[Week 167] Seeking pension for my years of service doing housework.
I have read and commented on several of the posts where we gentlemen talk about our participation in household chores. I am on the team of those who perform them from a young age. So I am not afraid of it. And if that job gave some kind of pension after 15 years of service (that would be great๐), I would have gotten it already.
But let's be honest: we don't always have the desire to do housework. "Whoever has never felt that way should cast the first stone." Those of us who live with someone else have advantages, because we can "ask for help", but what we want is to get rid of them. How do I do it? (I hope those who share my roof don't read this).๐ฌ
Some things are attacked at the root! For example, the issue of washing the dishes. Think about it: if things don't get dirty, there's nothing to wash!๐ก So I have a 600ml bottle to fill with drinking water exclusively for me. Everyone knows that and they don't touch it. So I drink water several times a day without throwing anything in the dishwasher. There are some out there who, in this same line, try to drink water straight from the jug, and don't get caught. But, come on guys! That's not hygienic๐คง, no matter how much you want to save a few liters of water and detergent.
But there is one thing they are worthy of imitating, and I do it every chance I get. It's a technique that could come from Mr. Miyagi, that wise Asian from the movie Karate Kid who taught us so many valuable things: eating in the same pot we cook in๐ฒ. Why couldn't I understand this in the crucial years of my adolescence?๐ It would have saved me a lot of time and words. Whoever taught me that told me that he implemented it for several years when he lived alone. I don't think I slept that night, and I resolved to implement it regularly. Is that included in the minimalist lifestyle?
But here's the point: with these two things I'm trying to avoid housework by reducing what needs to be washed. But there's something else, which I don't know what it could be called - reverse psychology? Confusing the enemy? I'm not sure...๐ค
When I perform some tasks I take some liberties that others may not like. For example, I have no problem washing the toilet. But that said, you'll see me in a beach shorts, a stretch flannel, my waterproof flip-flops and throwing lots of water around. Of course, good music to lighten the mood and inviting me to sing (even if others say it's just yelling). Hey! If you want to clean boringly, that's your problem. When I'm done, my wife doesn't know if I was washing the toilet or if I was showering with clothes. But what does it matter? ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธThe important thing is that the bathroom is clean, right? The end justified the means.๐ฏ
Perhaps, acquiring this reputation will save you from household chores when it is most critical and difficult to do them. For example, when water is scarce, doing the dishes is exhausting and unnecessarily stressful. On those occasions I am often told, "Adrian, don't do the dishes because you use too much water." And I reply: "Amen. Your will be done and not mine." Again, I got away without coming off as the person who doesn't want to cooperate.โ๏ธ
Although it will always be an option to leave home suddenly to avoid doing housework, sometimes it is not successful, because the same chores or a good speech by your wife will be waiting for you at home. So I leave you with these couple of suggestions.
Of course, in general I don't shy away from these chores, and I do them with pleasure. At home, I am the one who prepares breakfast every day and sometimes I have to bring it to my wife in her bed because she is feeling sick. It's one of my duties at home that I do automatically, because I'm the one who usually gets up first. Here I am, with the laundry basket on any given morning, ready to use the washing machine at home. Ironing and cooking is also something I have no problem doing. And when I have to do the unsympathetic ones, I still try to do them well and efficiently. ๐ช๐ป
I congratulate all the proud gentlemen who continue to do their housework. And if you ever think of giving any pension for those years of service, please let me know so I can fill out the necessary paperwork.๐๐ป See you next time!
Images: Images of my property, captured with my Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 phone.
Banner: Made by me in GIMP with my own images and free resources from the site pfpmaker.com/
Language: Post written in Spanish and then translated into English through DeepL