Girlfriend duties to wifely duties – with the change in relationship status comes to a change in duties and tasks. The same goes for men – boyfriend to husband. Responsibilities and expectations change as well; and for each household, it is different. Your mate will not have the same expectation of you or you of them, as your neighbor has of their mate. It’s personal. It’s something that needs more love, conversation, and communication. If not, the expectation will be unmet and you will end up with two unhappy people. Tell the truth: you do not expect the same thing of a boyfriend as you do of a husband or vice versa. When you say, “I do”, things change – they increase for the better. If you’ve been recently married or you just want to know more about how to run your marriage smoothly, read on.
Must-Know Wifely Duties & Husbandly Tasks for Couples
In this article:
- Cooking: Who Must Cook in the House?
- Doing Laundry: Who Must Wash the Clothes?
- Be Real: Division of Chores
Cooking: Who Must Cook in the House?
In her house growing up, her dad did all of the cooking. Living on her own, she has been cooking for herself but looks forward to the day she gets married and her husband takes over this responsibility. Sure, she will help out, she is not selfish, but it sure will be nice when her man is doing the cooking and dinner is ready in the evenings when she gets home from work. Humm…
Doing Laundry: Who Must Wash the Clothes?
When he grew up, his mom did all the laundry; just toss it in the hamper and at the end of the week, bam! Clean clothes, folded and neatly stacked on his bed. He doesn’t mind doing laundry but man, when he gets married – that’s one thing that he sure won’t mind letting go of.
Be Real: Division of Chores
Neither the new bride or groom has had a positive example of wifely duties and husbandly tasks but they each have their ideas of how they want things to go once they are married. She has been out on her own for a while. She has her own job, her own car, and a nice home. He has some “things” too and a decent job. He wants them to put all of their finances together and he manages the family budget. Wow!
These are all real-life situations that need to be talked about. Open dialogue versus assumption is key. A family division of labor conversation is necessary to discuss the wifely duties and husbandly tasks at home. Also, a family financial meeting is needed. When you have the conversations here are three things to keep in mind.
- Talk about how chores inside the home will be divided and when they are to be accomplished. Who will cook, who will clean what room, who will grocery shop, what do we do together?
- Have conversations about the duties outside of the house. Who will oversee the maintenance of the family cars? How does yard work get done? Do we do it together or hire someone?
- Lay financial concerns on the table. Create a family budget. Decide how monies will be spent. How many bank accounts will you have? Is everything that is mine, yours? How do you hold each other accountable so that the financial health of the family is kept in tack and both husband and wife are aware of what is going on?
Do you agree that household chores need to be shared equally as wifely duties and husbandly tasks or not? Here’s a video from Vox to help your decision-making process:
When you take the leap of faith from girlfriend to wife and boyfriend to husband, things do change. It should be changing for the better. However, don’t assume it will happen naturally. Refrain from thinking your mate should already know. Take time to create a safe space to have an open dialogue about your desires and expectations. You may be surprised at how much each of you is willing to give to make your house a happy home filled with peace and blessings.
BMWK family, did you have certain expectations for your specific wifely duties and husbandly tasks before you got married? Tell us in the comments section below!
Up Next: How I Went From a Childish Wife to a Mature Wife
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in March 2015, it has been updated for accuracy and relevancy.