There was once a time where taking care of the household, and the occupants in it, fell squarely on the shoulders of women while men were expected to go out and make the proverbial bacon.

Well it’s 2022 people and the way of the house husband is on the rise. More and more women are able to not only find and hold higher paying jobs they can lead more rewarding careers.

So what does that mean for the household and children?? Well if your situation allows for it and you as a husband have the drive and desire to keep house and raise the kids you bloody well can!

Let’s be fair though gents, it’s not easy doing the job women have done for so many years without gratitude or understanding. Keeping a clean home and running the day-to-day lives of house members, outside of work, is a massive undertaking. It requires a lot of focus and willpower. Your days become a pure devotion to those in your life and your actions will have some of the biggest impacts on their ability to succeed or provide.

Depending on your situation, you might have children that need your attention along with your household duties. It can feel like a lot. Not to mention a lot of today’s house husbands will face the negative opinions and judgments of others! Hey, welcome to the everyday female existence. Being a successful house husband will take girt, honor and good old fashioned hard work.

So let’s get down to business. While you might not be making the dollars, your role in your family is every bit as important as the loved ones making the money. In fact, the quality of your work at home and with the family can directly impact the money makers, you can be a detriment or a hero. Which path will you choose?

So guys, butches and bears, lets get down to it. Here are the 10 Rules of the highly successful house husband.

1.Focus

Taking care of a household is no easy task. There are a million things to do at any given time and any number of these things can have another possible million interruptions. That is why the number one trait any house husband must master is focus. Your ability to keep your thoughts on track and know what your goals/priorities for the day are key. Focus is the one thing that separates a master house husband from your garden variety putter dude.

“Putter Dude” – someone who finds themselves ways to stay busy all day while in fact getting very little done.

The reason your ability to stay focused is so important is that it can be extremely hard to get through the amount of work that needs to be done and still have enough energy left over for your family.

That’s right, my fellow house-humans, not only is it your job to take care of the household but you need to have the energy reserves afterwards to be an anchor for your family. You will need to make sure household duties are well taken care of and, if you have dependents, they are taken care of as well. Without focus you will spend every ounce of energy you have dealing with the house cleaning and food preparation and you will have nothing left for human interaction.

When you don’t have the energy or will left, your interactions can turn volitile. All the love in the world still has to smash against the wall of exhaustion. I like to call it protecting your calm. If you stay focused on your tasks to complete them consistently and appropriately, you will start to get ahead of them. If you are unfocused during your day you will lose valuable time and energy.

Energy you need for your kids and loved ones. Energy you need to be a good and hospital person. When you are the one everyone comes home to, it is your job to make that home warm and inviting, your loved ones should feel comfortable and clean when they enter the house. The life of chaos they live outside should melt away when they come home as you are there to be a source of comfort and stability. If you are protecting your calm and keeping your focus you will have the energy needed to do it all. Not every day will run to perfection but help yourself out, don’t be a chicken running around with its head cut off. Focus, plan and stay calm.

2. Cherish Your Loved Ones

Let’s face it, Without a family and loved ones there would be no need for house husbands. Cherishing your partner, dependents is the whole base of our existence, the pride we take in our work and the exhaustion we overcome is all in the name of the ones we love.

Just like the breadwinners in the family, house husbands are equally important but our focus and goals are very different. Keeping a clean home and dealing with any, and all, challenges of the household can seem mundane or downright boring/stressful at times. However it’s the love for the people in our homes who are working their asses off for us, they become our motivation. It is their lives and the impact they have on us that make providing them with a healthy clean place to come home and rest, crucial!

I personally have had my fair share of house husband fails and setbacks and you will too. It’s not often you see the roles in the household reversed but that’s the magic of living in 2022, anything can happen.

All you have to do is be ready to give it your all and keep in mind the people who you are serving. Just like any paid job, you can excel at it and everyone is happy, or you can screw the proverbial pooch and lose that job. The biggest difference here is that losing your spot as house husband means losing so much more than an income.

Take pride in what you do. Take pride in your family and take pride in your home. Whether it be an apartment, house or your parents basement, give it your all. The people you care for and cherish deserve that.

Personal Note

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this today. I know you might be thinking, “Hey I thought you said 10 rules…”. Well there will be, but just like anything worth doing it takes time to do it right. As I bring you this content I am also going through stages of personal growth and learning.

It is my hope that as I grow and learn my position that you the reading audience will come along with me each month. Every issue I will be releasing two new rules until I have done all 10. At the end of that it is my hope the fantastic volunteer staff of the Valley Voice will help me put everything together with some hilarious illustrations as a wrap up.

ASK

If anyone out there in the valley reading this has any of their own effective rules of the house husband I would love to read them.

The lovely staff at the VV have let me know if you send in any of your related content to this subject they will pass it along to me. Who knows, maybe one of your rules is just the thing another person will need to improve their life and quality of work.

Please head over to The Valley Voice Submission Page for anything you would like to submit.