I can only imagine that ever since women and men have been setting up house together that the question of who does what has been an issue. I know we think that the roles were once a little more clear cut than they are now but I have a feeling that “who is responsible for picking up the dirty clothes off the floor?” became a point of contention shortly after that ill fated snack from the tree of knowledge of good and evil!

There are no clear cut answers in this arena. But what does at least seem to be clear is that the gauntlet usually falls to the woman, no matter what. As my friend Amy muses over at Milkbreath and Margaritas:

I think that still today, even in a house where both people have full-time jobs, it reflects on the woman if the housekeeping isn’t up to par.

I totally get that. My husband and I are sort of in the exact opposite situation. He is self-employed, has an erratic work schedule and works from home. I am a stay-at-home mother. We are both here all the time and yet I’m the one who does the vast majority of the housekeeping. I also tend to feel that the state of our home does reflect upon me though, in our current situation, that makes entirely no sense at all!

It seems to me (who is not an expert, just a hack trying to do the best I can!) that if I want to change that in my life, then I’m going to have to do something about it. I did recently broach the subject with my husband. We’re still trying to figure out how to make this arrangement work for us but at least it’s a start.

And I’m also going to try and reinvent my views on housekeeping. I think that will help tremendously. Because if I think about it, why do I want the house to be clean and picked up? Who am I doing it for? To be quite honest, I want it that way and I’m doing it for my own ego (for the most part). So why should be fussed if the others in my home don’t feel the same way I do? Now, that does not mean they’ll be getting out of helping out around here! It means I have a better perspective about my intentions and personal neurosis!

Please be sure to read Amy’s post and give her some comment love!

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography