Housework

When I was six years old, my father sat me down and explained to me he was going to start teaching me housework.  When I asked why, he said:

"Someday, son, when you're older, you'll want to live with a girl.  So you'll move in, and about a week later, look at each other and realize neither of you knows how to do housework.  So if I teach you now, it will save you a lot of time and aggravation, and probably arelationship."

What's particularly funny is how right he was.

I'm always baffled by guys who refer to doing the laundry, vacuuming, etc. as "women's work" because, to be totally honest, exactly how the hell do you intend to be an independent human being if you can't wash your own frickin' underpants?  You do plan to live, at least for a while, on your own, like a grown-up, right?  You do understand that this is stuff adults have to do, however begrudgingly, and that nobody enjoys it?

But equally baffling is the sheer number of people, men and women, who literally do not know how to do anything around the house.  Apparently housecleaning is "mom's work" to a lot of folks.  And anyway, they're too tired to do it.

Which you aren't.  That's really the thing about housework.  Yes, if you want a house with floors you can eat off of, that takes time, effort, energy, and money.  Lots of money: good Lord, cleaning supplies are a ripoff.

If you just don't want to be evicted or get fleas, that takes about two hours a week and picking up some basic habits, like doing a dish when you're finished with it.  Seriously.  Well, arguably more since laundry takes a while, but you can do other things and most laundromats have WiFi now anyway.

The key thing is really the division: both people have to feel the tasks they're assigned split equally in terms of effort involved.  For example, if one person cooks, the other does the dishes.  Otherwise, one side gets what they think of as most of the work...and the resentment starts to build.

So, no, it's not "women's work".  It's everyone's work.  Unless you want fleas.