Recently added item(s)
National No Housework Day falls on April 7th every year. To celebrate this holiday, you just take the day off from doing housework. Yes, this means no washing dishes, laundry, cleaning, mowing or any other household chores that sucks up your time and energy. Doesn’t that sound great?
Something to think about though…if we all did take April 7th to observe National No Housework Day by not doing our housework, what would happen on April 8th? Would that mean we would just have more housework to do the next day? I’m all for taking a day off of doing housework, but how do we resolve the problem of housework getting backed up?
The solution may be easier than you think! There are some briliant minds in this world and they have come together and invented some amazing products (below) that will do our housework for us! With these wonderful inventions, taking a day off from doing housework does not have to make the next day feel like “National Do Extra Housework Day”.
In fact, because these products do the housework for us, we may be able to afford to take a whole day off from doing housework more than once a year. These products will do the the specific housechore they are designed to do everyday if you want it to.
However, I probably should’t tell you to take everyday off of doing housework because if your house is anything like mine, there are still beds to be made, counters to get wiped, furniture that needs dusting etc. So until there is a robot to do everything for us, we may as well enjoy getting all of the help we can get so we can spend our time doing things we actually like to do.
Return on Time
Some of these products aren’t cheap so when I was able to, I also provided a more affordable option. Let’s try to remember though that there is usually a good reason to reflect the price of something (cost of manufacturing, new technology, quality, supply vs demand etc).
Also please keep in mind that all of these products are designed to do the work for you, not just help you. Think about the cost of the product in comparison to your return on time. What is the cost of your time?
Additionally, consider the convenience of these house chores getting done without having to hire a cleaning service to come to your home. You don’t need to worry about any privacy or safety issues, possible theft, whether they will show up late (or at all), or like some people I know – “clean up” before the cleaning service shows up. 😉
Another thing to think about is your self care, stress management and overall health. Is it possible that investing in one of these products could be an investment in your own health and well being? Self care requires time to care for ourselves; to intentionally prepare/eat healthy meals, move our bodies, relax, sleep well and spend time with loved ones.
Gifts
Not only do these make great gifts to give to a loved one, they make great gifts to you! Don’t forget you can always ask for these items, or hint (if you don’t like to ask) by sharing this post, with those that want to buy you a gift (and probably don’t know what to get you anyway).
I’m sure you have an upcoming birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Anniversary, Christmas or some sort of holiday or milestone where someone wants to give you a special gift. It’s ok to let people know what you want.
Those that are buying you gifts want you to be happy. Why take the risk of receiving something you will not use? I encourage you to ask for one of these really cool time and energy savers!
Pricing
Please note that I did not provide prices on the products currently available. This is because prices can fluctuate often, just like with any piece of technology. But you can see the most current price by clicking on the title or the photo of the item.
I shared the prices of upcoming products, if the website of the product provided it. To see the website, just click on the title of the product.
Indoor Housework Inventions
I found 4 options (various cost levels) that may help with with the dreaded house chore of cleaning toilets.
1. The American Standard ActiClean Toilet is a self cleaning toilet that at a click of a button offers two clean settings: a one minute quick clean cycle and a 10 minute deep clean cycle.
It comes with 9 weeks worth of cleaning solution, based off of a once a week quick clean cycle and a once a week deep clean cycle. The design of the toilet down to the shape of the bowl and the way it flushes all help keep this toilet clean so you don’t have to ever touch it.
2. Another self cleaning toilet is Toto’s Neorest Dual Flush Toilet with Actilight. Along with other amazing features like a light warm water spray, air purifying system, deodorizer and heated seats, this toilet kills germs with a UV Light cleaning system built in the lid.
It also has electrolyzed water and a special glaze on the toilet that helps break down dirt, never even giving it a chance to stick to the surface. This toilet is a dream toilet for the germaphobe. I’m not sure a toilet could get any cleaner than this.
3. 
A quick and easy install is required in the water tank area. It’s affordable and has pretty good reviews. Not a bad options at all for not having to pull that nasty toilet cleaning brush out for 6 months!
