Give Yourself An Annual Break From These Daily Chores

Every year, on this day, there's a national holiday that you may not be aware of, and it's called No Dirty Dishes Day. This day has been created to give everybody a break from the dreaded daily household chore of washing our pots, pans, plates, and bowls. This gives us the perfect excuse to eat out, order takeout, or eat a picnic on recyclable paper plates: Not having to do the dishes vastly improves a normal weekday. But why should we just get a day off from doing the dishes? Here are the 10 most mundane chores we believe we deserve a break from at least once a year.

Take a break from doing the dishes, and celebrate National Dirty Dishes Day. This gives you the perfect excuse to order takeout, go out to eat, or host an outdoor party where everything is eaten off recyclable paper plates, which don't require soap and scrubbing when everyone's finished eating.

Standing in the endless, snaking line at the grocery store is never enjoyable. Let yourself have a day off this time-wasting torture and either treat yourself to a restaurant meal, or forage through your fridge and pantry, to throw together an improvised meal.

Weekday mornings are a stressful time. Whether you live alone or with many kids, change up your standard hectic routine and buy yourself a readymade breakfast from somewhere that isn't the grocery store. Whether it's a bagel, a muffin, or a PB&J sandwich, the fact that you're eating it away from your kitchen table and haven't had to make it yourself will make it taste a million times better.

Rather than rushing around making a mess with coffee grounds and hot water while you're exhausted and bleary-eyed in the morning, treat yourself to a coffee from your nearest café every once in a while. Your morning will be more efficient, less stressful, and the coffee will be even more delicious than normal.

Doing the laundry is a time-consuming chore. Whether you can do it at home, or have to trek to the laundromat, it's not an enjoyable task. Give yourself an annual break from this household job not by wearing dirty clothes for a few days, but by making use of that magical drop and fold serving at your nearest laundromat. It's worth that extra expense every once in a while.

There's never a day when we wake up without a to-do list the length of our arm filled with mundane jobs that need doing. Give yourself a real day off by setting the mental and physical to-do list off to the side, and using the free time you've gained to really do whatever you want.

Coming home from work and leafing through the pile of bills, junk mail, and catalogues seems to have become a mindless daily task. Rather than automatically doing this when you get home from work, skip it for a day. There's nothing in that pile of mail that can't wait for 24 hours.

The morning routine of squeezing onto the sweaty subway, standing under somebody's armpit on the journey to the office, and being squashed and battered as other stressed commuters struggle to move on and off the train, is dreaded every day. For just one day a year, begin your working day in a more civilized way by taking a taxi, cycling, or walking (whichever is possible for you) to your office: You'll be so much happier when you sit down at your desk.

There's no doubt that taking your own homemade lunch to work every day saves you much money over the course of a year. But don't force this ever-so-sensible chore upon yourself every day. Leave that Tupperware at home for a day, and go out for your lunch break.

Ever since we were kids, tidying our bedroom has been a dreaded chore. Allow yourself to embrace your inner child's rebellious desires and ignore those clothes strewn across the floor for 24 hours: You'll be so much happier for having fulfilled this teenage dream.