Sisters Chat About Household Duties

Lizzi: As I was vacuuming today, the idea came to me... We should chat about CHORES!! :)
Esther: That is a great idea!
Lizzi: We all have to do 'em, right? Do you all have any chores that you do on a daily basis?

Maude: Besides diapering, cooking...
Esther: Dishes, dishes, dishes!! SO many dishes
Lizzi: Oh yeah, didn't think of diapering and cooking! Yeah, dishes are so endless
Esther: And making the bed...
Lizzi: Sweeping the floor...
Maude: I only do the dishes half the time. My husband and I split evening chores pretty evenly. I cook most of the time, though.
Esther: I am slightly psychotic about making my bed. I cannot start my day (hardly!) without that being done
Lizzi: That's a good habit! I wish I was more that way
Maude: Every single day my kids pull my bed apart for a cave
Lizzi: Haha!
Esther: Kinda. I get a little too hooked up on it
Maude: So it is NEVER made anymore!
Esther: It can make me late etc.
Lizzi: That's funny, Maude!
Maude: Wow, Es. That is crazy
Esther: That's fun Maude! yeah... I have problems
Maude: Yep. It is fun
Lizzi: What are some chores that you hate do? Or are totally defunct at your house?
Esther: LAUNDRY! I would rather burn my clothes then fold them. True story.


Lizzi: HAHA!
Maude: One thing I do every day (that is HORRIBLE!) is lotioning Maeva. She has bad eczema and half (okay more than half) the time she is screaming her head off as I do it because it burns. I hate that!
Lizzi: That's awful
Maude: And that is one thing my husband next to never does (can't blame him there!!)
Esther: That's pretty stinky, Maude.
Maude: Poor little girl
Lizzi: I hate ironing. In fact, I never do it..... My poor hubby!
Maude: I'm not a fan of laundry, either.
Lizzi: I tried to iron at first, but it seemed that the shirts just got MORE wrinkly!
Esther: I don't even own an iron and have NO intention of ironing anything in my life
Lizzi: So now we buy wrinkle-free dress shirts
Esther: That is the only way to go

Maude: I don't iron either. We didn't even do it when my husband was in the army - and that was back when they expected BDUs to be starched
Esther: I am SO glad they changed that
Lizzi: I think ironing is going out of fashion all over the place
Maude: If it is wrinkled I throw it back in the dryer and get it out and hung up quick
Esther: Thank goodness!
Maude: People are lazier and less concerned with appearance now, I think.
Esther: True
Maude: Which is fine by me!!
Lizzi: I also hate to scrub the tub/shower, but unfortunately that can't be avoided
Maude: But can you imagine that in the 50s?
Lizzi: Yeah! And back then the housewives did ALL the chores all by themselves
Maude: My husband does that too. (I might be a bit spoiled actually) ...Bless their hearts
Lizzi: Okay, so we touched on chores we hate-
Are there any chores that you like for the sense of accomplishment they create?
Maude: Umm.....
Esther: I like vacuuming! It makes a difference in a room and it doesn't take very long (at least in my home).
Maude: I like putting away clean dishes - I like organizing a messy drying rack/dishwasher onto the right places on the shelves.
When I was a waitress in England I would always ask the dishwasher to save the utensils for me to put away. I love it - I don't know why.
Lizzi: I actually feel that way about laundry! It is so easy to do (pop the clothes in, take them out, etc) and it gets rid of big piles and you feel like you are being productive! And when the clothes are put in the dressers and the basket is empty I can give a contented sigh. It is probably my favorite chore because I am naturally lazy. I think I will blog about it sometime, but that has been a big challenge for me as a wife... overcoming laziness. And I have loved to see myself slowly change.
Esther: Y'all are weird
Maude: I like sweeping floors (with broom not vacuum) at the end of the day it is a nice way to relax.
Lizzi: Even though I still have so far to go!
Maude: I have trouble with busy-ness
Lizzi: You said you like vacuuming! That could be thought of as weird, too! What do you mean, Maude?
Maude: I have stacks of work to do (writing or for our business) that I let get ahead of housework so that is my problem. Kind of the opposite but with the same result.
Lizzi: It's not that I don't HAVE work to do, I just have Scarlett O'Hara syndrome... But it is exciting to see God changing it day by day

Maude: I need to focus more on housework, especially when my husband is at work so it will be done when he gets home.
"I'll think about that tomorrow?"
Lizzi: Yep!
Maude: Haha! Have you read Gone With the Wind, Es?
Esther: Not since I was 12. I don't remember it.

