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I have three fabulous children and a terrific husband. I was recently laid off and have decided to try the stay-at-home gig. We'll see how it goes!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

To Clean or Not to Clean

To clean or not to clean, that is often the battle in my house.  I like my house to be clean.  If I had the energy it would be spotless.  But I don't.  A recent article in the New York Times, The Case for Filth by Stephen Marche, discusses the issue of house cleaning in modern times.  He reports something women all over the world already know; women do the majority of the housework.  What I found interesting is that a study found men actually do LESS work now than they did 20 years ago!  So it seems that even though women have taken on more work outside the home, they still do most of the work inside the home.  Interestingly, the study also showed that women are doing less housework as well.  It seems that the female struggle to be equal in the home and workplace has not resulted in men scrubbing more bathtubs, but in less tub scrubbing.... period.

My initial response to this is, "Yeah.  If he's not going to clean it, then I'm not either!"  Unfortunately, that means I have to live in a state of gross.  I love my husband, but his gross-out threshold is way higher than mine.  When I was working, I tried to not clean the bathroom until he did.  About 3 months later, I had to shower in the kid's bathroom.  And my husband still didn't see that there was any problem.  So basically, if I want a clean house, I have to clean it.

At first that doesn't seem fair, but it's my issue.  My husband keeps the house clean at a certain level.  If I'm not happy with that level, it's my job to take care of that.  To be fair, my husband has a lower threshold for clutter than I do.  He hates when the kid's toys are everywhere.  I can handle it as long as the floor underneath those toys is clean.  So when it gets to a point that he's not comfortable with, he cleans it up.

Being the maid is the only downfall to being a SAHM.  I used to have more help cleaning the house, but now that I stay home and my husband works more, it's my job.  I feel like it should be my job.  It would be nice to not have to do it all the time though.  My oldest helps out, but she's only 8.  As the kids get older they'll have to do more, but that's a ways away.  Oh well.  I'll just buy some fancy cleaning gloves and get it done.


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