🏠How to split domestic chores

Plus: A comic and zine with our experts' top takeaways

View this email online Photo credit: Malaka Gharib/NPR Friends, My home has a bathroom problem. The pipes work fine, the water pressure is great and the sliding doors for the showers are brand new. The issue is that my partner and I never want to clean it.  We are pretty good about trading off household chores like folding the laundry and doing the dishes. But cleaning the bathroom is like playing “Not it!” And it’s a frequent source of bickering that can build up bad feelings like soap scum on shower tiles. Yuck.  But fighting about chores is often … not about the chores, says attorney and activist Eve Rodsky. It’s about a lack of fairness and respect for each other’s time.  If you're the person in the household who always seems to be the one bearing the brunt of the domestic work, you might be feeling unappreciated and resentful. But there are steps you can take to ensure that the household chores are fairly distributed, say Rodsky, author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) and lifestyle coach Jacqueline Misla. That includes defining what fairness means in your home -- then splitting up responsibilities accordingly. “When you know your role, everything becomes easier,” says Rodsky. “People are afraid of [making guidelines for housework] because they think their home should be just full of love.” But the way to truly create a loving and resentment-free environment, she argues, is through a methodical approach to chores (read the four-step guide here).   Listen to the episode This comic (which you can also print into a zine) below highlights some of Rodsky and Misla's top takeaways on how to divvy up housework. Listen to the full episode to learn about how gender dynamics play a role in domestic labor ... and learn the real reason why dirty dishes make us so upset. (Hint: it’s not about your partner’s scrubbing technique.)  -Andee Tagle, Life Kit reporter Access Sponsor-Free Episodes Want to support our show? Try a subscription to Life Kit+ and get all the tips and tricks you love sponsor-free! Learn more at plus.npr.org/lifekit.  Learn more Photo credit: Malaka Gharib/NPR Newsletter continues after sponsor message 💌 We want to hear from you 💌  Life Kit has an advice column, and we're looking for your questions and quandaries to share with our experts. Whether it's about family, friendship, work conflict or something else, fill out this form to submit your conundrum anonymously.  💡 What's a hack that's changed your life?  💡   Send us a note at lifekit@npr.org or leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823. Your life tip could appear on an upcoming episode of Life Kit.  If you want more Life Kit, you can listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or browse our article archive here.    Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy