(This blog post is slightly tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken too seriously!)

The chore I find most challenging is cleaning the dog!

But before I explain why, I would say that there are plenty of chores that I find tedious and repetitive but not challenging. Perhaps if I had to go up a tall ladder to clean the first-floor windows of our house, my fear of heights might kick in and that would be a challenge! But apart from that I can cope with most chores.

I like the results of cleaning and I find ironing can be quite therapeutic, especially if completed whilst listening to music or a podcast. Hoovering can be a bit of a challenge as our dog would like to kill the hoover if he had the opportunity! This also applies to the lawn mower.

The chore I am currently finding most challenging is dealing with the aftermath of my twice-daily dog walk. It has rained incessantly over the last few weeks. This means that my dog walks involve squelching through unremitting mud. I have waterproof boots and all the necessary wet weather gear to keep me dry. That isn’t the challenge.

However, as I have a Blue Merle Border Collie, the challenge is removing the mud from his coat. As he has a strong herding instinct, he likes to round up his other collie friends which involves lying down and giving them the famous collie stare.

His coat is predominately white but by the end of our muddy walks, he looks more black. When we get home, he has to be hosed down and towelled dry. Despite our best efforts, the floor, wall and units – all white – also need to be cleaned!