The Good Design Journal
9 Ways to Make the Mundane Feel a Little Less... Mundane
Chores are boring. That’s a fact. But they become unbearable when the tools fight you. A pedal bin that slides across the floor when you step on it. A dish brush that retains yesterday’s food smells. A step ladder you have to wrestle out of a dark corner.
These are micro-frictions. They turn a five-minute task into a twenty-minute annoyance.
The fix is simple: better gear. We’ve curated 9 essentials that remove the friction from the mundane. From the satisfying snap of a silicone pouch to the silent close of a steel bin, these are the upgrades that make the housework… work.
1. The Ladder You Leave on the Wall
DESIGN HOUSE STOCKHOLM Step Ladder
You can stop shoving the ladder into the abyss of the broom cupboard. Karl Malmvall designed this to live on the wall. It folds flat—razor thin—and hangs on a dedicated hook, looking more like a piece of joinery than a piece of hardware. It’s always there when you need it, and beautiful when you don’t.
2. Hiding the Bin Liner
ZONE DENMARK Ume Pedal Bin
The plastic bag overhang is a visual crime. The Ume bin solves it with a separate inner bucket that conceals the liner completely, keeping the exterior lines sharp. It operates silently, sits steadily, and brings a soft, matte finish to the corner of the room. It’s waste management, tidied up.
3. The End of Single-Use Ziplocks
ENKEL STUDIO Keep Pouch
Bring order to the chaos of the pantry. These silicone pouches stand up when full, fold flat when empty, and seal tight. The clear front panel means you actually know what’s inside—whether it’s left-over lemon halves or travel toiletries—without having to unzip and check.
4. Scrubbing With Dignity
DESIGNSTUFF ARC Toilet Brush
A tool that knows its place. The ARC brush is designed to disappear. The canister is rubber-coated and weighted, sitting solidly on the floor without tipping. It conceals the brush head entirely, turning an ugly necessity into a quiet, sand-coloured shape that blends into the background.
5. No More Soggy Bristles
DESIGNSTUFF VANA Dish Brush
Bristles trap grime; silicone sheds it. This brush rinses clean instantly and dries fast, so it never develops that damp-kitchen smell. The angled edge gives you leverage against stuck-on food, while the soft nubs handle the delicate glassware. It’s cleaner, in every sense.
6. Drying Dishes with Architecture
FERM LIVING Vuelo Tea Towel
Jørn Utzon’s sketches usually hang in galleries; here, they hang in your kitchen. The dense jacquard weave brings a heavy, tactile quality to the post-dinner wash up, making the fabric feel substantial in your hand. It turns the most repetitive task of the evening into a small interaction with genuine design history.
7. Heat Protection as Sculpture
DESIGNSTUFF CURVE Silicone Trivet
Don't put it away. While cork mats degrade and stain, this thick silicone curve handles the hottest pots and wipes clean in seconds. When the dinner is cleared, leave it out. It acts as a graphic accent on the benchtop, waiting for the next hot pan.
8. Aromatherapy at the Sink
DESIGNSTUFF Saebe Dish Wash
Cleaning up shouldn't smell like chemicals. The Lemon Myrtle and Petitgrain scent shifts the mood at the sink, making the wash-up feel less like a chore and more like a reset. It cuts grease without stripping your hands, leaving the kitchen smelling crisp and grounded.
9. Getting the "To-Do" List Off the Bench
OYOY Peili Notice Board
Get the loose paper off the bench. The Peili board catches the invites, the lists, and the receipts, pinning them into a dedicated zone. The dark wood shelf adds a spot for keys or a pen, turning a jumble of reminders into a structured display.
Why choose silicone over traditional bristles for cleaning?
It comes down to hygiene. Traditional nylon bristles trap moisture and food particles, creating a breeding ground for bacteria and that inevitable "damp kitchen" smell. Silicone, used in the Vana Dish Brush and Arc Toilet Brush, is non-porous and hydrophobic. It rinses instantly, dries fast, and doesn't hold onto grime, meaning the tool itself stays clean.
Is a "designer" bin actually worth the investment?
Consider the usage rate. You likely interact with your kitchen or bathroom bin more than almost any other object in the house. A cheap bin that clangs shut, slides across the tiles, or lets the liner slip creates a micro-annoyance twenty times a day. A weighted, soft-close model like the Ume removes the noise and the visual clutter of the bag. It turns a friction point into a seamless interaction.
I have no storage space. How do I hide a step ladder?
The strategy here isn't to hide it; it's to choose one that acts like furniture. Standard aluminium ladders belong in the shed. The Design House Stockholm model is crafted from solid timber with a dedicated wall hook. When folded, it reads as a deliberate architectural detail rather than a piece of trade equipment you forgot to put away.
Are silicone pouches better than rigid containers?
For space efficiency, yes. Rigid containers claim the same amount of drawer or fridge space whether they are full or empty. The Enkel Studio Pouches are volumetric; they expand to hold the contents and fold flat when not in use. They remove the "Tupperware tetris" problem entirely.
The Upgrade
You can’t outsource the drudgery. The dishes and the dust are always going to be there.
But you can change the equipment.
Swapping out flimsy, frustration-inducing tools for pieces that feel solid removes the friction. It turns a chore into simple maintenance. It’s about giving the unglamorous jobs a little bit of dignity so you don't resent doing them quite so much.
We’ve gathered the heavy lifters into The Utility Edit, a collection of tools designed to be used, not hidden.
