Spring cleaning

there's an expression in English, 'a woman's work is never done' and when it comes to cleaning our houses, women still do the majority of it despite many having full-time jobs as well. However, over the last few decades women's approach to housework has changed considerably.

Join Kate and Jackie as they discuss the changing role of women in the home and hear from women both past and present, who have some very different ideas.

This week's question:

How many hours per week do you think the average woman spends doing housework?

Listen to the programme
Spring cleaning

a) 3 hours
b) 15 hours
c) 20 hours

Listen out for the answer at the end of the programme!

Vocabuarly from the programme
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spring cleaning
deep cleaning your house from top to bottom - usually happens only once a year

obsessive
when someone is very interested or worried about something

clutter
things and junk which are lying around your house, like old newspapers, shoes, books etc.

a clean freak
someone who spends all their time cleaning and tidying

clear out
the act of throwing or giving away lots of clutter in your house

lift your spirits
when something makes you feel happier

BBC Learning English
6 Minute English
Spring cleaning




6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 1 of 4

Kate: Hello, I’m Kate Colin and this is 6 minute English and today I'm joined as
usual by Jackie Dalton. Well now we're well into the month of May and spring
is well under way so today we’re talking about the modern attitude to 'spring
cleaning and housework' – can you explain what spring cleaning is Jackie?

Jackie: Yes, spring cleaning is when you clean all your house from top to bottom
(including the bits you don't clean very often!)

Kate: Well, today people have very varied attitudes to housework. Some people
spend a lot of time cleaning, others employ cleaners to do it for them and some
people do no housework at all, preferring to spend their free time doing
something else completely.

Jackie: Yes, I recently heard of something called 'skimming' and this means that you
spray a bit of furniture polish into a room to make it smell like you've been
cleaning but in fact you haven't done any at all.

Kate: Oh – I might try that! Here's my question for this week - how many hours per
week do you think the average woman spends doing housework?

a) 3 hours
b) 15 hours
c) 20 hours


Jackie: Answers


6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 2 of 4

Kate: We'll check your answer later but first let's listen to an extract which was
recorded 20 years ago. It's with a lady called Edna McLaren talking about her
mother and her attitude to housework when she was growing up. How do you
think housework has changed over the years?

Clip 1
Monday was washday, Tuesday probably one bedroom, Wednesday probably another,
Thursday, she'd perhaps do the front room. And of course there was all the outside to do, all
the fronts and the backs and the toilets and then Friday, the carpets used to have to be taken
up and then the floor had to be washed and then polished.

Jackie: Well, it seems women in the past had a very busy time cleaning their houses. It
seems to have been a full time job! Of course now we have vacuum cleaners and
washing machines to make our life easier. I certainly wouldn't have time to do all
that and have a job as well.

Kate: Well yes, and many people do find it difficult to fit in housework round their full-
time jobs and commitments, and some prefer to do the very minimum. In the next
extract you'll hear from a lady called Vivien Emery, who admits she doesn't spend
much time tidying her house. Is her house messy or tidy?
Clip 2
The state of my house is reasonably tidy, especially the rooms you can see. But I'm not
obsessive about anything, I mean the kitchen's clean but it's very untidy - everything's on the
worktops. The bathroom is clean but not particularly tidy and the downstairs loo, that's clean
but there's all sorts - wellingtons and walking boots in there.

Jackie: Well it sounds to me that her house is fairly untidy but she insists it's clean. And
she said she wasn’t obsessive about anything. Now if you're obsessive, you're
very interested or worried about something in an extreme way. For example
people can get obsessive about cleaning, they always want to make sure that
everything is clean and tidy. She admitted that there's lots of clutter in her
downstairs loo or toilet. Clutter is a word we'll be hearing later and that means

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 3 of 4

there's lots of junk and stuff which is just lying around the house like piles of
newspapers and books and thing like that.

Kate: What's your house like Jackie? Do you have lots of clutter lying around or are you
a clean freak? A clean freak is when someone spends all their time cleaning and
tidying.

Jackie: answers

Kate: Next we're going to hear from somebody who is a professional cleaner. We're
going to hear her talking about spring cleaning and having a clear out. A clear
out is when you throw or give away lots of things in your house you no longer
need. Can you hear some reasons why she says spring cleaning is a good idea?

Clip 3
I think psychologically more than anything it's good to have a good clear out, you know, get
rid of stuff and it just kind of clears the air, it clears your head. Open the windows, let the air
in and I just think it kind of lifts your spirits to be able to have less clutter around.

Jackie: She said that spring cleaning clears the air and your head. So it not only makes
things cleaner physically but it also helps you mentally and helps you think more
clearly. She also said that having less clutter lifts the spirits. If something lifts
your spirits, it makes you feel happier.

Kate: I certainly agree with that – maybe I'll have a clear out this weekend.
Lastly, let's have a look at some of the words we have come across today:

Jackie: First we had to spring clean which means to deep clean your house. This usually
only happens once a year - in the spring.
obsessive is when someone is very interested or worried about something.
clutter which means a lot of junk and stuff which is lying around your house, like
newspapers, books and shoes.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 4 of 4

a clean freak is when someone spends all their time cleaning and tidying.
clear out is when you throw or give away lots of things in your house you no
longer need.
to lift your spirits means that something makes you feel happier.

Kate: And finally let's go back to the question I asked you earlier. I asked how many
hours per week do you think the average woman spends doing housework?

Jackie: And I said…

Kate: And I'm afraid you were wrong, the average woman spends 15 hours per week
doing the housework which seems like a lot when you compare it to the average
man who spends just 7 hours. Something not quite right there I think!
That's all we have time for I'm afraid. Until next week.

Both: Goodbye!