April 7th is NO HOUSEWORK DAY!

Have you ever wondered how you stack up in the hours spent in the housekeeping department? Let’s face it- it can be awkward to discuss- who wants to admit their A) Highly neurotic and obsessive ways or B) Insanely lackadaisical and ummm…freespirited domestic style?

Luckily for us, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is on the case. On an average day in 2009: (most recent statistics available)

• 85 percent of women and 67 percent of men spent
   some time doing household activities such as housework,
   cooking, lawn care, or financial 
  and other household management. (Not bad, fellas!) 

• Women spent an average of 2.6 hours on 
  such activities, while men spent 2.0 hours.
   (Hmmm. I sincerely hope that for that other .6 hours,
   someone was giving those guys the Stinkeye.) 

• On an average day, 20 percent of men did housework--
  such as cleaning or doing laundry--compared with 
  51 percent of women. (Dudes! Seriously! Get on the
   stick, hey?)  
  

• Forty percent of men did food preparation or 
  cleanup, compared with 68 percent of women. 
   (WHOA! That’s a HUGE gap- I wonder if they counted
   ordering Thai as food prep? 
  Cause when my Hubs does that, I TOTALLY count it.)

So, girls. It appears that we’re still doing a Yeoman’s job. Thank heavens the powers that be scheduled April 7^th as No Housework Day! I hope no one tells them that at least two days a week at Chez Maines are No Housework days.

Oh, don’t get me wrong- I have the best of intentions. On occasion, I even make elaborate plans to…gasp…KEEP A SCHEDULE.

You know, one of those things people write down that says you do certain things on certain days, like, I don’t know, LAUNDRY. Or some such.

Myself, I tend to be more of a sprinter, housework-wise, than a marathoner.

I’d rather pull an all-nighter and do 18 loads of laundry then something crazy like do a load every day for two weeks. Where’s the glory in that? My children all know Mama’s Motto- “If there’s still underwear, there’s no washing there.”

 But seriously. What would you do if all the routine tasks fell away? If there were no dishes to wash, no crayon to be scrubbed from walls, no dinner to be made or toilets to be scrubbed? What on earth would a mama do with all that time?

Here’s a list in case you need a little guidance:

1.     Take a shower. A real one, without the door open listening for screams from wayward progeny.

2.     Get a manicure- done by someone else, not in your house, and involving more than one coat of a COLORED paint.

3.     Go swimming, and let the silence of the water clear your harried mind.

4.     Contemplate how life would be if there were no washing machines.

5.     Go get a haircut- again, ALONE, and maybe even a few highlights while the windows aren’t waiting to be washed.

6.     Have a Rock Band Tournament with your kids.

What would YOU do with two extra hours in your day?