By Isabella Louise Anderson

Chores are like Spanx – love 'em or hate 'em, ya gotta do 'em! I wish it was simple enough to snap my fingers and a genie would come out of her bottle, clean my house, and instantly make it spotless. Well, it’s not that easy.

When I was growing up, I had chores, whether it was to make my bed, clean my room, or take turns with my brother to feed our dog. As we became older, our chores increased into helping mom with cooking and cleaning other rooms in the house. Chores have been part of my life, but when I began living on my own, it was quite an eye-opener. I was in charge of my household, doing everything from the dishes, laundry, dusting and whatever else was needed for it to look nice. I’m not one who’s really clean or organized (isn’t it a sign of creativity to be messy?), but I’m not a hoarder either…well, except for books. While I don’t mind actually doing the work and am thankful for dishwashers and washing machines, it’s the work that comes after that I find to be so time consuming, such as the folding and putting away or emptying the dishwasher.

Now that I’m married, the work has definitely increased. There are more dishes to clean, more laundry to wash, and someone else to clean up after. (What’s with men taking their paper plate to the kitchen and leaving it on the counter right above the trashcan?) My husband does help, but since I work at home, it’s easier for me to do it when he’s at work – that way we can spend more time together.

This past year I got a book for Christmas called, Porn for Women. It’s full of pictures of very attractive men doing housework, mainly for overworked and exhausted women. It got me thinking about how much has changed. We’re no longer living in the days where it was only men who had jobs. Women are becoming more powerful, running companies, and are still able to run a household – with or without children (unless you consider your husband a child, too). I give a lot of credit to these women because they are able to do it all!

How do you handle the housework in your home? Do you clean your clothes and dishes and let your husband clean his? What chores do you give to your children, or are you superwoman and do it all?

Isabella Louise Anderson is a member of the RWA, and she is the owner of the website Chick Lit Goddess. She resides in Dallas, Texas, where she’s a housewife and mother to 12-year-old cat, Thorndike. A regular contributor at Good Humor Girl, you can read all Isabella's articles and learn more about Isabella.