Feel like you’re constantly battling loads of dirty laundry, piles of dirty clothes and rampant dust balls rolling through your house—alone? If so, you’ve actually got lots of company.
Science has finally validated what women suspected all along: On average, females do far more housework than males. Results showed that married women do an average of 17 hours of housework a week; men do eight. Mothers of more than three children fare even worse, averaging 28 hours of housework a week compared to spouses’ average of 10 hours.
Interested in shattering these statistics? Try these tips for some extra help around the house:
Let your spouse know how you feel. Your spouse may have no idea that you’re feeling overwhelmed with housework. He may not even realize all that you do in a day (really). It’s your job to tell him.
Leave accusations out of it. Though terms like “lazy,” and even “slovenly” may come to mind, squelch them. You’ll get farther by presenting the issue—too much housework, not enough hours in the day for one person to do it—as a problem that needs to be resolved together, not a battle to be won.
Be direct in your request. Passive aggressive techniques, like waiting to see how high the laundry pile gets before your husband will do a load, generally backfire. Instead, present the various tasks that need to be done and ask your husband which he’d like to tackle.
Get your kids involved, early. Children even younger than 2 can comprehend a simple request, like ”‘Pick up your blocks.” The earlier you engage children in household chores, the sooner they’ll recognize it’s an expected part of home life.
