Exactly how much housework does a husband create?

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

You get two people together who have no interest in doing anything, and you're bound to save money.

yard work has to count, right?

she was trying to give us a hard time because we're home people. The important thing is that we have the same interest in things we do.

We don't see a reason to eat out every week if I can cook meals that we both believe are worth more money than many meals we buy in restaurants.

We prefer to have hundreds of dvd we can watch again than paying to go to a movie theater.

We can do things together at home that doesn't require money and be happy with that.

I'm not giving you a hard time about being "home people." I think you usually sound pretty sarcastic when you talk about not doing anything but going to work, watching movies and TV and cleaning. It was my way of saying "I'm sure you do SOMETHING. Your life can't be THAT dull, even in Kansas."

it's never dull here, we just hitch up the wagon and go to town. every now and then we get ambushed by native americans or them darn revenuers to make life more interesting.

I do the same. and I have a mini dishwasher.

that's no way to refer to rey

[mawilson 2,133]

I do the same. and I have a mini dishwasher.

that's no way to refer to rey

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The only thing my husband refuses to do is laundry - I am not sure what the aversion is because with the automatic washer and drier it's not really a chore. Still, if he'll clean the toilet instead - which he will - I am not about to start complaining

hehehe, ok, this is obviously the right place to insert this little Dave Barry gem:

Bleached-Blanket Bingo

BY DAVE BARRY

(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published Aug. 11, 2002.)

Today we present: Laundry Tips for Guys.

Many guys have trouble with laundry, because of the technical complexity involved. Even a very ''high-tech'' guy, a guy who can build a working nuclear submarine using only staples, is reluctant to attempt to do laundry, because there are so many variables: You have your lights and your darks, of course, but you also have your stripes, some of which could be delicates, or even hand-washables, not to mention your bleach and your fabric softener, and of course all your washer/dryer options:

Do you want warm wash and cold rinse? Hot wash and warm rinse? Wet rinse and dry wash? And what about ''static cling''?

This is why laundry has baffled top guy minds for decades. Albert Einstein was working on this problem right up until his death. His last words were:

''OK, say a shirt is yellow, which is a LIGHT color, but it's a DARK yellow, does that mean ... ack'' (thud).

It is this technical complexity -- not laziness! -- that keeps guys from doing the household laundry. We worry that if we get just one variable wrong, we will find ourselves facing a wrathful spouse, who is holding up a garment that was once a valued brassiere of normal dimensions, but is now suitable only as a sun hat for a small, two-headed squirrel.

This is why guys everywhere will be grateful for an excellent laundry tip sent in by Bob Rundquist of Northhampton, Mass. Bob's tip can be summarized in three words: ''Buy more underpants.''

As Bob explains in his letter: ''My wife and I share housework on a random basis. For instance, sometimes she does laundry, sometimes I do. I figured out that laundry gets done when one of us is out of underwear. So I bought six new pairs of underpants. Now my stack never runs out before my wife does the laundry.''

Somewhere in Physicist Heaven, Albert Einstein is smacking himself on the forehead.

Bob's only concern is that his wife will find out, which could result in ``a nuclear war of underpants purchases.''

This leads us to a related laundry tip for guys, sent in by a Wisconsin woman who asks that we identify her only as Alice. Alice states that her husband, Bob, came home one day complaining that he lost his office keys and had been looking for them all day.

''While standing in the kitchen telling me his problem,'' Alice relates, ``he started scratching his posterior -- and finally noticed something was in there. Now bear in mind he had been sitting at his desk all afternoon and drove an hour to get home and is first noticing this now.''

So, reports Alice, Bob felt around inside his underpants, and guess what he found? Correct: A small, two-headed squirrel.

No, he found his office keys. ''He's a government employee,'' observes Alice.

So our second Household Hint for Guys is: Before you put your underpants into the laundry for somebody else to launder, it's a good idea to check them, as well as your general buttular region, for any items you may have misplaced. Especially you government employees! This could be what has happened to all those millions of missing taxpayer dollars that have somehow fallen through the cracks!

Our third laundry-related Household Hint for Guys is based on a story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sent in by many alert readers, about an incident several years ago in Chippewa Falls, Wis. What happened was, a man became angry at his washing machine, which wasn't working right. Following the recommended procedure in the Guy Book of Troubleshooting, he pushed it down a flight of stairs. Incredibly, this did not solve the problem. So he shot the washer five times with a .25-caliber revolver.

We know what you're thinking. You're thinking: ''What a MORON! Bullets that small are only going to annoy a major appliance, possibly causing it to go berserk and threaten innocent people!'' We ourselves have seen a washing machine, with no provocation, shake its way violently halfway across a room.