4. Coming Soon: The SpinX Toilet Cleaning Robot is a toilet seat cover with built in water jets and a robotic cleaning brush. When you are ready for a cleaning, all you do is press a button and it cleans the toilet bowl and toilet seat in 90 seconds!
Expected delivery is in summer of 2018. At the time of writing this post it was not clear to me as to what the targeted price is.
Well, they are so popular because they are so amazing and save so much time! Vacuuming is exhausting, annoying and time consuming (especially if you have long haired pets like i do).
You can set these wonder workers to do their thing while you aren’t home and when you get back, your home is clean! Just don’t forget to put your pets in a different room if you aren’t home.
I’ve heard way too many nightmare stories from friends that had their dog have an accident in the house and low and behold…the “accident” was smeared all over the house, thanks to the good old vac robot that was just doing its job.
Since these robot vacuums have become so popular, so many of them are being made that the choices are extremely overwhelming. If you are serious about getting good quality cleaning done in your home, I recommend not going skimpy on these products.
The price range on these guys is so vast that you really can find some great values out there. However, if you have pets, kids, high traffic areas, or a house that is not small, you may not want to compromise on quality, battery life, air power, how well it cleans edges and corners as well as how many rooms it will clean before it has to recharge etc.
Everyones needs are different, but after doing a ton of research, I found this model to be the best fit for my family of five, which includes my husband who is a general contractor (tracks in all sorts or saw dust/work dirt), three kids who are heavily involved in sports and enjoy playing outside (hello dead grass, dirt, and turf rubber pellets) and my 130 pound long haired mountain dog who seems to constantly be shedding regardless of the season.
Because there are so many options in this category of awesome inventions, I will get a bit more detailed with what drew me to this specific model:
- It’s amazing edge cleaning technology. – What good is it to have a nice clean floor only to have to get another vaccum out to get the edges and corners?
- Auto detect floor feature – I have a mix of carpet, tile and linoleum floors. I love that it saves battery power by adjusting to the floor type and saves it’s juice for the carpet boost. My carpet needs all the boost it can get!
- Visual localization – the camera helps it notice what parts of the floor are dirtier than others and it adjusts its cleaning power according how dirty the floor is!
- Debris Extractor/AeroForce Cleaning Technology – it’s basically a brilliant powerful brushless vaccum system. This means SO much to me because I used to have to cut out tangled dog hair in my vacuum brushes at least two times a week. I even had a vaccum break on me because of this.
- 120 minute run time – and if it’s not done cleaning before the battery needs to recharge, it returns to the dock to recharge and then resumes cleaning once charged up. This is pretty cool considering some other models wait for you to resend it out to clean once it’s charged.
- I love that I can schedule cleanings from my phone, even if I’m not at home.
It can sweep up to 1000 square feet of floor space and wash up to 350 square feet of floor space. You can use disposable or washable cloths and it is super quiet!
It can be used on all sorts of floor types and when it bumps into a rug or carpet it just turns around. It’s design helps wash floor edges, tight spaces and even gets those spaces under furniture.
This seems like a must have item for a home with a lot of non-carpeted surfaces, or even a great addition to a home that is carpeted, but has those non-carpeted areas like the main level or kitchen etc.
Please note that there are robot combos available for purchase that will vacuum, sweep and wash – an all in one product. However, when I researched them, their reviews and effectiveness did not convince me. I’d rather go with the Roomba and Braava Mop. I’ve been burned enough in the past so I’m willing to pay more for better quality.
Ok, so this is technically not a robotic laundry system, but I had to include it because this washer and dryer when together allow for 2 wash loads and 2 dryer loads, meaning you could have four loads going at the same time!
The front loader washer has 5 cubic feet of capacity and the top loader washer provides another 1 cubic foot of capacity, perfect for smaller loads. So convenient for when you have a big load of whites to wash and just a single red shirt!
The bottom part of the dryer has 7.5 cubic feet of capacity. The top portion is a delicate dryer, perfect for all delicate items; anything that says to “flat dry”, sweaters, accessories, even teddy bears or anything you don’t want to take the risk of shrinking in the big dryer.
