobs. Then we tried an experiment: get all the housework done in one go, on Saturday morning, from 4 to 10.
It’s not perfect, but it makes the next 6 days a lot lighter. Here’s what we do.
Laundry, prayer and the market
At 4 a.m. we’re already at the coin laundry. The week’s dirty clothes go into the washer: 25 minutes. While we wait, we walk to the mosque to pray Subuh, the dawn prayer, together with the congregation.
When we get back, everything moves to the dryer: another 25 minutes. Waiting for the dryer? We head straight to the market nearby. By the time we’re back, the clothes are dry and the groceries are in hand.
Two waiting slots, used for two important things. No time wasted.
Once we’re home, the clothes get sorted right away. The ones that need ironing go in a separate pile, and the ones that don’t, I fold and put straight into the wardrobe.
The ironing? That’s my wife’s part. But she does it on Saturday night while watching Nessie. She says it’s her me time. Haha. So I leave her to it.
It’s a split of tasks that’s fair, and it works.
A week of food in one morning
After folding the clothes, I go help my wife in the kitchen. My specialty: cooking chicken, haha (even though I use a ready-made spice mix).
For some reason, I’ve always been the one who handles the protein. My wife focuses on the vegetables, the spices and the other dishes. We know each other’s rhythm by now. We don’t need to talk much; we already know who’s doing what.
That’s why 3–4 hours of food prep doesn’t feel long.
From around 5 to around 9, the kitchen is in full swing. We cook the dishes for a week of breakfasts, packed lunches and dinners.
Vegetables get chopped, spices get ground, and everything goes into containers. On weekdays we just heat things up and drop the vegetables into the broth that’s already made.
No more “what’s for breakfast?” drama at 6 a.m. on a weekday.
While the food is cooking, we squeeze in a deep clean of the house. Bathroom, kitchen, sweeping and mopping, all of it gets done. Because we do it together and we’ve got a rhythm, it doesn’t feel heavy. It actually turns into a kind of “workout” while we chat.
By 10 a.m., the laundry’s done (except for my wife’s ironing), the food’s in the fridge, and the house is clean.
Free for the rest of the weekend
After that? We’re free.
Usually we go straight to our parents’ houses. We happen to live in the same city, so we can stop by both. Quality time with family, without worrying about “what are we cooking tonight?” or “what about the dirty laundry?”
Saturday afternoon through Sunday: real rest.
Oh, and about that ironing. Saturday night is my me time too, with Netflix, a book or YouTube, while my wife starts ironing and watching her shows.
At first I offered to help, but she said no. “This is my me time, don’t disturb me.” Fair enough.
It turns out the healthiest split of tasks isn’t an even 50:50. It’s the one that matches what keeps each of you from getting stressed.
What I’ve learned
Tiredness doesn’t only come from how much work there is. It comes from constantly thinking about the work that isn’t done yet. “What are we cooking later?”, “the dirty clothes are piling up”, “the floor hasn’t been swept”: that’s what drains your energy on weekdays.
Once it’s all done on Saturday morning, my head feels light for the next 6 days.
This doesn’t suit everyone. You need a partner who’s willing to get moving with you, and you have to be willing to wake up early on your day off.
But for the two of us, both with office jobs, this is what keeps us from burning out.