THE INIMITABLE STYLE OF GLORIA MIZZI - MaltaRightNow.com
THE INIMITABLE STYLE OF GLORIA MIZZI - MaltaRightNow.com
THE INIMITABLE STYLE OF GLORIA MIZZI - MaltaRightNow.com
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| ISSUES |<br />
possessions, we’ve got to try different tactics to the<br />
confrontational approach based on opposing poles of<br />
household standards. Women apparently are their own<br />
worst enemies as they believe they can make spouses<br />
and partners change to run things to their standards.<br />
What we should be doing is saying, “we will never fully<br />
understand each other, and that’s OK.” Women also<br />
need to use their much-heralded ability for practicality<br />
and planning to get other household members – and<br />
I include kids here too - to take responsibility for a<br />
defined, achievable set of housework jobs; importantly,<br />
ones that they can fulfil to their standards.<br />
The mantra to remember is ‘live as a family and<br />
clean as a family’. Do get everyone on board and from<br />
an early age so at least the next generations will have<br />
cracked how to do 21 st century housework without the<br />
strife. And yes ladies, but not to the average man’s<br />
standards. If you want to be a domestic goddess, you’ll<br />
have to get off your pedestal sometimes and get real.<br />
That, it seems, is how we can all start to feel good about<br />
the housework! .<br />
Women also need<br />
to use their muchheralded<br />
ability for<br />
practicality and<br />
planning to get other<br />
household members<br />
– and I include kids<br />
here too - to take<br />
responsibility for a<br />
defined, achievable<br />
set of housework<br />
jobs; importantly,<br />
ones that they<br />
can fulfil to their<br />
standards.<br />
Everyone has a different view of what<br />
constitutes household clutter, chaos,<br />
mess or dirt.<br />
rather quaintly as ‘having a maid’. But put the hard<br />
slog of washing hard floors aside, and there are still<br />
a lot of daily domestic chores to do that maids aren’t<br />
there for or won’t tackle. So where do we go from here<br />
Tackling the problem by negotiating a <strong>com</strong>pass-like<br />
division of labour in the modern home of a doublein<strong>com</strong>e<br />
couple is rarely the solution although it might<br />
be paid lip-service. The reason is that the problem lies<br />
in a ‘never the twain shall meet’ issue of standards.<br />
Everyone has a different view of what constitutes<br />
household clutter, chaos, mess or dirt. Let’s give some<br />
examples of the likely refrains one might hear…<br />
Why do the washing till it’s overflowing the basket<br />
Why wash up if there are clean dishes around to use<br />
Why clean the fridge if it’s working fine Why cover<br />
food in the fridge Why ever empty a rubbish bin if it’s<br />
not jam packed Why change the bed (Like towels<br />
and loos, sheets rarely ever need attention). Bacterial<br />
spores, dust mites and ants (I can’t see them; and<br />
ants aren’t attracted to dirt anyway.)<br />
If one person’s heap is another’s pile of treasured<br />
L&S | SEPTEMBER ’06 17