Most men would agree with the above statement on both counts. If there is one thing that men shy away from, its definitely got to be the household chores. Men are ready to work long hours in the office, spend hours sweating it out at the work site or even stand hours together at the operating table, but when it comes to even the simplest of household chores like washing the dishes or for that matter even taking the dishes to the sink after a meal or doing the laundry, they do it like it’s a great punishment.
In the modern world where both men and women are career oriented, household chores are no longer confined to a woman. If a woman can share the burden of providing financially for the family, is it not possible for men to do the same when it comes to helping them out at home. Of course there are those who still believe that a woman’s place is only in the kitchen but that comes from a lack of education and old mentalities imbibed wrongly in the same individuals. That’s a totally different issue which is not for discussion today.
So when BlogAdda set up the #WashBucketChallenge I felt that I should give it a try. Doing the dishes or buying groceries is one thing but doing the laundry is a whole different challenge. I thought it would be simple enough and so boldly pressed the ACCEPT button.
But once I did it, I started having second thoughts. Accepting the Challenge is one thing but doing it and then blogging about it is a whole different issue. What would I do if it turned out to be a failure? I don’t want to fail but say that I did well. To add to the matters, it didn’t help the fact that every time I saw the clothesline at home after accepting the challenge I remembered the image of Ajay Devgan from Bhagath Singh. I felt I too would be singing “Mera rang de basanti chola….” smiling and walking to be hanged by the same clothesline. I even began dreaming about the washing stone which is used to wash clothes and which is still there in our house. So I began praying furiously that somehow BlogAdda would forget to send me the Ariel Matic and I would not be a part of the challenge. But unfortunately, as usual they turned out to be too efficient for my liking and promptly sent me the package a week later.
So now there was no way out of this. Ryan has to do the laundry and be a part of the #WashBucketChallenege. Let me admit right now that I have NEVER done the laundry till now, not even attempted it. So I told my wife that I have attempted the challenge because she would have to tell me what exactly I would have to do. I have watched numerous comedy shows where men do the laundry and end up with clothes of a single color(Except Sheldon Cooper of course)
So like the Angrezon ke zamaane ke jailer, my wife stood and shouted out the instructions
– Get the clothes from the laundry bin
– Separate the whites from the colored clothing
– Put the 1st load of whites into the washing machine
– Add the Ariel Matic into the compartment provided on top
– Add the clothes conditioner so that they come out smelling nice.
– Set the timer and the mode
And in between this she also helped me identify some clothes which might lose their color during the wash and spread to the other clothes. Those would have to be hand washed she said!
After everything was done, I was the now all set. The best part for a man is probably switching on a device no matter what device it is. The machine set into action. In the meantime I watched Bhajji hit 3 sixers in an IPL match. Checked on the machine and it was still running. I went and had a bowl of Ice cream, the machine was still running. That’s when the Angrezon ke zamaane ke jailer came and told me not to waste time but instead keep the next set of clothes ready. So after 2 more loads and a few hand washed clothes I was done. It was a good experience. That’s when you appreciate women who do this everyday, more so those who use the washing stone. Thank you BlogAdda and Ariel Matic for the #WashBucketChallenge.