Fortunately, the Chippewa Falls washer did not attack. The man was arrested and ended up on probation after pleading guilty to shooting a gun within 100 yards of a building. So our third laundry tip for guys is: Before shooting your washer, always check around for buildings!

There you have it, guys! Good luck, and good laundering!

NOTE TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: You can keep those dollars.

© 2008, Dave Barry

Edited April 7, 2008 by Kathryn41

[sj5 4]

that's no way to refer to rey

[JVKn'CVO 11]

The researchers also examined how age and the number of children, as well as marital status and age, influenced time spent doing housework.

Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework---about 12 works a week on average, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most---about 21 hours a week. Men showed a somewhat different pattern. Older men did more housework than younger men, but single men did more in all age groups than married men.

Married women with more than three kids did an average of about 28 hours of housework a week. Married men with more than three kids, by comparison, logged only about 10 hours of housework a week.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/200...m-ehm040408.php

Note to self: add cleaning person expenses when budgeting for kids

Saludos,

Caro

[Krikit 1,164]

The "buy more underpants" theory is so true. When my husband and I married, I was astounded at the amount of underwear he had. He said he bought them because he was always running out..... not that he bought them because he never did the laundry. I figure he's got a good 10 years before he needs to start replacing the worn out ones.

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Hiring a cleaning lady might not save us money but it would save us peace of mind.

Hiring a cleaning lady would definately not save us peace of mind cuz then we would have no clue where she put our stuff and we would have to search for it for hours

[Nessa 23]

Hiring a cleaning lady might not save us money but it would save us peace of mind.

Hiring a cleaning lady would definately not save us peace of mind cuz then we would have no clue where she put our stuff and we would have to search for it for hours

tell me about it. I grew up having a cleaning lady, Mon-Fri and I always had a problem with her going through my stuff. I don't like it. I like the way I organize things. I like to know that wherever I put that small piece of paper with that information will be exactly where I left. And if we had sex in the living room I don't need to worry to go after my underware and put away just because the maid is coming tomorrow.

[Marilyn. 340]

hubby keeps saying that once we get a house and more money he wants to hire a maid... I don't like cleaning much but I don't want someone else in my house going through my stuff

[sj5 4]

Hiring a cleaning lady might not save us money but it would save us peace of mind.

Hiring a cleaning lady would definately not save us peace of mind cuz then we would have no clue where she put our stuff and we would have to search for it for hours

tell me about it. I grew up having a cleaning lady, Mon-Fri and I always had a problem with her going through my stuff. I don't like it. I like the way I organize things. I like to know that wherever I put that small piece of paper with that information will be exactly where I left. And if we had sex in the living room I don't need to worry to go after my underware and put away just because the maid is coming tomorrow.

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

My wife always says just rest, sit down and watch TV and she will clean. She even insists on going to the frig for anything I need. If I get up she asks what am I doing, if I say getting a drink she says to sit down she will get it. We have 6 month old baby so while she if breast feeding I usually put the dishes in the dishwasher or sweep the floor. When she is busy with the baby it is the only time I can do cleaning without her telling me to let her do it. I usually do all the yard work but if she isn't busy she will ask me to let her do some because she wants the exercise. My mom loves her because she takes care of me the way she would do. I was single for 10 years before I met my wife and a single parent. I did plenty of cleaning, it is nice having someone that helps now.

[Sister Fracas 5]

I wouldn't want a cleaning lady because I don't want to have to clean house before she comes, just so she knows we aren't slobs or anything...

Edited April 8, 2008 by Sister Fracas

[Alex & Rachel 78]

I wouldn't want a cleaning lady because I don't want to have to clean house before she comes, just so she knows we aren't slobs or anything...

Sounds like my mother - she's on holiday this week and she said to me, 'it's handy that the cleaner is coming but I spent four hours preparing for her visit on Friday!'

[Sister Fracas 5]

I wouldn't want a cleaning lady because I don't want to have to clean house before she comes, just so she knows we aren't slobs or anything...

Sounds like my mother - she's on holiday this week and she said to me, 'it's handy that the cleaner is coming but I spent four hours preparing for her visit on Friday!'

great.... I sound like a mum! LOL

I use the same logic when going to get my hair done...do it before I go. Don't want my stylist to think I walk around looking a mess...

[Alex & Rachel 78]

I once decided that, as I was going to get a wet-cut, that I'd go to the hairdresser's without having washed my hair first. Well, even though my hair was not that bad (just ever so slightly greasy), I have never felt so embarrassed! Just the knowledge that someone was having to touch my greasy hair with their hands in order to shampoo it was enough to ensure that I never did that again.