I’m a mother-of-two and I’d rather read a book then do boring household tasks

A mother-of-two has sparked debate after revealing she is ‘fed up’ with her husband asking her to help around the house with the chores. 

The anonymous British woman took to Mumsnet where she explained her partner was ‘always’ asking her to do a number of ‘pointless’ household tasks, which she believes could be put on hold ‘indefinitely.’

Instead she said she’d rather spend time reading, painting, or spending time with her children, writing: ‘If I spend my limited free time doing pointless “essential” sh** like sorting toys and washing the car, when am I actually supposed to live my life and derive any enjoyment from it?’

She signed off her post by questioning: ‘AIBU to tell him to f*** off and just continue reading my book while the rain washes my car?’

However other users were stunned by her comments, with some calling her ‘lazy’. 

Sharing her post on the site, the mother-of-two commented: ‘I’m absolutely sick of dear husband whinging at me. 

‘The garden needs weeding, the windows need cleaning, kids toys need tidying and pairing up in sets, old toys need taking to the charity shop, outgrown clothes need bagging up, the junk cupboard needs cleaning out, the car needs washing, the bathroom ceiling needs repainting, etc. 

‘None of the things he’s whinging about are urgent or even essential, and in my opinion, they can be ignored pretty much indefinitely.’

She continued: ‘I want to read a book, or paint a picture, or watch a movie, or take dear children for a bike ride. 

‘Currently I’m sitting reading and dear husband is moaning that I’m lazy and stuff needs doing. 

‘With a boring part time job and two kids to look after I have very limited time for myself, and he wants me to spend it on tasks that aren’t important or fulfilling.

‘Personally I don’t give a sh** that the old toys need chucking out – I want to read my book. I’m not bothered if I’m driving a muddy car – I want to finish painting my portrait.’

The anonymous British woman took to Mumsnet where she explained her partner was ‘always’ asking her to do a number of ‘pointless’ household tasks, which she believes could be put on hold ‘indefinitely’

She continued: ‘DH is yelling that this stuff might not be fulfilling but it’s essential.

‘But if I spend my limited free time doing pointless “essential” sh** like sorting toys and washing the car, when am I actually supposed to live my life and derive any enjoyment from it? 

‘Am I supposed to feel fulfilled by having a slightly tidier house or a cleaner car?

‘With limited free time I have to choose what I spend it on, and I choose to read my book rather than sorting out piles of old clothes.

‘I should point out that I do a lot of essential stuff already. I wash the kids, help with homework, drive them around, read to them.

‘I do laundry, cook, wash dishes, hoover, clean the bathroom. The basics of survival.

‘But I don’t want to do any more than that. I particularly don’t want to do unnecessary tasks like cleaning out the junk cupboard, at the expense of reading my book. 

A number of people were critical of the woman’s flippancy when it came to the value that her husband seemingly places on household chores

‘It’s like he wants my entire life to be drudgery with no mental stimulation at all.

‘AIBU to tell him to f*** off and just continue reading my book while the rain washes my car?’

Many other Mumsnet users were left stunned by her comments, with one writing: ‘You obviously value doing the bare minimum and living in a shabby, disorganised, dirty environment, so just keep going with the sitting down’. 

Another was equally unsupportive, saying: ‘I wonder if you have a whiff of superiority about you-I’m creative, he’s dull-which I would find very annoying if I was him.’ 

Meanwhile a third implied she was being sexist in leaving her husband to get on with the housework.

Another wrote: ‘If a woman came on saying that their house needed lots of work doing to it and listed all the things in the op and said her oh was refusing to help and spend all his spare time doing his hobby, not 1 poster would say it was ok and that she should just crack on and do all the work herself.’

However others said they were in full support of the woman for prioritising her own hobbies over the household chores 

However others said they were in full support of the woman for prioritising her own hobbies over the household chores. 

One wrote: ‘I love your post OP. I have a dozen books sitting on my bookshelf that I want to read, a keen Interest to learn chess, a meditation app that I purchased but rarely use. 

‘The list goes on and one but I am stuck in the drudgery of doing endless household tasks which all become essential because no one else will do it. 

‘Good on you OP for having the determination prioritising the important things in life. I need to follow your example.’ 

Meanwhile another also shared another message of support: ‘You’re not wrong. Downtime is so important. Life’s too short.’