I once saw a fun book in the bookstore that was titled, Porn for Women and had pictures of hunky men in aprons doing various household chores. I smiled, and had my husband been with me I would have shared it with him gleefully. It turns out that that little book was not far off!

A 2018 study published in Socius that was led by Daniel Carlson of the University of Utah found that couples now share more household tasks than they did in the 1990’s and this had a positive effect for couple relationships, including couple’s sex lives.

The split of the housework is not usually 50/50, but as long as neither partner does more than 65 percent of the domestic work, the couple’s sex life is positively impacted. Here are 4 steps in encouraging approximations of the house cleaning behavior.

1. Increase Praise
   If your partner takes out the trash praise them. If they clear the dishes praise them etc. You’ll be surprised at how much more they’ll help you out.
2. Avoid criticizing
   Criticizing leads to defensiveness and criticism creates contempt. Contempt creates partners to pull apart.
3. Appreciations
   Use acknowledgement and appreciations, which will go a long way in encouraging
   our partners to feel more positive. You know the old saying, “You’ll attract more bees with honey, than with vinegar.”
4. Find things they like and do those things for them
   Find what excites your partner and in turn increase those things. You might be surprised what will happen!

Working as a team benefits the couple, and there are some indications that lower stress for women improves a couple’s physical intimacy. So, for all the men out there interested in improved intimacy, strap on an apron and sweep your sweetie off their feet!