The dryer also has moisture sensors that will turn off the dryer when it senses that your clothes are dry. This protects your clothes from heat damage, saves time and uses approximately 25% less energy saving you money in the long run.
Another really cool feature is that you can start, stop and monitor the cycles (for both the washer and dryer) with your smartphone by using a Samsung App.
So the washer and dryer all in one combo is not a very new invention, but it has come a long way over the years. It is a great option for some people. It basically washes the load of clothes for you and then dries them, all in the same machine.
I have a friend that had one while she lived in an apartment and she loved it! She was a single mom that worked full time, so she’d put a load of laundry in the machine before work and when she got home, she had clean and dry laundry. She didn’t have to take time out of her evening to run down to the laundromat.
The washer and dryer combo is also great for RV’s, vacation homes or any place where a full washer and dryer would take up too much space.
This machine is not just for those that are concerned with space. One lady mentioned that she bought one of these because she was sick of having to rewash loads of clothes that became smelly from her forgetting to put the wet clothes in the dryer. I’ve been there – done that.
She said she absolutely loves putting her clothes in the machine and no longer having to worry about stinky clothes because they are always dry at the end of the cycle. She also now has space in her laundry room for that deep freezer she’s always wanted.
This would also be a great product for someone that has mobility issues and may have difficulty with picking up and transfering wet/heavy clothes from a washer to separate dryer.
The one disadvantage to me personally is the fact that an average load could take approximately 4.5 hours from start to finish. I think because I do so much laundry, this would not be convenient for my family.
However, I would definately consider it if any of the above situations were an issue to me. It basically does it all except fold the laundry for you! Speaking of folding laundry…
9. Coming Soon: Foldimate is a machine that folds your laundry for you! It will fold one load of laundry in four minutes. It even folds those really soft hard to fold fabrics. The machine is approximately 4 feet tall and 2 feet deep, so if you plan on getting one of these, you’ll need some room for it.
The first shipment for this product is expected to go out late 2019 and the current targetted price is coming in at $980. Check out this short video of the Foldimate in action.
10. Coming Soon: Effie will dry and iron our clothes in 6 minutes! If we just want clothes ironed, it will only take 3 minutes. Currently it does not give an expected release date or a targeted price. The machine is a bit over 4 feet tall so a little extra space in the laundry room will be needed for this robot that dries and irons our clothes!
The potty comes with a roll that is equivlent to 27 potty pads, so you don’t have to touch this thing for a while. You can set it to change the pad 1, 2 or 3 times per day. Some training may be required.
12. Litter Robot – I think this thing is really cool and I don’t even have a cat! I used to have one, so I am well aware of the pain of having to deal with scooping and changing the litter box. Well this Littler Robot cleans itself after every use, so you don’t ever have to scoop again.
And since it’s clean after each use, it can be used by multiple cats. One reviewer stated that they had 4 cats using it and had no problems at all.
The Litter Robot also has an app that helps you monitor and control the unit or multiple units. It will also send you notifications when it is time to change the waste bin, so you don’t even have to open the waste bin until needed.
The Litter Robot is a bit pricier than a typical self cleaning litter box, but in the long run you save money on litter because the cleaning process only removes the clumps.
All you do is set the circular brush part on top of the stain, it releases cleaning solution into the carpet, scrubs with it’s deep reach technology, sucks up the solution and then it’s clean!
It has two settings, one for fresh stains (only takes 3 minutes) and one for old stains (only takes 6 minutes). It also comes with an attachment so you can use it on furnture or in the car if needed.
Inside/Outside Housework Inventions
This robotic window cleaner is great all around but so convenient for those high and hard to reach windows. I personally have high windows with a half circle window at the top so this shape really helps with that.
It has three different cleaning routes that are controlled by a remote control and sticks to the window with a suction technology. Who’s to say it has to be limited to windows? I could see this also cleaning glass showers, glass doors or any large glass surfaces.
Outside Housework Inventions
This robot blasts through crud and debris while it brushes your gutters clean. When it’s done you can just spray it clean and put it away. Say goodbye to those millions of trips up and down the ladder.
