My husband and I work together. Most of the other women in the office have husbands who don’t do much or nothing at all. I make sure to BRAG about all that he helps me with. Then, they make comments to him about how awesome he is, which makes him want to help more!

Before being pregnant, it took a lot of asking for him to help out with chores that aren’t usually his. And it’s true that asking is the only way to go about it, and then already have a reason to his inevitable, “Why?”. And the question has to be asked calmly, and not in a frazzled state.

But now, during the pregnancy, he’s been so much more willing to help out! But I’ve noticed that he volunteers to help more when I DON’T complain about my back, being tired, etc, versus the days when I do.

I used to ask nicely – that didn’t work. Then we tried alternating weeks – that didn’t work. Nagging didn’t work. I think you have to find what suits your personalities. Finally, I decided to just clean what I dirtied. So, I only washed my clothes, I dusted and swept my side of the room, I cooked only for myself and I only washed my own dishes. It took a week or so for him to realize it. But it worked like a charm.

I help him come up with the idea of having a get together at our house. Nothing sets him in motion like the idea of having guests. The best part is that he thinks the party is all HIS idea. shhhh….don’t tell!

No tricks, if I need help I will just ask. If I feel like he is not pulling his weight, I’ll tell him. I don’t think I would have married someone who I needed to trick into doing things!

I guess I’m lucky. My husband is pretty good about helping around the house. When I need him to do something, I just specifically ask. Thats what we learned in pre-marital counseling and it seems to help. It seems like this is the big thing everyone else is saying as well.

If I want help around the house, I just ask! It sounds simple, but it took me awhile to learn that my husband just doesn’t notice when things need done on his own. I have to ask for help doing something specific. When I do, he is more than happy to help out!

I’m actually really lucky. My husband offers to help out with chores all the time, and does them without being asked. Before we got married we talked and figured out what chores each of us enjoy and which we hate and kind of split things up that way. So, I do laundry and clean the bathroom and mows the lawn and does dishes.

We split things up too, so that way when we are each done with one room we see that a lot of progress has been made. Also we both can be bribed and bartered with!

My husband and I have agreed that in most cases, I’ll give him until the end of the day to get something done. That eliminates a lot of my nagging, and makes him happier because he doesn’t feel that he has to drop what he’s doing to do whatever I’m asking.