Four couples on how they split household chores
Are chores a bone of contention in your household?
While some couples take a divide and conquer approach based on strengths or schedules, for others, a roster or spreadsheet helps get things done.
There are also circumstances in which — intentional or not — one person shoulders the bulk of responsibilities.
We spoke to four people about the different ways they handle chore splitting in their home.
Claire Jensen, 38, Townsville/Gurrumbilbarra, married with three teenagers
How do you split the household chores?
I have a lot of health issues and work long hours through the week.
My husband Chris cooks every night and does a lot of the cleaning through the week.
He also helps with organising our children's support workers and appointments.
I know my husband is not the norm though.
I do all the clothes washing on the weekends, and any other jobs that have been missed through the week.
On school holidays I do deep cleaning of some areas.
How we manage the chores has evolved over time due to my decline in health.
What would you like to change, if anything?
I think we have a system that works for us most of the time.
How are chores divided in your household? We'd love to hear more perspectives: lifestyle@abc.net.au
Gray, 38, Brisbane/Meanjin. Lives in a share house with their partner and teenage son, and three other adults
How do you split the household chores?
We have myself, my partner and my teenage kid living on the top level and three adults on the bottom level.
Each level has a bathroom, but we share the only kitchen upstairs and office space, and have a shared laundry downstairs.
We take care of the main upstairs and the other three do downstairs.
We have one housemate who does the lawn. He enjoys doing it.
Some of us are more proactive than others.
I tend to not be great at tidying and leave things like paperwork and clothes on surfaces and chairs, but I do a lot of the deep cleans.
The dishes stay under control since I purchased a sliding dirty/clean magnet for the dishwasher.
My teenager keeps his room clean, does his bedding, and washes his clothes.
My partner and I tend to try and split the cleaning but depending on how stressed we are sometimes that falls harder on one person.
What would you like to change about the arrangement, if anything?
I'd probably get my teenager to pitch in more.
He has always kept his room spotless and has been doing his own washing since he was about seven.
That seemed so great for his age, I think I just never pushed him harder to help more.
I'd love a regimented cleaning schedule for us to stick to.
It would help me, too.
Samantha Popovski, 39, Brisbane/Meanjin, married with one teenager
How do you split the household chores?
My husband Dusko is in charge of the outside — maintain the pool, mowing lawns, putting the bins out.
He is also the "finance minister" of the house, as he calls himself.
I used to be in charge of paying bills, but always forgot to do it.
I'm in charge of the inside — cooking, washing, shopping.
Things like floors, dishes, and the bathroom are alternated. We do most of our cleaning before guests come over, so split things that need doing.
Our 14-year-old daughter is responsible for unloading the dishwasher and helps with washing. She vacuums and cooks about once a week.
What would you like to change, if anything?
I'm pretty happy with the way it is mostly, but I do feel like the coordinator of it all and have to ask Dusko to do things sometimes.
I also have trouble giving up control of certain things because I don't trust anyone to do it the way I like.
I'm trying to be better at letting go.
When I'm away they both seem to survive.
Kylie Bartlett, 48, Sunshine Coast, married with four children, two teens living at home
How do you split the household chores?
We share everything. If something needs doing, one of us will get it done.
If anything, my husband Sean does more than me. He's the one that cooks dinner every night and does the groceries, and does all the gross chores, like cleaning the toilets and bathrooms.
I do most of the laundry because I have a system and I enjoy it. I make the bed because I like the way I do it better. I love a good spring clean.
Our kids have always had chores to do and so everyone does something whether it's the dishwasher or feeding the animal — we all just get on with it.
We are proud that our kids have grown up seeing both mum and dad doing the chores and that chores are a part of life. While they're not that fun, they still need doing.
When the kids were younger, I felt a huge pressure from society to be that super woman/wife/mum so I'd be prepping meals for the week.
I was the main cook, I did the bulk of the care giving, bath times, bedtimes, and housekeeping as a stay-at-home mum.
Then over the past 10 or so years I've had injuries, and then cancer, which made it impossible for me to do much at all. Sean had to step right up and take on my roles.
What would you like to change about the arrangement, if anything?
The only thing I want to work on now that I'm healthy again is getting back into cooking.
I love cooking.
I'd like to try reclaim my love for it, and also my recipes that Sean has used over the years… and dare I say improved.
But the rest of the chores he can keep, if he wants.
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