Where Are All The Girls?

Posted on 08.04.07 in Family Productivity and there are 14 comments.

Jimmy was planning on mowing the lawn today while the kids took their nap.

Mowing the yard usually takes a good three hours with weeding, sweeping and cleaning up.

But just a few minutes ago, a young neighbor boy came to our door and offered to mow the yard for $10. Um...yeah.

I’m very happy for Jimmy. Jimmy is very happy for Jimmy. We are all very happy for Jimmy.

BUT............

Why don’t young neighbor girls come to our door offering to do my laundry or dishes or vacuum or dust for $10? Oh, the injustice of it all.

What is your least favorite chore?

The Comments:

Skip to comment form

My wife has a “mother’s helper” come over for a couple hours a week.  Instead of doing dishes, she typically watches the kids while my wife gets projects like photo albums done, but its a break for my wife (and she’s completely caught up with photos).  I certainly don’t hire anybody to help me with chores around the house. 

I’m sure you could find a young teenager willing to help out around the house if you asked around.

Oh, my least favorite chore is anything to do with floors.  When I was single and had a roommate, I did the bathrooms and he did the floors.

MB

Um, why can’t there be girls out looking to mow lawns? Why can’t there be boys out looking to earn money helping around the house? I mowed yards for money as a boy. I also am the cook now for a family of five. I see no gender preference in either of those.

Least favorite chore is probably bathrooms. Of course, the kids are 11, 9 and 9 now, so they do almost all of the household chores now (really). They dusted, vacuumed, mopped and did the bathrooms today, and will be putting up their laundry and towels tomorrow. Ah, domestic bliss, I’ve dreamed of this.

Least favorite chore is probably vacuuming. I don’t know why, but I always dread it and usually put it off longer than I should.

MB,
Your wife is completely caught up on photos? I’m SO impressed!

Jim.
I don’t see any gender preference either. I suppose my asking about girls is derived from the fact that this particular neighbor boy has a brother (who often comes to wash our car) and a sister (to whom this post is directed - indirectly)

Whenever both boys are over working on our yard and car, I always joke that I have plenty of work for their sister to do…

Wow. That’s awesome that your kids do all the chores. My kids are definitely in the opposite stage. They pretty much create all my chores.

Erin,
I loathe vacuuming as well. I think I dislike laundry the most simply because it’s never ending. I’ve jokingly told Jimmy once or twice to just hide laundry so I can at least imagine that I’ve finished.

i hate cleaning the shower and mopping the bathroom floor.  I kind of like vacuuming.

I hate sweeping & mopping and I like laundry.  The reason is simple...you do laundry and the clothes always come out clean & smelling so fresh.  You do floors and they may smell clean but they really are not.  There is always dirt you missed...always.  Always something making your little barefoot walk across them feel gritty even immediately after you clean.

Amy,
Ugh. Yes. The shower.

Sam,
Interesting. If you ever need more laundry to do...just let me know.

I don’t like mopping, but I do actually like sweeping.

Kat - A few thoughts about people not coming and knocking on the door to offer to help with the cleaning and other household chores…

I was raised in a household with a mother, and now live in a household with a with a wife, who take a lot of pride in being the “queen bee” of their households. I don’t really know exactly how to explain it, but there’s a certain work ethic involved that makes the appearance of the house an important thing to them. They don’t mind a little help sometimes (and I think I’m learning which tasks I can do that my wife genuinely appreciates and which ones involve me “getting in the way” more than anything), but for the most part they just do it, and it’s just part of who they are and what they do.

So, I think it’s possible that some women could easily be offended by somebody knocking on their door to make that offer, as if they are not good at what they do, or that their ability to run a nice household is being questioned, or something.

Does that make any sense at all?

Whereas, if the grass starts to look really long, and the yard looks raggedy, and someone knocks on the door offering to do yard work, very few guys are going to say “Oh my gawd! I’m so insulted. Are you trying to say that I’m a bad yard-keeper? Are people in the neighborhood getting together behind my back and talking about me?”

My least favorite chore… I have a couple. They would be unloading dishes and putting up clothes. 

However, I agree with Chaotic Hammer, I like doing the chores myself even my least favorites.  Sometimes I will delegate a chore or two to my husband, especially now with three children.

Kat,

I read a tag line somewhere that said, “the only thing domestic about me is that I was born in the u.s.a.” and I think I can adopt that!
Cleaning & chores are a necessary evil.  I don’t like that the laundry I spent hours washing, folding & putting away yesterday now need it again today. (as well as the dishes and toys and everything else in the house).
Laundry is my least favorite, so I always put in a movie, or play a pod cast while doing it.

If they do come to your house please send them to mine when they are finished.  I don’t think there is enough time in the day to get everything done.

I love to vacuum, LOVE IT!!!!  I like making lines.  I think this is why I love to Mow the lawn.  Tan and exercise! (so vain, I know)

I do not like folding shirts- JOHN is awesome at it.  I guess it was the Corps at A&M;.

I will gladly come by your house and offer to do your chores… as long as my payment is playing with my nieces and nephew.

"I will gladly come by your house and offer to do your chores… as long as my payment is playing with my nieces and nephew.”

THIS is proof that I have the greatest sister in law ever!

mopping… *shutter*

Share Your Comments:

Name:

Email:

URL (optional):

Smileys

Remember me.

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:

My Twitter Posts