There are just 24 hours in a day. Subtract the ones required for sleep and work, and not many are left. So to make the best use of them, we need to optimize our routine.

But for one mother and former Reddit user, that was quite challenging. In a recent post on the platform, the woman explained that her husband and son never help around the house.

In a last-ditch attempt to get them to help her with all the chores, she kicked them out—just days before Christmas.

This woman was sick and tired of her husband and son viewing her as their maid

Image credits: Jason Leung (not the actual photo)

So in a last-ditch effort to teach them a lesson, she kicked the two out of the house just days before Christmas

Image credits: Craig Adderley (not the actual photo)

Image credits: anon

When someone is unhappy about the allocation of household chores, the stress level in their home can increase tremendously

In the past, the division of housework was generally attributed to differences in the labor force; men were more likely to work full-time outside the home while women were more likely to manage the household.

Nowadays, however, the situation is different. Women make up 47% of the workforce in the United States. Yet, as this Reddit post illustrates, they are still often expected to shoulder much of the unpaid labor at home.

What may matter more than an equal 50/50 split is how each person feels about the division of duties.

Research tells us that the unfair distribution of housework is one of the top stressors in many relationships. For example, one study discovered that wives whose husbands were minimally involved with these responsibilities were 160% more likely to be distressed, 296% more likely to be uncomfortable with their husbands, and 269% more likely to be unhappy.

Image credits: Jason Abdilla (not the actual photo)

The majority of the time, women are the ones who take on most of the holiday responsibilities

It’s understandable why the author of the Reddit post resorted to more radical measures during this particular time of year. According to new research by Starling Bank, women are primarily responsible for 19 of the 23 Christmas tasks.

The survey suggests that men take the lead in carving the turkey (they do this exclusively by themselves 51% of the time compared to 26% of women), washing up after the festive dinner (31% vs 26%), untangling the fairy lights (41% vs 28%), and getting rid of the Christmas tree (51% vs 16%).

Women, on the other hand, buy presents (57% vs 8% of men), wrap them (58% vs 10%), plan Christmas dinner and buy the products (51% vs 12%), cook it (49% vs 19%), attend the children’s nativity play (28% vs 6%), write holiday cards (62% vs 10%), clean the house for guests (42% vs 12%), and much more.

With all of the preparation on the horizon, no wonder the woman behind the Reddit post wanted her husband and son to step up.

Image credits: Dan Gold (not the actual photo)

Most people said the woman did nothing wrong

But some thought she could’ve been less harsh on the boy

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