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Household Chores Checklist - Use One to Save Your Marriage
by Colleen Langenfeld
Description: Tips on dividing up household chores between you and your spouse.
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Are you tired of fighting with your spouse over who-does-what
chore every night after work?
Or has it gone farther than that and you have stopped talking
about household stuff altogether in your marriage?
This is a hot issue in today's fast-paced culture. We've added
a lot to our lives over the past generation but many of our
tasks remain the same. No matter how many interesting
opportunities come along, the house still has to be cleaned, the
dishes still must be done and the laundry still needs to be kept
up with (although I'm not sure it needs to be folded!).
Many people use a checklist system at their jobs to keep on
task and stay productive. Why not use the same thinking at home
with your household chores?
-- Use a household chores checklist to maintain division of
work.
For example...
* He fills and empties the dishwasher on Tuesday and Thursday
and she takes care of it on Monday and Wednesday. Weekends they
use paper and plastic and forget they have a dishwasher.
* She sorts and assembles laundry throughout the week into
multiple hampers and when he spots a full hamper due to her
efforts he sends that load through the washer and dryer. They
fold together, right before bed.
* She is responsible for dinners three times a week and he is
responsible three times a week. The seventh night they figure
out dinner together, whether it's snacking or a restaurant. Each
Sunday evening they look at the household checklist together and
choose the nights that work best that week for each of them.
All of the above is kept track of on the chores checklist. Slip
it into a plastic sleeve and use a dry-erase marker so you can
wipe it clean each week and begin again with ease.
-- Use a household chores checklist as a log of actual work
completed.
If there's an argument in your home over who is actually doing
the most work, use a household checklist to discover the facts.
Simply jot down who does what for a solid month. Put dates and
times, too. Then you can tally up the clear winner.
But be gentle. Sometimes seeing the 'truth' can be a real
shocker. It's a little like discovering you overeat by a
thousand calories a day when you genuinely believed you were
eating sensibly.
-- Make household chores a game.
Attach some real prizes to your household chores checklist and
see if you can motivate both of you to get on top of the daily
household duties. Make a big deal about checking things off the
list.
Really, this is about developing habits as everything is more
difficult when you're not used to doing it. But get in a groove
with an activity and it's no big deal at all.
Without a doubt, the most efficient way to handle your
household chores is to make them a habit. Instead of spending
the energy arguing about it, why not use that same energy to see
if the chores can be streamlined and shortened. Are there tools
or resources that would help both of you get the job done better
and faster? Then seriously consider those helps. And remember,
your upfront costs need to be weighed against your long term
gain.
Do yourself a favor and get really tired of arguing about this
common marital frustration and use simple tools like a household
chores checklist to develop a system that will finally work in
your situation.
At the very least, you'll learn methods of becoming more
efficient yourself and that will help you get your part done
faster. If both spouses give this a try the benefits can be
amazing.
Colleen Langenfeld has been parenting for
over 26 years and helps other moms enjoy mothering more at
http://www.paintedgold.com. Visit her website and print out a
free household chores checklist at
http://www.paintedgold.com/Organize/household-chores.html.
