Photo Credit: The Italian Voice

Does housework make you feel more like a maid than a member of your family?

You aren’t alone.

All too often, women are dumped with an unfair portion of domestic jobs. Understandably, we aren’t happy about it!

Check out the below tips for evening the division of housework in your home.

Housework and your partner

Dropping hints won’t work.

Dropping subtle hints about your housework frustration is unlikely to change your partner’s behaviour. While mentioning how much you hate the smell of the bathroom cleaner might persuade your partner to take over for an evening, these mind games are unlikely to have a lasting effect.

Talk to your partner directly

The only way to truly communicate your feelings is to speak to your partner honestly about housework. Tell them that they need to start contributing. Explain that housework takes up a large portion of your time and effort. Be clear that you don’t enjoy it any more than they do. There is no excuse for their lack of housework participation.

Demand equality – not help!

Above all, highlight that that housework is a task that each of you have an equal responsibility to perform. They are not helping you or doing you a favour by completing household duties. They are merely fulfilling their obligation as a member of your home. So if you partner uses the “h” word next time they do some cleaning, call them out on it!

Housework and kids

While the best way to approach housework with your partner is to be direct, getting the kids involved can take a little more imagination!

Make housework fun

It’s no secret that kids like to have fun, and quickly lose interest when they aren’t stimulated. To combat this, pump out some music, dress up or dance through the house with your kids while cleaning. This will lead them to associate housework with fun and family time, rather than drudgery and monotony.

Turning tasks into a game is another way to keep your children engaged in housework. Primary school aged children enjoy pretending to shoot guns, so why not arm them with the spray and wipe and ask them to clean the windows or mirrors? Alternatively, set the timer on the microwave and see how many toys the kids can collect in five minutes. You can play a similar game in the garden by seeing how many weeds your children can pull out – just make sure they know the difference between weeds and your vege patch!

Put everything in its place

Allocate locations for everything in your house – from toys to dirty washing to school shoes to pencil cases. By designating places for different items, you will make it easier for your kids to participate routine tidying – and reduce the time you spend picking up after them!

Similarly, don’t just designate one spot for a large category of things, like “toys”. Instead, try to have a specific place for Lego, soft toys, dolls, colouring books and anything else under the sun. This will avoid clutter and confusion, and make it a lot easier for your kids to find what they are looking for, and to put items back.

Give some incentive for housework

As much as you want to motivate your kids to understand housework as everyone’s responsibility, it also helps to give them some gentle encouragement in the form of rewards from time to time. Allowing younger children to stay up an extra hour one weekend or taking them to the park after completing chores can give your kids the boost they need to help out.

While teenagers are more capable than younger children in the cleaning department, they can also be more difficult to persuade. But just like an extended bedtime, allowing your teenager to stay out an hour later than their regular curfew or giving them extra pocket money for mowing or vacuuming are can motivate your teenager and keep you both happy.

Most importantly, remember to praise your kids for doing housework – regardless of their age. Even though your teenage son may cringe and turn away at your approach, kids ultimately like to know their efforts are appreciated, and will be more likely to take initiative in the cleaning department when they know that their contributions will not go unnoticed.

Who knows – by demanding equality in the distribution of housework, you might actually squeeze in some down time this week.

…or this month…one step at a time!

The Clarity Road Team