Discussion Thread: Household Division of Labor

Not long ago, I mentioned to someone in passing that Iain and I do our own laundry, and I was surprised that they were surprised we each take responsibility for our own clothes. I shouldn't have been surprised by now: It's not the first time that our "you wear it; you wash it" policy has been met with shock. Usually shock that Iain does his own laundry, of course.

We have a pretty equal, time-wise, division of labor at Shakes Manor. Iain does the chores that require any kind of physical activity I can't do (at least not without aggravating my chondritis), like vacuuming or taking out the trash, and I do the chores that are tedious but not taxing, like cleaning the fridge or grooming the cats and dogs. We have found a good balance on pretty much everything along these lines: I scoop the litter; he changes the litter. We go grocery shopping together (because we both enjoy it), then Iain carries in the groceries and I put them away. I do all the cooking; he cleans the kitchen. When we're working on some kind of home improvement project, I generally plan it and source it and figure out how to do it, and then he does the hard labor, with my assistance as requested. We play to our strengths, and we complement each other.

So: What's the division of labor in your household? And please note, I'm not assuming that every household is a two-person home. "I live alone, so I do everything" is an answer I absolutely expect. I also imagine there will be people with kids who help out with chores, and people who have hired help as a necessity or luxury, and people who live in apartments or housing communities with on-site services, etc. Go!