Archives › Household Chores
Studies May Shed Light on Opposite-Sex Parents; What About Same-Sex Ones?
Here’s a topic ripe for discussion: A recent study by Ohio State University researchers found that couples who share childcare duties equally are more likely to experience conflict than those in which the mother does more. The study only looked at opposite-sex couples, however.
Marriage Leads to Housework, At Least for Women
Married men say they do less housework than unmarried cohabiting men, according to a new international study published in the Journal of Family Issues. Cohabiting women, however, report doing less housework than married women, and cohabiting men still do less than cohabiting women. The lead author of the study, according to USA Today, says “the [...]
Lifehacker on Kids and Home
The always-useful Lifehacker has had a number of posts about kids and home lately. Here’s a roundup: How to set a homework schedule. Also useful for us bloggers and writers. Kids Freeware Bonanza. From games to education. Copy TV shows to your iPod. Perhaps good for car trips, waiting at the doctor’s office, and other [...]
Going into the Closet
The first in what will hopefully be a short-lived series on our house selling and buying experience: Tip #1 for keeping a house clean for buyers yet tolerable for pre-schoolers: Buckets. Lots of buckets. I favor the 35-pound cat-litter pails from our local warehouse store. (In truth, I’d been saving the empties for a while [...]
Lesbians Do Laundry
Appliance maker Whirlpool is launching a promotion with dating site Perfectmatch.com, in which they invite singles to join them at special “Spin Cycle” singles parties in cities around the country. “Besides potentially meeting your perfect match,” they say, “you’ll get to check out some new, premier laundry products perfect for your lifestyle.” Not my lifestyle, [...]
The Lesbian Lifestyle, II
I went to our local warehouse store today and bought toilet paper, diapers, tampons, and cat litter. I spend entirely too much time taking care of my family’s nether regions.
Ways to Avoid Domestic Boredom
There’s been some buzz around the blogosphere today about moms who are either bored by their children, or (less controversially) by the domestic tasks accompanying motherhood. Both Blogging Baby and MotherTalkers already have good comment threads going on the subject (and opinions are strong), so I thought I’d take a different approach, and share some [...]
What Exactly Is “Mother’s Work” Anyway?
Ever wonder what your work as a mom is worth in monetary terms? Blogging Baby today highlighted the Mom Salary Wizard (MSW), a calculator that determines salary equivalents for the “mom job” of both working and stay-at-home moms (SAHMs). I took a look, though I was peeved the site wasn’t gender-neutral. I never like the [...]
Oh Oxo!
The LA Times had a nice story about Oxo tools a couple of weeks ago. (Thanks to FOOD Blog for the sighting.) I’ve been a big Oxo fan for years, and was glad to see the coverage. (I’d own all of their products if we weren’t a lesbian family with one stay-at-home-mom, paying federal taxes [...]
Homemade Fast Food
Lifehacker reports today on a new cooking trend: “make and take.” The idea is that you go to a special store and purchase pre-prepped (washed, chopped, etc.) ingredients for several specific recipes, which you then simply have to assemble at home. The going rate seems to be about $200 for twelve four-person meals, which works [...]
How to Get Things Done with a Toddler
Toddlers can wreak havoc on our to-do lists. They have their own agendas, their own pace, and their own counterproductive actions (e.g., pulling all the books off the shelf after you’ve just replaced them). In order to increase the odds of actually completing my to-do list, I divide it into categories as follows: Things I [...]
Essential Tool: A Rubber Mallet
One in an occasional series of essential household tools: A white (non-marking) rubber mallet. Whether it’s assembling a rocking horse, fitting shelves into a bookcase, or flattening chicken breasts for Poached Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach (cover the chicken in plastic wrap first), this is a tool you never knew you needed [...]
How Kids Can Help in the Kitchen
Managing meal preparation and toddler(s) simultaneously can be a daunting task. You can make it easier by having your little ones help in the kitchen. Instead of having to cut playtime short so you can go cook (the cause of much toddler angst), start cooking a little earlier and call it playtime. Here are a [...]
Lesbian Parenting Hacks
The idea of “life hacks” is a growing phenomenon right now, especially in the geek community. A computer hack, in the non-malicious sense, is a small script or shortcut to facilitate common tasks. A “life hack” is any tip or trick to help cut through the clutter of our everyday lives. Several prominent blogs, notably [...]
Fixing Noisy Kid’s Toys
We’ve all had them in our homes (usually as gifts from relatives who don’t have kids): toys that make annoying beeps, bleeps, or buzzes. Some are merely bothersome; others could be potentially harmful to your child’s hearing. Lifehacker has a useful post today about how to disable the speakers on many children’s toys, a simple [...]
Summer Eats
For those of you struggling to find yummy summer recipes, check out Epicurious’ special “Serving Up Summer” section. From oven-free meals to ideas for picnics, entertaining, and eco-friendly cooking, there’s a lot here to whet your appetite.
Gardening Tip
It’s the season for gardens. Before you plant, get your soil tested. Many universities provide this service free of charge. Do a Google search for "soil testing name-of-your-nearby-university" (inserting the appropriate name) to find information.
