I went on a women’s strike – I was tired of cleaning while my husband went to the pub
SHE loves him because he is ‘relaxed and calm’.
But in Cornwall, 55-year-old Chrissy decided her husband John’s chaos had reached boiling point and she had no choice but to go on a women’s strike.
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Since her mother died, she has been caring for her father Arthur, 86, in the family’s shared bungalow, while also working full-time and doing all the housework.
On average, the weekly cleaning takes up the entire day on Saturday, with John leaving the house and treating himself to a beer at the local pub.
But now Chrissy is determined to make sure John goes on strike if necessary, leaving the two men to fend for themselves. Viewers of this battle were able to watch tonight’s episode of Mums on Strike on Channel 5.
Chrissy complained about her husband’s antics and said that the housework wasn’t divided fairly. John agreed and said that she does about 90 percent of the work to keep the house running.
When it comes to housework, the cleaning fanatic has always had relatively high standards. The same cannot be said of her husband, who takes a much more relaxed approach.
”When I first met Jon, he was living in, I would say, misery. He had been living in a trailer with his buddy from a young age.”
Although John, who had been single for some time at the time, said he enjoyed keeping his home tidy, he admitted he was “not really into cleaning.”
Chrissy works full-time for the NHS, but the long hours she spends cleaning the premises and doing laundry means she has to work an extra shift with little break.
After a full week of work, she spends the beginning of her weekend cleaning the entire house. She also leaves the toilet seats disinfected. Chrissy insisted that you could even eat ‘food’ off them.
The workload has only increased since her elderly father moved in. Chrissy now has to change his bed for new sheets, change towels and hang up other supplies.
The 55-year-old, fed up with the unequal distribution, announced: “I can’t [take it anymore] physically, if I can make it for ten years, I’ll be on a walker.
“This can’t go on any longer, this is madness,” the woman said, adding that her husband had no idea “how much work” it takes to clean the house from top to bottom.
Unbeknownst to her husband, Chrissy was staying in a hotel for a week after cleaning, washing and cooking every Saturday for the past 21 years.
“I’ve had enough. And the other reason is I just want to know that if anything happens to Mom, you and Dad can take care of yourselves.”
Cleaning and household tasks in figures
Well Polished conducted a survey and the results are in!
Most hated household chores
- Cleaning the oven – 34%
- Ironing – 15%
- Cleaning toilet – 10%
- Washing dishes – 5%
- Cleaning up – 4%
Most loved household chores
- Cooking meals – 21%
- Cleaning up – 12%
- Vacuuming – 11%
- Doing the laundry – 9%
- Pet care 8%
Men vs. Women: Who’s in?
Men spend 7 hours and 54 minutes per week cleaning.
Women spend 12 hours and 15 minutes per week cleaning.
But while John was doing his best to follow the usual routine of weekly chores, Chrissy came to a realization of her own.
”It stems from one of my previous relationships – it wasn’t nice at all. But I think they’re called narcissists now.
“I was cut off from my family, from my friends – I had no control over anything.
“And all I could do was keep the house clean, to keep myself sane, I guess.”
However, the strike had changed her outlook on life and Chrissy realised that ‘it couldn’t last forever’.
”I think it made me think about life and ‘You know, there are more important things in life than cleaning.”
After not seeing each other for several days, the 55-year-old cleaning enthusiast came to the conclusion that they both had to make compromises to make the relationship work.
“So I have to lower my standards a little bit and John has to raise his standards to meet me halfway.”
