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Which housework do Japanese housewives hate the most?

By on March 7, 2014

Spring cleaning has been a traditional practice in countries with cold climates especially in North America. As people stay indoors in the winter, there’s more foot traffic at home and thus, more dirt and dust accumulate. In Japan however, welcoming the new year on a clean slate is very important for the Japanese so they do extensive cleaning at the end of the year,  as a customary practice.

The survey released by My Navi Woman, a Japanese women’s magazine, ranks “cleaning rooms” as  the most hated housework by housewives in Japan. Ironing clothes comes a close second. The poll results show that even the most active homemaker prefers cleaning the toilet to ironing clothes.

The magazine polled 440 housewives in Japan to find out which household chore they liked the least and the results were –

Cleaning the room     16.5%
Ironing clothes      10.8%
Dishwashing          10.1%
Cleaning the bathroom   10%
Preparing dinner     9.7%

Cleaning the toilet and folding laundry was a tie.  The three top reasons for the housewives’ reply? 1) The work seems endless  2) I’m bored doing the same thing again and again 3)  I don’t feel a sense of accomplishment.

When it comes to household chores they like best, the results were

None     25.4%
Hang out the laundry to dry     20.6%
Food shopping    18.5%
Fixing dinner   11.8%
Cleaning the room   5.9%

39% of the respondents claim “husbands do not share the housework with them, not even once a week.”   When asked which housework they would like their husbands to do, most respondents replied, “the worst three”.

About Ted Tanaka