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Debbie Leigh: It just doesn't wash
I DON'T know about you but in our house, we spend practically as much time squabbling over housework as we do on the chores themselves. Mr N seems to think things are pretty fairly divided.
He cooks, I wash up.
He does the DIY and gardening, I do everything else.
At times, when I come home to an enviable spread of veggie delights and my favourite desserts, it feels like I get a good deal.
But I have to confess, when I'm feeling under-appreciated and putting the bins out (something I remain convinced is a man's job), doing the washing, making and changing the beds, vacuuming, washing-up, picking up wet towels and muddy fitness gear, I do have the occasional quiet grumble to the cats that things sometimes seem a bit one-sided.
Now, without having to call those innocent little creatures as witnesses to my heroic efforts with dustpan and brush, I've discovered that every piece of research so far indicates women consistently do more housework than men – by around nine hours a week.
Unbelievably, you can add on an additional seven hours to that when you tie the knot.
I think it stems from men wanting it all from their wives and women trying to have it all.
Blokes want a woman who goes out to work and earns a good wage, who is prepared to pay her way.
But they also want an old-fashioned wife who keeps the house spotless, keeps them in clean pants and wears a ribbon round her freshly-styled hair while executing her chores.
We ladies want to be our partners' equals but can't let go of that niggling internal pressure that says it's the woman's job to keep the house spick and span and we're the failures if it looks like a pigsty.
So it's no surprise at all a study by Krcher found nearly one in five people from Yorkshire (17 per cent) believe tasks such as vacuuming, dusting and scrubbing the entire home from top to bottom are specifically the responsibility of the lady of the house.
Whenever I grumble at my seemingly never-ending workload, I get the same old response from hubby dearest: "that's your job".
To which I reply, usually in a pitch so high only the neighbour's dog can understand me: "I work full-time too you know!"
It follows that 87 per cent of those questioned said cleaning caused arguments and it's little wonder two in three people in Yorkshire doubt their partner's cleaning ability.
Men definitely have different standards when it comes to jobs around the house.
He might be a perfectionist when it comes to fashion and food but he's probably somewhat slapdash in other areas.
Maybe you're a lucky lady who has no idea what I'm on about but I imagine many more will be familiar with chaps who dump their washing next to the laundry basket (or elsewhere around the home) rather than lifting the lid and placing it inside, who think a squirt of bleach is all it takes to clean a toilet, NEVER make the bed, and think pets feed and clean up after themselves.
In our house, a sudden burst of enthusiasm occasionally grabs him, moving him to action over something like the stubborn mould around the bathroom window, and resulting in him grabbing the nearest available piece of fabric – most recently my facecloth – using it to scrub at the mould, give it a vigorous wipe, then dumping the cloth on the ledge to fester…until I pluck up the courage to touch it and throw it out.
Next time I might just attach it to a little stick, turn it into a white flag, wave it in surrender and accept that cleaning doesn't come naturally to men.
But it doesn't come naturally to this woman either… so, let's stop arguing about it once and for all….and let a cleaner do all the hard work.
CHEZ MESS
AS regular readers will know, I'm a die-hard Cheryl Cole fan.
She can usually do no wrong – dodgy miming, slashed trousers, sheer bodysuits and all.
But even the nation's sweetheart can sometimes go astray.
And Chez seemed to have left her fashion sense in Blighty on her
recent trip to Paris. How else do you explain the fishnet-panelled leggings she wore?
Even doll-like, glossy-maned, doe-eyed stunner Chez can't make that unflattering look work, no-one can.
Let's just hope she sees the photos and learns her lesson…or at least sacks her stylist.
COUNTING DOWN DAYS TO PART 2...
HOPEFULLY you took my advice and watched Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman on Sunday night.
I watched it for the second time, having been to the premiere at Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds, last month, and I loved it just as much on the small screen.
As someone who has virtually given up on TV lately, preferring to read or watch films instead of endlessly flicking through reams of dross, watching something totally gripping was like a breath of fresh air.
Now I'm counting down the days to part two, wondering how it will all end… and hoping and praying there are a few flashback scenes showing the scrumptious Craze.
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
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