Test of Today - Never-Ending Chores

November 8th, 2025

Salam.

Today’s test is simpler to explain than most. In this day and age, I know that the general population often feels overwhelmed by the everyday responsibilities. Battling depression and anxiety has made some of these tasks especially difficult, mentally that is.

The tasks seem so voluminous that I struggled to know where to begin. Then I think back to moments where I can’t rest until I’ve deep-cleaned the baseboards and dusted every surface, including using a toothbrush to loosen the dryer vents.

In August, our washing machine started leaking so we couldn’t use it without risking damage. And for over a month, we couldn’t do laundry unless I handwashed. We aren’t allowed to use drying racks like we did when I was growing up on our balconies and realistically, you wouldn’t find much success since its raining 80% of the time anyway. Thankfully we had enough bedsheets and undergarments to spare but we were running out of vessels to contain our used clothes.

The stubborn part of me (which is very strong) refused to send our clothing out for cleaning or to use a laundromat and pay to use the machines. We had a machine in our apartment that was supposed to be working. The reason the leak took so long to fix was because our building management refused to listen to us about the origin of the leak and dismissed us. Needless to say, the technician had to visit us twice in a month to tell us that the machine was improperly installed and that the hose connecting to the main water access was the root of the issue.

God Bless my husband because in my vindication and validation, I wanted to unleash some of my untapped rage unto the person who was dismissing and patronizing us (mainly me) through this debacle.

Once we were finally able to do the laundry again, we had cycles going on repeat, but we were cautious and nervous for another leak. Now that time has passed, the end of the pile-up was in sight, but then I saw the new laundry we had created again.

Because at the end of it, there will always be laundry to do. That is if you change your clothes regularly and wash them, which we all should.

In my overwhelmed state of my mind and my avoidance, I genuinely wanted to throw out half of the piles in the name of “minimalism.” Would that solve the issue? Honestly, it just might.

But then I would have immense anxiety when I remembered that I needed something or wanted to use/wear something in that stack I got rid of. Then I would guilt myself for parting ways with that item because I would then convince myself that I needed it again.

It’s a vicious cycle of doubt and constant interruption. Everyday, mundane tasks can seem like climbing mountains and parting oceans.

Another commitment I made to myself early on in my healing journey, was to always do at least one productive thing a day. No matter how tired or anxious I was, I committed to upholding a standard for myself.

Do a load of laundry.

Take out the trash.

Do the dishes.

Make a meal.

Feed the cats. **

Play with the cats. **

Clean the litter box. **

When it comes to the cats, those are non-negotiables. Their lives depend on me and my husband, and we take that responsibility seriously. They love us unconditionally – despite yelling at us at 2 am because we aren’t awake to play. They check on us throughout the day if we’re busy working or binging a new show. They chirp and yap to us about their days and especially when its time for food.

The cats are anything but a chore to us.

Realizing that we take care of our pets more than we spend taking care of ourselves, made us want to do better, for them and us.

We all have the chores that we hate to do, and some days, all chores seem too overwhelming to handle. It often seems purposeless when you think that you just have to repeat it all the next day or week.

My therapist helped me shift my perspective around these tasks. She asked me to shift the way I spoke to myself. Instead of telling myself I had to do XYZ but I was tired and in pain, I would say I’m tired and I’m going to do XYZ anyway. I know it seems overly simple, but it genuinely helped me.

It validated that I was going to feel the way I felt, and despite it, I still had the willpower and strength to do what I needed to do.

So yes, there will always be laundry to do.

There will always be tasks that we consider as “chores”, that are often the last things we want to do. Thus, we should just accept that and instead, see it as an accomplishment that we want to take care of ourselves. Caring for yourself is as admirable as caring for others, you just have to feel and believe that you are worth it.

Ahead of the Sunday scary’s and the chores we all anticipate, I encourage you (and myself) to give yourself some grace. Do what you need to do, and don’t make yourself feel worse for it.

Be kind to yourself, even if that means folding some laundry and treating yourself to a big ol’ chocolate chip cookie.

Salam from me and my cookies!

Disclaimer: I don’t use AI to write, research, or edit my content. I like to use dashes so please don’t fault me for that!