Housework Pays Off Between the Sheets

[snopes]

Housework may seem like the ultimate romance-killer. But guess what?

A new study shows that for husbands and wives alike, the more housework you do, the more often you are likely to have sex with your spouse.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...638147312.html

[MapleLeaf]

"Don't forget to put it back where it belongs when you're done with it!"

[Moku]

Wives in the study spent an average 41.8 hours a week on housework, compared with 23.4 hours for husbands

A *week*? When are these women finding time for sex if they do a full working week on housework, which I assume for many will be in addition to their paid working week. Am I a real slob for my housework hours being very substantially less than that?

[Christie]

The study defined housework as nine chores: cleaning, preparing meals, washing dishes, washing and ironing clothes, driving family members around, shopping, yard work, maintaining cars and paying bills.

I'm surprised that even when yard work, maintaining cars and driving family members around are included under the heading of houswork that women are still doing almost twice as much housework per week as men. I'd guess that including yard work and car maintenance in particular as housework was a way to try even things up for men when studies like this are done. If that was the case, it sounds like, even in 2009 men are not pulling their fair share of the housework weight when it's actually work in the house.

[Johnny Slick]

Ahh geez. My sister in law just posted on Facebook about how my brother cleaned the house while she was gone. I did NOT need to read this article, thanks!!!

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Moku

A *week*? When are these women finding time for sex if they do a full working week on housework, which I assume for many will be in addition to their paid working week.

I'm sure that figure includes weekends, when they have nothing to do but housework.

[E. Q. Taft]

I see the contrary study is already out:

A study has found that household chores – including using a vacuum cleaner or microwave oven – could reduce a man’s chances of having children.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0WxInOGm0

[Zorro]

Originally Posted by snopes

I'm sure that figure includes weekends, when they have nothing to do but housework.

I wonder if things like cooking also count as housework. I work full-time, and if you count things like cooking, child care, and laundry in addition to what we normally think of as housework (cleaning), I spend roughly 20 hours just Monday-Friday doing housework.