The Chore Swap- He said. She said. The end? Cheers!

He said.

 

(Mike sent me this email. He is much more concise and to the point than I am.) "I, first off, wanted to say that I am very impressed with the work that you have done in the yard over this past month.  I know that it isn’t easy and the weather was very hot and humid. You hung in there like a trooper and kept the yard looking good….nice work to you. As far as doing the house work for this past month, I am ready to swap back.  It isn’t that the work is as physically challenging as the yard work, but it is constant work.  Especially, since we have the 2 dogs and the 2 kids that love to make messes, it seems like it never ends.  I definitely think you do a better job than I do as you are much more disciplined and just have a better eye for the details in our house.  I appreciate your organization that you have provided this family.  I really enjoy coming home to a clean house and that has always been a big thanks to you. So, I surrender to you and ask that we switch back now.  I would rather sweat it out outside doing some good ol' yard work than to take on the full responsibilities of maintaining our household."

 

She said.

Did he say, "I surrender"?  Just making sure I read that correctly. Okay, I will stop gloating.  I have to say,  I am impressed with the work that he did do.  Even though he didn't do my chores as often as I do, when he did them, he did a good job.  On the last day, he scrambled around the house, and did his best to leave the house just as he had found it when we started this experiment one month ago.  As for me?  I am so excited to swap back.  Let's just say, if someone asked me if I would rather...clean up a yard full of dog poop or clean a house full of toilets? I would choose toilets. I completely underestimated the physical exertion that yard work entails.  I spend hours doing indoor chores and never...EVER...have my arms felt like noodles, not even when I do a speed clean.  I never reached my 1 hour completion goal but I did get close.  One time I finished mowing and edging in one hour and fifteen minutes. 

I can remember my frustration when Mike used to do the yard work.  It would take him a couple of hours and THEN he would have to rest and THEN he would have to shower and THEN he just seemed tired for a while after that.  It would seem like the whole day was lost to the yard.  I didn't really understand.  Now, I understand that even though the hardest labor of mowing and edging only takes about 1.5 hours, there is the pre-work (picking up poo, toys, loading batteries, etc.), clean up of tools and self, sometimes weeding, sometimes hedging, and then...there are noodle arms. When I was done, I always savored the refreshment time, whether it be a beer, water, or a dip in the pool.  I needed that resting time. With the humidity, I needed a shower and it was a courtesy to the world that I take a shower. The process of cleaning up the tools and the debri always took another 30 minutes or so, and then the rest time and shower took up another hour, AT LEAST.  So, the bulk of the yard work only has to be done once a week but it is a 3 hour endeavor, minimum. I can see why someone would procrastinate.

 

I am also excited to swap back because I am just ready to get back to cleaning and organizing my home.  It is therapeutic for me.  I enjoy the solitude of it and I enjoy the cleansing feeling that it gives me, a feeling of starting fresh.  However, Mike's modifications to the amount of times I do my chores made me think that I work too hard. Or that I might have a cleaning compulsion. I don't need to do as much as I do.  I was only mildly uncomfortable with his standard of what "clean" is.  I thank him for teaching me that. Also, I did notice that Mike helped out more with keeping the kids on track with their chores and he helped out a lot more with the cooking.  The kids were dumbfounded and wanted to know what I did to him as they were not too fond of his newfound interest in how few chores they did willingly.  I thank him for this as well.  I love the unexpected findings of this experiment.

 

The End?

 

As with any chore, monotony and tedium are the biggest drawbacks, both for indoor chores and outdoor chores. So, moving forward, we will approach chores differently.  I will continue to clean the entire house once a week (for my own sake).  I will dust twice a week.  The rest of the duplication will be put into a chore jar.  Mike will mow and edge once a week. He will hedge once a month or as needed. I will help Mike with edging twice a month and hedging and "beautification"  a month or even with mowing when I have time to spare or he is out of town.  Weeding and picking up of dog poo will be going in the chore jar.  All four of us, will each choose 5 chores per week from the chore jar. Mike's number of chores will be adjusted based on how many days of the week he will be in town. The girls and I will adjust ours based on our schedules as needed.  This may mean we will have to double or triple up before we leave town or have a crazy busy week.  We have survived more traumatic scenarios in our little lives. We will all take our turns picking up poo, weeding, cleaning toilets, cleaning up yard debri, sweeping up dog hair, washing towels, and more...Family-style.  The girls are not terrible excited about this but Mom and Dad are.  2 out of 4 isn't so bad? The Chore Swap resulted in the Chore Jar.  Can't wait to get started!

 

And that's concludes the Chore Swap...we survived! CHEERS!!!