Weekly Debate: Housework

[Mausey]

Well here it is, time for a new debate. :bouncy: After a chat in the office (because I couldn't think of anything. :blush: ) we've come up with something that should get a conversation going. :evil:


Housework. Who does it and is the division fair. Most surverys show that the majority of housework is done by the female. It doesn't matter if she works full time or not, she still ends up doing most of the work. So what do you think. If one partner stays home or is between jobs, should they be doing most of the chores around the house?


I've got a couple links for everybody to have a peek at ... have at it. :laugh:

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/151.asp

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/factsheets/430.asp

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...-28698,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15692150-28698,00.html)


Thanks for finding the stats Jax and Shani. :hugs:

[Priscilla]

In our house, I do most of the little bit of housework that actually gets done. (Now that's a whole 'nother story! :blush: ) However, my husband handles all the financial stuff - check book balancing, bill paying, and he makes sure the cars are in good shape. So, I'd say we're pretty even! Also, when the kids were in high school and needed math or science homework help, he was the BEST! :ok:

[AnnMarie]

It depends. Right now, since we are on two different continents......



When we are cohabitating, I do the laundry. We share the cooking and dishes, and sometimes the rest. But yeah, I still end up doing more of it.

[Lily]

I'm like Cilla. He goes out to work, looks after motor vehicles, maintenance work on the building, our finances
My job is to keep the home running smoothly
And it IS a job that you can be proud of in spite of its lowly reputation.
Wouldnt you rather come home to a warm and welcoming home
If a job is worth doing it's worth doing well

Now if we were to talk about the garden ....................... :roll:

[Faren]

I have a very backwards family. My husband does almost all of the cooking and cleaning. I do the laundry and bathrooms...and that's about it. I hate to cook, he loves it. I work, and he keeps the family going...all the driving, cleaning, shopping, cooking, and maintaining our 8 acres of property...it's a full-time job. When I'm not working, I do the driving to give him a break, and occasionally I will cook the one or two things I can make, but I'm NOT a good cook.:disguise:

[Apocalypse]

* The kids do chores to earn pocket-money
* The au pair does the rest of the housework to get paid (washing, ironing,
some cleaning)
* I do all the cooking, running kids around, shopping
* Oldrider buys things off ebay and does the heavy lifting :evil:

Fair? Who knows, but it works for us! :D

[Keita]

At our house it's pretty much as Lily says: Dad looks after the cars and the garden and mom does the laundry and generally keeps things clean, the cooking and the finances. Setting the table and doing the dishes we all do together. That's now. Of course, I don't live there anymore so I do my own cooking and cleaning.

Back before she lost her job dad did the cars and the garden and the house exterior AND the cooking (when I wasn't doing it - I LOVE to cook) and the maid did the rest. Both had full-time jobs at that point. I did the finances, even when I was only 13. :roll: Shopping we all did together and still do.

Is it fair? I think so. She runs the house and he brings in the cash that keeps it going. Both are full time jobs. Dad still does the cooking sometimes when mom's feeling under the weather. All the tasks that can be done jointly IS done jointly. (cooking and laundry being the exceptions because mom HATES being interfered with what she's in the kitchen and dad's at work on mom's chosen "wash days".

[Nefermiw]

I do the cooking and my husband does the dishes.
We both tidy up the flat and we both can do the laundry (although my husband is doing it 2/3s of the time). We usually go shopping together, but it also often happens that my husband does it alone.
I clean the bathroom and my husband vacuums the floors.
My husband used to be the one to give the parrot a bath, but now I have job of bathing the parrot every Sunday followed by cleaning the cage.
I'm the one who usually does the finances.

I must admit that I can be a bit of a control freak sometimes, and it took some time for my husband to be allowed to help around the house :roll:.

[anonew]

I'm probably a special case in that we have a house elf to do all the scut work. :evil: Well, she's very short, so poor old Uma the didi has been christened Uma the House Elf. At the weekends or after Uma finishes for the day, though, Mrs. Anonew tends to do more - but, as pointed out, I fix stuff, sort the car out, go and do shopping, etc.

G

[cosmic dancer]

I think me & my husband share the load of housework fairly evenly, although my husband certainly does more house cleaning than me. We share cooking & washing up though. I deal with the washing, but neither of us iron, we don't believe in it! I just chose clothes very carefully when buying new and as much as possible dry things on hangers & shake out the creases while the clothes are still wet. It's amazing how well that works. I'm not sure all my work mates believe that I don't iron, when my clothes rarely look more creased than theirs and they do iron! :D

When doing the garden, I usually mow the lawn while my husband does prunning and tidying of the various beds.

We'd both love to have a house elf to do chores for us though, does anyone know how we could get hold of one? ;)

[geishagirl]

Not sharing house work with my husband. Not only will he not do it but I would rather him not. He doesn't do it right! He thinks picking up the living room in piling things in a corner!:roll: He doesn't clean the bathroom completely. He Just stinks at cleaning. Everything he does I have to do over. So I would rather have it done right the first time than have to do it over after him.:irked: