Does Housework Even Matter Anymore?
Comments:
- We have 2 cats and they complicate things.
- She has a shoes-off at the door policy
- She has 3 vacuum cleaners: 1 for downstairs .. another for upstairs. Another for car
- Each bathroom has its own cleaning “kit” under the sink
- Plus uses a swiffer on tlle and hardwood floors
- We have a softwater system that virtually eliminates mineral buildup in bathrooms
- And we wipe down (squeegee) the shower walls and glass after showers
- Once a year I we have a window wash team do all windows indoor and out. They also powerwash out the garage floor (to get ride of all the winter mess). Because our main ingress is from the garage (except for guests) this is key to helping keep the house clean.
- And about once a year we have carpet cleaning
- House is always presentable. I could invite anyone to the house on short notice and the house is always clean.
- Two bedrooms are ready for guests at all times. She keeps the doors closed so the cats stay out. All she has to do when we have guests is add bed linens and they are ready to go
- Snow: I plow the driveway but she keeps the walk from the driveway to the house / including steps and front porch clear of snow and ice. She does not use salt unless the walks are really icy (helps keep entry way inside the house free from salt)
A Prov 31 woman
Plus:
- We only eat out once a week (Friday night)
- All other meals prepared by my wife including
- Packing my and her lunch every day
I have never prescribed to this idea that woman (wife) need to be the the primary caretakers of the home. If that is the way it is in home, that is fine, I just don’t think it is a necessity. In our home, we all share responsibilities. My wife only does her laundry. My kids and I are responsible for our laundry. My kids clean their room, their bathrooms, cleanup the kitchen, and even do some of the cooking. My wife doesn’t pack my lunches (God gave me two hands). As homes have gotten bigger and our lives more complex, I think the historical view that people have of a wife can become outdated. I continue to instill in all of my kids a shared level of responsibility in the home, so that they can take the load off of their wives at some point in the future when they get married and so that if they don’t get married they can still maintain their home.
A mess in the house, whether a pile of laundry, or a sink full of dishes, is something that is going to have to be dealt with eventually, so why not do a little housework everyday? Taking 10 minutes to unload and load a dishwasher, or folding and putting away one load of laundry will save you from having to dedicate one whole day of your week to housework, and, in the mean time, you get to enjoy living in a house that is relatively clean.
We are empty nesters and our kids have been out of the house (the youngest) for almost 10 years:
- We always had our kids pick up after themselves
- They were only allowed to eat in the kitchen (and there was no eating in the car!!! - a rule we still follow and our car keeps pretty clean)
- Kathee limited their # of toys. Occasionally she would cull toys and shuffle them away so that the toy options were less. She would recycle them back into the mix and take others out of rotation. This made it easier for the kids to keep their rooms clean because there was less stuff
- Each of our kids helped with daily chores. Additionally each had Saturday am chores. Daily chores were cleaning up the table, loading the dishwasher, setting the table, taking papers to recycling, cleaning up rooms, making beds, etc. Saturday chores were cleaning bathrooms, laundry etc. Today each of our kids is an excellent housekeeper. My bachelor son’s house is neat as a pin. Boys also mowed grass & shoveled snow.
I agree that our homes are both gifts and responsibilities from God. We keep our space in a way that demonstrates gratitude, while not straying into worship or obsession. It’s a balance, based on the needs, abilities and interests of the family.
I also see the home as a tool - we use it, it shouldn’t use us. At our house, we don’t take our shoes off as we come in and out- we are an in-and-out family, we have hard floors, and IMO that’s why God invented Murphy’s Oil Soap. :D For a home with carpet or small children, however, shoes off would be necessary.
I admit that when I visit a home with a shoes off policy, grown kids or no kids, and pets running around, I wonder why I am having to walk around in my socks or bare feet. I really don’t want to walk on someone else’s floor barefoot, nor do I appreciate sticking my now dirty socks back into my previously clean shoes.
I’m more prone to view ‘clean’ as more about hygiene than presentation. I’ve eaten (or pretended to eat) fancy meals on fancy china at fancy tables that I had to pick crusted food and animal hair out of. Ick. When I clean for ‘company’, I’m using an antibacterial/antimicrobial cleaner on surfaces that are often used - from furniture to door knobs. The curtains and light fixtures don’t need to be spotless for a space to be ‘clean’.
I strive for comfort and utility, rather than an ooh-aah decorative scheme that takes time and money to maintain. Give me shelves of books, worn leather chairs, and distressed (a fancy word for ‘beat up’) furniture, and call it Rustic Library.
Discussion