front door<\/a>.<\/p>\nGender Roles<\/h3>\n
73% of Brits still carry out a \u2018spring clean\u2019, although the focus is more on cleanliness all year round. 76% of UK women report that they spring clean every year, but only 67% of UK men do the same. In general, 85% of UK women do housework while just 49% of UK men help with these tasks. This puts the burden on women\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n
What Does it Cost?<\/h3>\n
The average UK household spends \u00a310 on cleaning supplies per month, that\u2019s around \u00a3120 per year. Under 30s spend just under half the weekly amount on cleaning supplies as 30 – 64 year olds.<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> 39% of Brits would rather throw away a dirty appliance than clean it!<\/p>\nUS<\/h2>\nCleaning, Stress & Help<\/h3>\n
84% of Americans worry their home isn\u2019t clean enough, but hiring a professional cleaner is thought to be on the decline in the USA. The cost may be a factor here, as boosts in the rights of domestic workers have made cheap and abundant unskilled workers a thing of the past in the domestic help market. 66% of American\u2019s still carry out a \u2018spring clean\u2019, with many opting for regular efforts over a yearly ritual.<\/p>\n
What Does it Cost?<\/h3>\n
The average US family spends $40 to $50 on cleaning supplies per month, that\u2019s around $600 per year. This is considerably more than is spent in the UK.<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> USA’s most hated cleaning chore: Cleaning the toilet<\/p>\nGermany<\/h2>\n
Gender equality is a hot topic in Germany, but 72% of women still do housework while just 29% of men help out with household chores. This just goes to show that there\u2019s a long way to go before gender equality in the housework stakes becomes the norm!<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> Did you know that singletons going on 30 in Germany will be expected to do some chores on their birthday to help signify they are still looking for a partner? Women clean doorknobs with a toothbrush, and men sweep stairs in a public place. They can be freed from these chores by a kiss from the opposite sex! These days it\u2019s all a bit of fun, but in the past, it was actually done to help them find a husband or wife.<\/p>\nJapan<\/h2>\n
Japanese women do around 6.5 times more housework than Japanese men. In Japan, more women are joining the workforce, but gender roles in cleaning aren\u2019t changing fast enough to free them from the lion\u2019s share of the chores at home too. However, the Japanese tend to spend less time cleaning overall than some cultures. Generally, their homes are minimalist which can make cleaning faster and easier.<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> Osouji is the name of the big annual clean in Japan and is usually carried out before welcoming in the New Year. Many Japanese hate to welcome the New Year with a dirty home. The roots of this tradition are based on religion. A clean house helps welcome Buddha and the Shinto Gods and makes them comfortable as the New year comes around.<\/p>\nArgentina<\/h2>\n
94% of Argentines feel that having a clean house is important to them, but only 20% of Argentinians surveyed employed a cleaner. Cleaning in Argentina is seen as more of a collaborative task and 51% received help with the cleaning from friends, family members or roommates. But despite this help, there\u2019s still a big gender gap, as Argentine women do 76% of household chores.<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> Like much of Latin America, many Argentines add an extra cleaning job to their list once a year. They clean their ancestors’ graves as a crucial part of the Day of the Dead celebrations. This prepares for the spirits and also helps to maintain the graveyard.<\/p>\nSweden<\/h2>\n
Sweden has the best balance between genders, with 74% of women and 56% of men doing the housework. As a country that has previously topped the charts for gender equality, there\u2019s still some way to go in the cleaning stakes.<\/p>\n
Fun Fact:<\/em> Some Swedes carry out a process called \u2018death cleaning\u2019 or \u2018d\u00f6st\u00e4dning\u2019 which is a process of clearing out clutter so your death isn\u2019t such a burden for loved ones.<\/p>\nWhat Does This All Tell Us About Cleaning?<\/h2>\n
Having investigated cleaning around the world, it\u2019s clear to see that gender roles are deep-rooted and globally spread. Despite each culture having different cleaning quirks and traditions, the idea of it being \u2018women\u2019s work\u2019 is seemingly difficult to shake. In an age where more women than ever are part of the workforce, it\u2019s interesting to see that household duties aren\u2019t shared more equally. \u00a0It\u2019s a huge burden that women bear the brunt of, and although changes are slowly coming about, they\u2019re certainly not easily implemented. Women living with a man usually do more housework no matter where they live, who works longer hours or earns more. Is this because women are being raised to see a clean and tidy home as a symbol of her worth? Or do men just have lower standards when it comes to housework? What do you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last updated on January 25th, 2022 at 10:26 amCleaning your home is a necessary job, and some of us take pleasure in the process (or certainly the results). It\u2019s a hot topic, with Instagram sensations like Mrs Hinch gaining huge popularity by sharing top tips for getting your home spotless and saving money too. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infographic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1446,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739\/revisions\/1446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"cleaning](\"https:\/\/www.expressdoorsdirect.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cleaning-FINAL-1.png\")
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