My family and I have been frustrated with each other lately because nothing gets done in our house. A friend comes in once a week to do things like vacuum, but it barely makes a dent. Our house, especially the kitchen, is constantly hectic, and we all get angry because we each think the other two people in the house aren’t pulling their weight.
I am an 18 year old sophomore in college, who has just moved back home (I transferred schools, and my current college has the best program in the country for what I’m interested in, but no dorms), and am working 35 hours a week, as well as having a full course load. I do pretty much all of the kitchen-related chores, including all grocery shopping, cleaning and cooking (if I’m not in class), dishes, etc. If I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. I’ll be away for a night, and the next day I come back and the counter is covered in dirty dishes, pots and pans. I have celiac disease, so kitchen cleanliness is a really big issue for me. Even one bread crumb touching my food can make me sick for days, meaning I miss work and school. I also try to do at least one or two loads of laundry a day and take all the pet care responsibilities. My dad works from home about half of the time, and is close by if he’s out on a job. He works more than any person I know, so has little time for housework, but tries to pitch in if he can, usually with dinner or laundry. My step-mom works the typical 9 to 5, and takes care of all of the clerical & book-keeping type stuff, as well as things like trash and recycling (she’s a super early riser). While we all agree that nobody is doing everything single-handed, we also all seem to feel that we’re doing the majority of the work, and it’s causing major issues.
What can we do to alleviate this tension? We’ve all got pretty crazy schedules, so housekeeping falls by the wayside. Are there a few small things each of us could do that would make a big difference in the long run?
Thanks!
Make a schedule on a calendar where you are going to write who has to do what on specific days. and rotate responsibilities. All three need to sit down and decide who’s going to do a specific chore in what day. I did it with my family when all my 4 children and hubbies were living together. We always stick to that routine and everyone had to do it. At the 2nd month everyone was saying what they wanted to do so I could write it down on the calendar. We lived together for 7 years and everyone worked around the house. I did the bathrooms all the time because no one wanted to do that one, but never complaint. Everyone was helping and that was all that matter. Hope it helps