31 million - it's a chore just to count them up

Got that "so much to do" feeling? You are not alone, according to a new survey by credit card company Visa.

Got that "so much to do" feeling? You are not alone, according to a new survey by credit card company Visa.

In fact, about 31 million household chores are waiting to be completed across the country, its research finds.

A survey of 587 people, conducted on behalf of Visa Europe in June, found that the Irish are spending more time out and about - to the detriment of daily tasks.

The average Irish adult has 23 outstanding chores to complete. Those living in Dublin have an average of 27 to tackle, more than anyone else in Britain and Ireland. Londoners are second from the top, each having 25 chores to do.

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The undone jobs include changing light bulbs (one million on lists); missing buttons (three million); clothes which need hand-washing (five million); and DIY jobs around the house (seven million).

There are also five million people to check up on, as each adult surveyed claimed to have an average of four friends or family members with whom they needed to catch up.

Those surveyed in Munster had the most chores to complete. More than half had failed to find time to sort out personal finances or clean the oven.

In Ulster and Connacht, 44 per cent of people surveyed said they needed to tidy the house, and 48 per cent said the rubbish had yet to be put out.

However, less than a third needed to organise their finances, mow the lawn or remove out-of-date food from the fridge.

The research attributes longer to-do lists to our changing lifestyles. People spend twice as much time engaging in leisure activities than in 1960.

"The overriding conclusion to draw from all of this is that people are getting busier as more demands are being made on their everyday lives. As a result, there is little desire to tackle nitty-gritty tasks," said Fiona Wilkinson, spokeswoman for Visa Europe.

Twenty four per cent admitted they were concerned that the length of their to-do list was getting out of control.

"With the sheer number of chores building up, we're trying to make shopping on the internet easier, or offer more ways of settling those two million outstanding bills when it suits you rather than at nine or ten at night.

"This will hopefully give people some of their free time back," said Ms Wilkinson.