These groups range in their attitudes from women who would rather clean their homes than almost any other activity ("Clean Extremes") to those who feel comfortable delegating the housework to others as a way of reducing potential sources of stress ("Mop Passers"). Somewhere in between are "Mess Busters," who work hard at keeping their homes clean, yet are tolerant of the inevitable messes that characterize family life; "Dirt Dodgers," who spend more time and energy avoiding cleaning than getting the job done; and "Strugglers," for whom housecleaning is part of a balancing act along with family, friends, work and leisure time.

The survey also revealed that six out of 10 women prefer to do the housework themselves, rather than enlisting help from a cleaning service; and that, on average, women spend nearly 10 hours each week on cleaning their homes.

The 1997 SDA National Cleaning Survey, which included interviews with approximately 500 adult women, was conducted by Eileen Donahue, Ph.D., co-author of the best-selling book and CD-rom that explores personality traits, Who Do You Think You Are?, and researcher David Michaelson, Ph.D.