Household chores are such a, well... chore. But it seems that we love them and hate them in equal measure.
Take hoovering for instance, which among both the UK’s most loved and hated chores in a survey of 2000 Brits carried out by Hammonds Furniture.
The survey also split the results by gender – and surprise, surprise, they suggest that women do more housework than men. That gender split was pretty large, too, with more than half of women (54%) suggesting they do all the tasks in their household.
One in five men said their female partner did the majority of the housework, compared to just 6% of women who said their male partner did the lion’s share.
And of those surveyed, 22% said they argue with partners about chores, making it the most argued about topic in relationships.
But when we do get down to our chores which ones do we really loathe and which do we secretly enjoy?
The answer, it turns out, depends on who you ask, because as well as hoovering proving a Marmite-like task, ironing, dusting, laundry and washing up all made both the top and bottom 10 lists in the survey, which go as follows:
The UK’s 10 favourite chores
1. Hoovering floors – 13.3% of respondents
2. Laundry – 12.2%
3. General tidying – 11.5%
4. Ironing – 7.8%
5. Putting a food shop away – 7.5%
6. Washing up – 6.1%
7. Sorting the recycling – 5.6%
8. Putting clean clothes away – 5.2%
9. Taking the bins out – 4.5%
10. Dusting – 4.4%
The UK’s 10 least favourite chores
1. Ironing – 16.6% of respondents
2. Cleaning the oven –12.5%
3. Cleaning the shower/bath/sinks – 9.6%
4. Cleaning the loo – 9.2%
5. Dusting – 8.3%
6. Changing bedding – 6.0%
7. Hoovering floors – 5.7%
8. Cleaning windows – 5.3%
9. Laundry – 4.9%
10. Washing up – 2.8%