CLEANING the house can be the most rewarding feeling when the dishes are clean, the sides are wiped and you can now find what you are looking for with ease but how much time is actually spent on this routine, daily chore.

According to new research from Audley Stanbridge Earls, the luxury retirement village based in Romsey, the average Brit will spend nearly a week each year cleaning their home, which is also their least favourite household chore.

The research coincides with the launch of Audley Village’s ‘Time On Your Side’ calculator, a tool to calculate just how much time people are losing through the up-keep of their homes.

Brits spend an average of six days a year cleaning their homes, which is also their least favourite household chore, according to new research from Audley. On average, UK adults spend two hours cleaning, six times a month, adding up to 144 hours per year.

When it comes to household chores, 14% of UK adults also stated that weeding and sweeping leaves in the garden was their least favourite activity.

On average, people are reluctantly spending an average of four and a half hours a month doing tedious gardening admin, equating to more than two whole days per year.

Brits are spending time doing other mundane tasks, including booking and liaising with trades people - two days. Looking after the exterior of their property – three days and another two days mowing the lawn.

Over a third (36%) of respondents said they would like to spend more time with family and friends if they didn’t have to do as many chores and 32% would use the time to take more holidays. Over a tenth (13%) would also use the time to volunteer, with 13% also stating they’d like to try writing a book.

Paul Morgan, managing director at Audley Group commented: “It’s eye-opening that so many people are spending time doing tasks that they don’t enjoy.

“While it’s unsurprising that household chores can be time-consuming and mundane, the findings suggest that people are using their spare time up-keeping their property when the hours could be better spent elsewhere.

“When reaching retirement, it could be transformative to downsize, especially to a retirement village where the mundanity of home maintenance is taken away. Retirement should be a time to enjoy doing the things you love and exploring passions and interests, rather than spending endless hours on household chores.”

The research was carried out by Censuswide to a base of 2000 UK adults in November 2021.