Maude: Just wondering. I knew Lizzi has, but wasn't sure if it passed you by.
Esther: I should re-read it
Lizzi: My hubby is an 'acts of service' love language and so I know my prompt work with chores means a lot to him, even though he is very gracious and non-complaining when they're not done
Maude:That is a NICE love language in a husband!! Because it overlaps with your regular duties anyway!!
Lizzi: Yes! Because that is how he shows love to me, too!
Maude: Very nice
Lizzi: Okay, so Maude touched on this but do you and your husband formally split duties, do you do them all, or is it a loose shared business?
Esther: There is not any type established. I primarily do the cooking (though my man does fry up some mean eggs) I oftentimes come home to folded laundry (which as I stated I HATE) he also jumps in with dishes, diaper changing etc.
Lizzi: As a newlywed, I wanted to do them all because I really wanted to embrace my role as a wife. But my serving husband didn't take long to jump in, and now (especially with kids) we tag team more. Some nights he cooks, or washes dishes, or gives baths... He is very willing to help however.
Esther: He also is the primary bathroom cleaner. Because I hate it and am no good at it and he enjoys it (yeah, he is that weird)
Maude: We know what needs to be done and try to be the one to do it so the other doesn't have to. It is nothing formal - just a shared desire to lighten each others burdens. It tends to end up split half and half in the evenings and weekends. With each of us taking more if the other has a lot on their plate or feels bad or something.
Lizzi: Isn't is great to have such wonderful husbands?!
Esther: Yes! Such a blessing. I am still just getting used to having the extra help! It is still just amazing having him carrying in the groceries.
Maude: I usually cook but he can make about anything I can and has some specialties. He also does ALL the bathing of the kids (which I hate), takes out the trash and usually the laundry because he doesn't want me to have to carry the basket up and down 2 flights of stairs. Yes. We are very blessed!
We usually fold the laundry together. And... wait! Do I actually do anything? This is starting to look bad for me!
Esther: hahaha
Lizzi: Haha! You're funny. :)

Last question: Do you have any tips for easier cleaning, or better time management?
Maude: I'm not really a cleaner - so I do NOT have any tips
Esther: Umm... not really
Lizzi: It helps me sometimes to determine what I will do on each day. Because I am naturally disorganized, I have to be a list person. I like to do a weekly schedule (vacuum, dust Living Room on Monday, clean bathrooms on Tuesday)
Esther: I have just been thinking how "time management" is a problem for me so I am probably not the best to ask
Maude: Regarding time management - I would say: If you have a lot on your plate, stop and spend some special time with your family. Do something fun, something memorable. And always, always make time to play in the rain.
Esther: That's good! Both of you! See, I can still learn things from my big sisters!
Lizzi: Haha
Maude: It is the YEARS of wisdom we've gained living SO much longer than you, little girl
Esther: I have found that I am quite the list person (which surprised me!)
Maude: We are practically sages
Esther: I make a list basically everyday. Yes, I know Maude.
Lizzi: Yeah, I know I'm a sage with my 4 years of wisdom above you... I love lists! It is so wonderful to cross items off of them!
Esther: If I don't get the things done on the list I try not to worry about it and move it to the next day
Maude: Lists are good but I tend to toss them to the wind in favor of spontaneity.
Esther: Yes, well, me too (thus I got basically nothing done on my list today) and that is OKAY, as long as I don't do that everyday.
Lizzi: Yep. True, true
Maude: If I'm getting too busy - I need to spend time doing what is important (family) then I feel better about the little things taking up my day
Esther: I need to sweep eventually (I guess!)

Lizzi: Or get a dog!
Esther: hahaha! Exactly.

"...Encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:4-5