17. Spruce Irrigation 16 Zone Smart Wifi Controller – If you have automatic sprinklers then you may not really be bothered by the house chore of watering your lawn. However this invention allows you to set up and control your sprinklers from an app on your smartphone.
To me this is amazing, because I have automatic sprinklers and every summer the grass in one section of my yard completely dies because of how much sun exposure it gets, the other part of my front yard is perfect, but my backyard gets shade so the grass grows incredibly quick (and thick).
It travels up to 200 feet and can cover up to 13,500 square feet. It includes three different speed settings and an automatic shutoff ramp. No need to go outside and move the sprinklers around anymore! Also, your kiddos will have a blast with it too!
It offers adjustable cutting height and returns to the base if it senses rain. It can mow up to .25 acres at a time and can mow on grass that is at an incline or decline of up to 20 degrees. Some other models went a little higher, 25-26 degrees, so there are options for people with hilly yards, they just cost a bit more.
20. Coming Soon: The Kobi is an all season robotic machine that has three features: it can mow the lawn for you, remove any leaves for you and even blow the snow for you! It can mow up to 7 acres, remove leaves up to 3 acres and blow snow up to 0.37 acres. The website did not specify when we can anticipate seeing the Kobi in stores. However, it did give a targeted price of $3,999.
21. The Dolphin 99996403-PC Dolphin Nautilus Plus Robotic Pool Cleaner cleans the floor, walls and waterline of in-ground pools up to 50 feet long in 2.5 hours! There are some other pool cleaning robot models that are more expensive and some less expensive than this one. I chose this one because at the time of writing this article, it had the best reviews by far compared to all others available.
The idea behind this is that if you skim the pool regularly, you don’t have to deal with cleaning the pool as often. Most pool debris (leaves, pollen etc) tends to sit at the surface of the water for 3 hours before it sinks to the bottom, so if it’s snatched up before it falls to the bottom, you will not have to clean the pool as often!
Household Shopping
Some people love to go shopping and wouldn’t really consider it a household chore. But some would consider grocery shopping one of thier most painful household chores. For those that do, or those that just want to save time, please do not be afraid to try some of the amazing shopping services available from your favorite stores.
Almost all of the larger stores (like Target and Walmart), your local grocery stores (Whole Foods etc), even warehouse clubs (like Costco) and online stores (like Amazon Fresh) offer these services. Some of them ask that you put your order in the night before, or within a 12 hour window, but some will deliver in an hour!
Some of the stores charge more for these items to cover the cost of the service/delivery, while some keep their item pricing the same as in store pricing, but then charge a flat fee for the service.
Also, some stores will do the shopping for you, but you still have to pick it up at their store, while others will deliver to your front door. I imagine the service and delivery rates and options vary by region, so it’s good to look into what options you have in your area.
Services
Another option is to just look for a local errand service. There are some great people out there that just want to make a little bit of extra money so they have a small errand business. These folks will run all those little errands for you that take up your time, like picking up your drycleaning, dropping off your package at the post office, taking your dog to the groomer etc.
Though, some of these places (drycleaning, post office, groomers etc) also offer pick up/drop off services as well, so it’s always good to just know what is available in your area. Some services are worth it and some are not. And by “worth it” only you can be the judge of that.
I noticed a service in my area offered to pick up my dirty laundry, wash it, dry it, fold it and deliver it back to me. Their cost was based off of weight so their website offered a list of approximate weight of clothing like jeans, towels etc.
Once I calculated how much that would cost me per week. I realized I was much better off buying the 4 in 1 Samsung laundry system mentioned above. However, for someone else this service could be lifechanging.
I hope this list has helped you as much as it has helped me. I do not own all of these products (at this time), but it is my goal to do so one day – one amazing invention at a time. I’m hoping to free up some of my time and energy to finally take better care of me, have more time for my loved ones and getting back to some of my hobbies that I haven’t touched in years.
What about you? Do you have any of these? If so, how have they improved your life? Your feedback may help some of us that maybe considering purchasing one of these products/services. If you don’t have any of these, which one do you have your eye on to buy first? Please share in the comments below!
To more time, energy and health,
Susie