Asked about their favorite type of cleaning in a survey on behalf of Clorox, 37 % of people say doing laundry is their preferred chore. The survey results—named “The Dirt on Spring Cleaning: American’s Top Cleaning Confessions”—included responses from 1,234 people, the majority of whom somehow view laundry as the least-terrible chore. Other preferred chores include cleaning the kitchen (chosen by 32 % of respondents) and vacuuming. Choosing a favorite chore can be tricky—are any truly enjoyable? Still, laundry seems an unexpected winner. No cleaning task is ever truly finished, with the law of entropy and the accumulated dirt of living constantly re-dirtying cleaned items and spaces, but some chores stay finished for longer than laundry does. Taking out the trash, for example, is a one-and-done task, at least for a few hours; laundry is quite literally never finished—unless the launderer is able to complete the chore in the nude. Plus, there’s the whole process of learning how to do laundry and how to read laundry symbols. Laundry has a rather steep learning curve while taking out the trash requires little to no training.

Least Favorite Chores

Clorox’s new survey shared a slew of other juicy cleaning facts: Most people either self-identify as “clean freaks” or “scramblers” when it comes to tidying up, though “emotional cleaners” are also pretty common. In the survey, 31 % of people admit to never deep-cleaning their homes or not doing so often; 27 % of people admit that their microwave is splattered with unknown food; and a whopping 78 % of respondents admit to hiding clutter or messes, mostly in a bedroom or closet, when cleaning in a rush. The least-favorite chore is organizing and dusting bedrooms, which is liked by only 11 % of people. The survey also revealed that 93 % of people in the U.S. are bothered by mess and dirt: Almost no one likes living in a cluttered or dirty home. But how everyone tackles that mess can reveal a lot about different personalities and preferences. Perhaps the key to a harmonious household is finding someone who will tackle the chores you like the least and vice versa. Who knew cleaning could be so romantic?