IF YOU THOUGHT we couldn’t make our taskmaster this week about Valentine’s Day, you’d be mistaken. Yes, it’s the month of love and there’s nothing more romantic than knuckling down and getting some household tasks done together.

Ok, there’s literally thousands of things that are more romantic, but that doesn’t take away from what needs to be done around the house -  so for this week only, we’ve transformed our taskmaster feature into a couples destination with some friendly competition thrown in to get us in the mood for love!

Shutterstock / George Rudy Shutterstock / George Rudy / George Rudy

The timer challenge

Starting strong with the couples cleaning timer challenge. By transforming a mundane task into somewhat of a game, it’s instantly transformed into a fun couples activity and by dividing and conquering the workload, it will seem like there’s a lot less to do. Split up the tasks that need doing, then set the timer and see who can complete their share the fastest. Healthy competition is the sign of a strong relationship, it also creates a sense of equality within the partnership and it gets the job done much faster. 

Crank the tunes  

This may sound like a simple tip, but creating a curated Valentine’s Day playlist to go alongside your tasks is a great way to inject some fun and personality into the project. Maybe it’s your first dance song or club tracks of your youth – whatever the music may be, studies have shown that dance can help to reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and also helps to develop new neural connections. So, remember that cleaning isn’t that serious, but everyone knows how serious a dance break can be!

Shutterstock / 4 PM production Shutterstock / 4 PM production / 4 PM production

Treat yourselves 

We never said that completing cleaning tasks around the house is fun, and we know that with Valentine’s day fast approaching, it’s important to remember to treat ourselves too. With that in mind, set yourselves up for a treat at the end of your cleaning blitz. Whether it’s your favourite snack, a well-deserved hour of binging your favourite TV show, or really showing the love by treating your partner to a foot massage, you’ll definitely deserve it and it will take the sting out of the tasks at hand. 

Shutterstock / Krakenimages.com Shutterstock / Krakenimages.com / Krakenimages.com

Hidden gems  

This is a fun way to ensure that you’re both enjoying yourselves through the process and we’re sure that you’ll be cleaning with a smile on your face this V day if you follow through with it. After you’ve allocated the tasks and before you get stuck in to the nitty gritty cleaning business, leave some hidden love notes around the house or promises for future dates, think of them as surprise gifts for your partner that they won’t expect when dusting the shelves! Essentially, you’re turning your cleaning spree into a wonderfully romantic scavenger hunt, and by the end of it not only will your home be sparkling, but you might get a few cheeky dates out of it too. 

We’re not suggesting that a cleaning couples challenge becomes a weekly routine, but cleaning your space can be rewarding and fun if you divide and conquer. So, remember to have some craic at home in the space you love, with the ones you love this Valentine’s.