Want to be a better dad, husband, and man? It all starts with equity at home.
Along with parenting as a team, it’s essential that you and your spouse clean as a team. It’s the only way to make sure your house doesn’t descend into messy, dirty chaos.
Unfortunately, many men
as a group aren’t doing a great job as teammates. A recent survey found that
twice as many women than men say they take on the main responsibility of
household chores, probably because the average woman spends a whopping 100 more
hours doing chores every year than the average man does. Too many men seem to
think there is a “mom” in “team” but no “dad.”
What can you do to help
solve this problem? Becoming a better teammate in your own home is a great
place to start. Luckily, there are lots of little things you can do to make
things a little easier for your partner, help the house run more smoothly, and
earn some goodwill from the rest of the fam.
1. Wake up early on the
weekend to make breakfast while your partner sleeps in. The only thing better
than waking up to the smell of bacon and freshly brewed coffee is spraying down
the dishes with Dawn Platinum Powerwash and wiping them down as you cook so you
can enjoy your meal without having to do the dishes afterwards.
2. Spend a few hours on
Sunday prepping meals for the rest of the week. You’ll thank yourself
every weekday you don’t have to cook (and your partner will too).
3. Make chores part of your
existing fun routines. Let’s say a podcast you love drops a new
episode at the same time every week. If you make it a point to Swiffer the
living room while you listen, you’ll eventually form a habit that makes it easy
to remember to Swiffer (and Swiffering even more enjoyable).
4. Keep the kitchen stocked
with foods that don’t require prep. That could mean getting a bunch of
snackable veggies or always making enough for leftovers, but the entire family
will appreciate access to zero-effort sustenance.
5. Be the parent that makes
sure the kids do their chores. The emotional labor of reminding your
kids to clean their room is no joke, which means taking it on yourself is
something your partner will appreciate.
6. Do a dish check before
bed. If
you spray pots and pans with Dawn Platinum Power wash dish
spray before wiping them down, it won’t even take long to ensure you wake
up to a delightfully empty sink.
7. Laugh in the face of
“women’s work.” There
is no such thing.
8. Clean when your partner
is cleaning to maximize the time your non-chore time together. You can call it a life
hack, but it’s really just common sense.
9. Maintain a supply of the
cleaning supplies you actually need. Not having the necessary drain cleaner
or Swiffer dusters means either having to run out and get
supplies (adding time and effort to the chore) or just putting things off.
Either way, it’s an easily avoidable trap.
10. Do as much as you can
when you’re home alone. It’s a simple fact that empty houses are
easier to clean, and in addition to enjoying the peace and quiet it’s a good
idea to get some chores done while the rest of the family is out.
11. Clean the dishwasher and
washing machine regularly. Cleaning the things that keep your things
clean means keeping those things cleaning your things cleanly.
12. Do a refill check. There are probably lots
of things around your house that need to be refilled every now and then, from
toilet paper to Dawn dish soap. Ensuring that everything is
adequately stocked can save everyone a bit of hassle when chore time rolls
around.
13. Come up with a detailed
plan for every home project that makes things go smoothly. If you fail to plan you
plan to fail is a cliche, but it’s a cliche that happens to be true. Taking the
time to come up with a plan for big household projects—think spring cleaning or
reorganizing the kitchen—will save you and your spouse a lot of headaches.
14. Coordinate a family treat
for the end of a long day of chores. Ordering takeout or splurging on a
special family outing gives everyone something to look forward to and can be a
useful motivator for kids who are less than psyched about doing chores.
15. Get cleaning products
worth geeking out over. Chances are you already value quality in
other parts of your life, from tools that will last a lifetime to sneakers you
can only snag once in a lifetime. Dawn Platinum Power wash is
the dish soap equivalent of these quality items. It’s oddly satisfying to
squeeze the trigger and watch a thin layer of grease-busting foam coat your
dishes. And as a bonus, it also smells way better than the overpowering citrus
scents you’re probably used to.
16. Do the little chores
whenever they need to be done. Things like cleaning the streaky
bathroom mirror or wiping down the counter only take a minute or two, so why
save them for the weekend?
17. Learn your kids’ tricks. Cramming dirty
clothes under the bed and presenting their room as “clean” might be a childhood
rite of passage, but learning your kids’ tricks—and making sure they don’t get
away with them—is the only way to make sure their chores are actually getting
done.
18. Do the prep work before
the chores begin. A
thorough floor cleaning means rolling up the rugs. Cleaning the inside of the
refrigerator means taking all of the food out (and throwing away anything
that’s expired) first. Even if your partner is going to do the chore itself,
you can make it easier on them by doing the prep work beforehand.
19. Automate what you can. An automatic dog
food dispenser means no one has to refill Fido’s bowl every day. A robotic lawn
mower means more room on the chore list for other tasks. To the extent that
it’s possible to live like the Jetsons, do it.
20. Thank your partner for
their efforts around the house. Sharing gratitude is Relationships 101, and
thanking your partner is kind. Not expected, but kind.
21. Also, don’t expect it in
return. At
the end of the day, chores are chores. They don’t need an audience or require
appreciation. Don’t expect it and don’t ask for it. Your own internal sense of
satisfaction should be enough.
22. Break the rules and do
something extra from time to time. It’s important to have a clear
division of domestic responsibilities, but doing one of your partner’s more
onerous jobs is a pleasant surprise that’s worth the extra effort.
23. Volunteer to do the
grossest chores. No
one wants to clean out the litter box, which means the guy who does clean out
the litter box gets a much-deserved gold star. Be that guy. Get that star.
24. Turn chores into learning
experiences. Teach
your kids how to do chores and you’re teaching them a valuable life skill. In
other words, you’re parenting.
25. Define success for all of
your chores. Different
people have different standards of cleanliness, which means it’s important to
get on the same page with your spouse on things like how often you need to wash
the sheets and what constitutes a “clean” kid’s room. Doing so means avoiding
the kinds of arguments that have sullied many an otherwise pleasant family
weekend.
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