How to Make Your Husband Do Chores

Are you feeling frustrated because your husband doesn’t help you with the household chores? You’re not alone! Many women struggle to get their husbands involved in the home, but don’t worry—there are some humorous (and gentle!) ways to make your husband more present in the home without having to resort to nagging.

Start by taking a look at the current dynamics—have you been feeling resentful towards your husband for not helping out? If you’ve been critical of him, he’s likely to feel like he can’t do anything right—which won’t make him eager to help out. Instead, try approaching the issue positively—you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.

Next, simply expressing your feelings is very important. Instead of getting angry or feeling resentful, communicate your needs calmly and clearly. Let him know that you appreciate his contribution but need more help.

Once you’ve made your needs clear, start getting creative and make it fun. Give tasks a funny name, offer rewards, or have competitions around who can finish their chores the quickest. Making your requests playful can add a bit of humor to the situation, while still getting the job done

Another idea to up the fun is if he has a favorite TV show you can watch it together while doing the dishes, or you can set him up with a beer and turn your cleaning session into a “date night.”

It is also very important to make sure that your expectations are reasonable. Don’t assume that your husband should be able to do all of the housework just like you can, and don’t put him in charge of tasks that he’s not familiar with. This is a great time to involve your partner; sit down together and list out tasks that he can handle and ones that you’ll do instead. Ask him what chores he would like to take on and how he would like to tackle them. When he feels like a part of the process and understands its importance, he’ll be more likely to contribute.

Remember—you’re a team! This isn’t a competition and there’s no reason why you both can’t take part in keeping your home clean and organized. With some creative thinking and a little bit of effort, you can make chores a bit more tolerable and help to ease any existing tension between the two of you.