Too Busy to Clean and Cook – But My Spouse Says No Outside Help

Is it alright that I don’t do our own housework? My husband doesn’t like it.

Today’s busy culture has changed a lot about what life and work looks like. Full-time jobs now look very different than they used to, and both men and women are often stretched to their limit.

So what do you do if you want to hire a little extra help around the house–and your husband or wife is totally against the idea?

It’s difficult to approach your spouse and acknowledge a personal limitation. And it’s even tougher when your spouse thinks that your limitation is a weakness.

In reality, you’re just admitting that you can’t do everything, and you need a new solution to keep your family and home in good order.

So what do you do if your spouse continues to disagree?

In today’s video, we discuss some ideas for coming together to negotiate how to handle tasks that must be done in your home to keep it running smoothly.

We suggest the two of you sit down together and make a list of all the pros and cons of your opinions. It’s important that you respectfully explain to your spouse why your suggestion (help with cooking, cleaning, etc.) will help raise your quality of life while still allowing you to accomplish all the other necessary things on your schedule.

See if you and your spouse can identify any common ground, and find out how you can work together to compromise. Negotiating carefully through these situations can lead to big rewards if you conduct yourself with grace in spite of any frustration you may be feeling.

Have you run into similar issues in your marriage? If so, how did you work together to resolve them? Once you reached an agreement, how did that improve your quality of life? We’d love to hear from you!