We’ve been looking at the importance of communication and appreciation in allocating and doing household chores. Two other points worth mentioning are the need to prioritize tasks. When writing out a list of jobs that need doing also jot down which ones are most important.
Some jobs that need to be done every day, others maybe only once or twice a week. Decide which jobs are essential and which can be let slide a little.
I had a friend years ago who vacuumed her floors every day. Do floors need vacuuming every day? I don’t think so. Of course she was also the person who washed every day and hung her washing out to dry, each item with color co-coordinated pegs and she ironed every day as soon as they came off the line. So maybe I should simply admit the difference in our natures and what we viewed as important.
The second thing is even more important. As women we tend to like to organize and we have our own way of doing things. But when someone else takes on a job don’t criticize and tell them how they should have done it differently or better. Just thank them for doing it.
Recently while in the shower in our en-suite, I asked my husband to please get me a towel for my hair. He brought me in a blue towel. Our en-suite is beige and green. I have never, ever put a blue towel in that bathroom. The blue towels belong to the main bathroom which is white and blue.
At that point I had three choices, I could grumble about the fact that he didn’t get the right colored towel. I could take it and replace it afterwards, which would have made him aware it wasn’t right. Or I could take it and say ‘Thank you darling.’ I chose the third option. After all, does it really matter if the towel doesn’t match? No-one sees it but us.
That was only a simple example, but if you always react by telling the other person what they did wrong and how they should have done it, they’ll soon tell you to ‘do it yourself.’ Better to have the jobs done, even if not perfectly, than to be left doing everything. And with a bit of encouragement and appreciation you might find they get better at those jobs anyway.
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