Things that are nice but not worth the hassle

[CrabbityRabbit]

I made sweet potato gnocci for dinner yesterday from scratch. They were lovely. But they also covered both me and my kitchen with a thick layer of orange gloop that took ages to scrub off. And the gnocci were all funny shapes since they were too sticky to roll out properly. I shan't bother again.

In the same category I put properly decorating the house for Christmas/Halloween. I love decor but can only just be arsed to decorate the tree/carve a pumpkin. So they are the only things that get done despite the fact I would love a house covered head to foot in fairy lights/skeletons.

A decent skincare routine. Can barely remember/be arsed to slap on a moisturiser most nights let alone toner, eye cream or anything of that ilk. Am convinced I would have dewy, glowing skin ala a South Korean skincare advert if only I could be bothered to use 39 different products every day.

Anything else?

A clean house!

Ironing bedding.
I get into a tangly mess trying to iron double duvet covers and sheets.
I love the feel and smell of getting into a freshly made bed with washed and ironed sheets, but can rarely be arsed (to iron, not to wash them!)

Do people actually iron bedding? I had no idea of this.

Christmas

Cooking Chinese from scratch. The oil makes the house stink for days.

Ironing. Notice the full stop.

Some people iron everything - my mother irons bedding. Also tea towels, dishcloths, etc. Even socks. It baffles me.

Pastry - I just buy it ready made (and rolled) now.

Chopping butternut squash - I value my hands too much.

Definitely Christmas. And weddings.

My mum irons knickers

Weekend breaks during term time. You hit traffic both ways. By the time you get there it’s almost time to come back, and all of the usual weekend chores have to be fitted in either side of the trip.

Maintaining friendships. Total pain in the arse.

Any sort of social contact, really.

Sex

Ironing, looks good when done but a pain. I rarely do it.

Letting my husband cook. Nice to have dinner cooked for me, but the disaster he creates in the kitchen isn't worth it.

Lasagne. I love it but there are too many steps. I often order it when eating out.

Handmade gyoza

Husbands.....(sorry but hes pissed me off today)

Fresh lychees
Fresh mangoes

Remus Just cook the whole thing in the skin. Then you can just scoop it out easily. I cut the stalk end off in case in might pop.

Having fresh coconut.

Money! Nice to have but I’m contemplating packing it all in and just not going to work tonight.

Gardening. Outdoor housework. The thing is I would love to have a beautiful garden with colourful blooms and an abundance of fruit and veg growing but I just can never get the wherewithal to do it.

Making my own bread. Love it but it is quite a faff really.

Any recipe that has multiple steps involving most of the pans in the kitchen for a final meal that's all in one dish eg fish pie, shepherds pie, lasagne. I can face making things like these about once every few months and then only if I do it in stages (ie make the meat sauce one day, the cheese sauce and assembly of the lasagne another day). It gets hoovered up in 5 minutes and much enjoyed I'm sure but hardly feels worth the effort.

Holidays with a toddler. Seems like such a good idea beforehand but when you're there it's just the same shit in a different place and worse as the toddler is unsettled being away so doesn't sleep properly or eat as normal, so is generally more volatile. No lie ins, no nice evening meals out. More tired when you get back than when you went.

Children.

Holidays, group meals, spa trips.