Times are changing, my friends. If you were to glance into homes across the country today, you’d find men vacuuming, doing laundry, and preparing dinner much more often than in previous generations. (But seriously, don’t peer into other people’s homes—that’s just weird and illegal.) The outdated notion that housework is solely “women’s work,” where men would come home, kick back, and consider their day done, is quickly fading.
That ridiculous stereotype isn’t the reality for most families today (and honestly, it wasn’t for many back then either). Nowadays, moms are contributing to the family income just as much as their partners. And dads are stepping up to change diapers and load the dishwasher more than ever.
However.
We still have a long way to go. Even though the pressure to don heels and lipstick while cooking a roast is gone, women still often bear the brunt of household chores. Whether it’s due to not knowing how to ask for help, being ignored when we do, or family members simply not acknowledging the mess, it can be maddening to clean the kitchen at 10 p.m. only to find it a disaster by 8 a.m. the next day.
The reality is, we need our families to pitch in more. It shouldn’t still fall on women to handle the bulk of the cleaning tasks. We’re juggling work, raising kids, managing the household, and over the past year, we’ve even taken on the role of teachers while kids were learning from home. So, we need you, family, to grab a dust rag, put your dishes in the dishwasher, and hang up your jackets.
We’re just plain exhausted.
It feels like the kids listen to me better than my partner does. For Valentine’s Day, all I wanted was help with cleaning the house. The kids stepped up, even when I told them no flowers were needed. What did my partner do? The exact opposite of what I asked! Seriously, they listen better than your 40-year-old self!
Confessions abound about wanting to hire someone for a monthly deep clean. As a stay-at-home mom, I always felt it was my duty to keep the home tidy, and I felt guilty about the mess. But now? Enough is enough! My partner and teenage boys are complete slobs! If my partner won’t help, he can at least pay for it.
Both my partner and I work full-time, but he expects me to handle all the cleaning, laundry, gardening, and cooking while still managing my job. No thanks!
I would love to enjoy just one weekend like my partner does—sitting around doing absolutely nothing. But that would mean two parents doing nothing while our kids and pets suffer. Plus, I’d return to a disaster area come Monday.
Unfortunately, many husbands still fail to recognize the importance of helping out around the house. It leaves us feeling invisible, taken for granted, and frankly, pretty bitter.
I now only do my own laundry. If my unemployed husband wants clean clothes, he can figure out the washing machine himself.
I just cleaned the kitchen and woke up to find it a mess again. It’s infuriating! I’m not the maid here.
We’re worn out from the endless cycle of cleaning and laundry. If I take a break, it just means more work later. I just want to SLEEP.
With all this pressure, I really don’t want to do it anymore—cooking, cleaning, or pretending everything is okay. I’m burnt out, and I don’t care enough to fix it.
This pandemic has drained us. We’re left to juggle work, kids, and household duties. It’s exhausting, especially with the entitled behavior we often face. I’m fed up with cleaning the same things over and over again.
The truth is, we’re burnt out. We’re running on fumes. The next time I trip over someone’s shoes left out, I might just drive away to a place where everything is tidy and clean. Does that place even exist? Probably not, but I’m going to search really hard.
For more insights on navigating parenthood and family dynamics, check out this blog post on home insemination kits. And if you’re curious about fertility, this resource on infertility is a great place to start.
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In summary, moms often feel overwhelmed by household responsibilities, and despite societal progress, the expectation for women to manage the home persists. The ongoing struggle for recognition and shared responsibility leaves many feeling burnt out and unappreciated.