Who Does the Household Chores, Him or Her

Household chores are a fact of life. They have to be done in order to have clothes to wear, food to eat, plus for your health. But who does them?

Years ago the man worked full time and the woman took care of all the housework. Well, times have changed. Women work outside the home but are still forced to take care of the all the household duties. If you think about it, men do dirty up dishes, clothes, bathrooms and many other areas within the home.

Everyone would rather be doing anything but cleaning. But household chores have to be done and both individuals can do them.

The easiest and most productive way of getting all the household chores done is by creating a chore list. Each individual in the household can be responsible for certain items, and/or rooms to take care of.

Both individuals should set down and work together on a list of chores that will make each person happy. Both individuals have to be able to live with this list. You might not be happy with one item you have to take care of but he probably is feeling the same way. Make sure you talk it out so there isn't any grudges or resentments.

The chore list should cover daily chores and weekly chores. Here is a list that starts with the basic chores that most households need done, you can add any special chores that pertains to your particular household.

Emptying all the trashcans
Vacuuming
Dusting
Grocery-shopping
Cooking meals
Doing the dishes
Laundry
Ironing
Cleaning the bathrooms
Cleaning the kitchen
Cleaning the bedrooms
Picking up the living room
Cleaning the living room
Mowing the lawn
Taking the trashcans to the street and back
Taking out the kitchen trashcan, daily if needed

In order to make the chore list fair, you both have to take into consideration the time you both work outside the home. If one works more than the other then it is reasonable to expect the one that works less do more of the chores. Also if you are taking care of little ones, this needs to be taken into account.

In order to make the chore list feel fair to both individuals, there are creative ways to divide up the chores. You can rotate the chores on a weekly or monthly basis to make the chores less dull.

Some household put the chore list on the refrigerator so each individual can check off when their chores are complete. This way they and others know that they have contributed to the running of the house.

After you both have made your chore list, it's very important that you keep your end of the bargain. Your spouse needs to know that he or she can count on you to do your share and follow through on what you say. It's not your spouse's responsibility to tell you to do your assigned chores.

If one individual is feeling like the chore is more than a chore, it's time to talk. Don't just stop doing the chore that you feel you shouldn't be doing. Your spouse will become frustrated, angry and probably start yelling. Unresolved issues can hurt all parts of a marriage. So it's time for both individuals to set down and discuss what is going on and why one of you is feeling this way. Take the time to throw our suggestions on how each of you can help the other.

It could be as simple as changing the chore time to a different time or day. Little issues can blow up to become big issues.

There is also little things that one individual can do to help the other individual like, putting the trashcan by the back door, put the laundry basket beside the dirty clothes, and picking up his or her shoes, moving them to the bedroom floor beside the closet. These little things can help alleviate the problem.

If both individuals are working at the same time, you both will feel good about what you are doing and about each other

Just remember, it takes two individuals to tango, so talk, work together, have fun and before you know it the chores are done and you can play!