Housework is inZOI's domestic maintenance skill. It governs a Zoi's ability to keep their home clean, repair broken objects, refurbish worn furniture, and ultimately craft new furniture items from scratch. A high Housework skill makes household chores faster and more effective, reducing the time drain that cleanliness management places on a Zoi's daily routine. It also connects directly to the Build Mode system by unlocking the ability to craft furniture that can be placed in the home.
How to Level Up Housework
Activity | Notes |
|---|---|
Cleaning | Wiping counters, mopping floors, washing dishes, taking out trash, and using cleaning products all contribute to Housework XP. Cleaning a heavily dirty home yields more XP than a quick tidy. |
Repairing broken objects | Electronics, plumbing, appliances, and structural fixtures occasionally break. Repairing them manually (rather than calling a service) builds the skill significantly. |
Refurbishing old furniture | Worn or outdated furniture can be refurbished to improve its quality and aesthetic. Refurbishing gives solid Housework XP and can recover high-quality furniture that has degraded over time. |
Crafting furniture | At higher skill levels, using a crafting workbench or table to build furniture from raw materials provides the highest Housework XP per activity. |
Reading home improvement books | Available at bookshelves, libraries, and tablets. Slower than hands-on activity but provides passive Housework gains. |
What Housework Unlocks
Low levels (1–3): Faster basic cleaning interactions. Lower chance of botching a repair and causing further damage. Access to simple furniture refurbishing options.
Mid levels (4–6): Access to more types of repair interactions (appliances, plumbing). Refurbishing restores furniture to a higher quality level. Ability to craft basic furniture items at a workbench.
High levels (7–10): Cleaning is significantly faster; a high-Housework Zoi can keep a large home clean in far less time than a low-skill one. Access to complex furniture crafting recipes. Ability to craft high-quality furniture for sale or personal use.
Craftable furniture unlocked at higher Housework levels can be placed directly in the home through Build Mode. This creates an overlap between the Housework skill and home design, allowing crafting-oriented Zois to furnish and personalize their space without purchasing everything from catalogs.
Connection to Cleanliness
The Cleanliness system in inZOI tracks both the Zoi's personal hygiene and the tidiness of their living space. A cluttered, dirty home negatively affects the Fun and Recognition needs of Zois who spend time in it. Regular cleaning is required to maintain a comfortable living environment.
A Zoi with a high Housework skill can maintain a clean home with fewer in-game hours spent cleaning per week. This efficiency gain becomes significant over time, especially in households with multiple Zois generating mess simultaneously. High-Housework Zois also take more satisfaction from cleaning, making the Hygiene and Fun needs less negatively impacted by cleaning tasks compared to low-skill Zois who may find cleaning draining.
Housework and Traits
Trait | Housework Affinity |
|---|---|
Perfectionist | High affinity. Perfectionists have their Hygiene gauge drop faster than most Zois, creating constant Urges to clean. This trait generates the most organic Housework XP of any personality type. |
Sentinel | Naturally cautious and prepared Zois who tend to maintain their environment proactively rather than reactively. |
Collaborator | Values belonging and comfort; a clean shared home aligns with Collaborator values, making them attentive to household maintenance. |
Volunteer | Self-sacrificing Zois who tend to take on household tasks for the benefit of others in the household. |
Furniture Crafting Integration
At higher Housework levels, the furniture crafting system opens up as a significant creative and economic avenue. Zois who max out Housework can build high-quality furniture pieces that would otherwise need to be purchased. Some crafted items have unique visual styles not available in the standard Furniture catalog.
Crafted furniture can also be sold through the Pocket Market on the Zoi's smartphone, creating a small passive income source for highly domestic Zois. The sale value of crafted furniture scales with both the Housework skill level and the quality of raw materials used.
Tips
Let a repair backlog accumulate before a dedicated repair session; fixing multiple broken items in sequence is more efficient than fixing one at a time.
Refurbishing worn furniture before it reaches 'broken' status keeps it from degrading further and gives Housework XP without the need for raw materials.
Households with children and pets tend to generate more mess, providing more organic Housework leveling opportunities.
A Focused emotion buff accelerates all skill learning including Housework. Completing other tasks that generate Focus before a cleaning session maximizes XP per in-game hour.