"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again"
About this Quote
The intent isn't just "chores are annoying". It's a punch at the mid-century promise sold to women in particular: that domestic order is both a moral virtue and a measurable achievement. Rivers flips that premise. If the task has no finish line, then the pride attached to it starts to look absurd, like running on a treadmill and expecting a medal.
Her subtext is also self-protective: comedy as a permitted form of complaint. In an era when a woman's dissatisfaction could be pathologized or dismissed as ingratitude, Rivers turns resentment into a one-liner that makes the audience complicit. Laughter becomes recognition: yes, this is real work; no, it doesn't count; and that's precisely why it's funny.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Attributed to Joan Rivers; cited on Wikiquote (Joan Rivers) — original primary source not specified. |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rivers, Joan. (2026, January 15). I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-hate-housework-you-make-the-beds-you-do-the-32049/
Chicago Style
Rivers, Joan. "I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-hate-housework-you-make-the-beds-you-do-the-32049/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-hate-housework-you-make-the-beds-you-do-the-32049/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.





