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Published 11:06 12 Oct 2012 BST
Sick of cleaning up after the kids? Tired of picking up socks, cleaning up dinners, being ‘Mum-The-Cleaner’ and nobody even notices or appreciates it?
Sounds like a lot of women around the country could relate to the feeling this morning…
Why don’t you take a leaf out of mum Jessica Stilwell’s book and just go on strike?
The fed up Canadian mum-of-three became a viral sensation after going on strike to teach her “disgusting” children a lesson.
Jessica point blank refused to tidy up after her three daughters for six days and documented the chaos that followed on a blog.
Without any warning, or word to her kids, the working mum from Alberta simply stopped washing the dishes, doing the laundry and cleaning up after her family.
Instead, she spent her time taking photos of the mess and uploading them to her Striking Mum blog, along with humorous posts detailing the day’s events.
Jessica’s silent protest began on October 1st, when Mrs Stilwell wrote; “I recently went on a ‘mommy strike’ and have been sharing my experiences about it in a ‘logbook’ type fashion on Facebook.
“I must admit I am very proud of myself for figuring this out. It seems I have waaay [sic] more time on my hands now that I am not a full-time maid. Yeah me!”
Jessica said the strike was prompted by a weekend alone with her daughters, 12-year-old twins and a 10-year-old, Olivia, Peyton and Quinn, while her husband Dylan was golfing. The social worker realised that none of the mess she was cleaning up was her own.
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Jessica and Dylan's three girls, Olivia, Peyton and Quinn.
Jessica described her striking days as relaxing back with a glass of wine watching her dog lick the dishes clean. The ‘mommy strike’ ended after six days when the children finally caved and started blaming each other for the mess.
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Jessica did not lift a finger for the week... we don't know how she survived in this mess!
Mrs Stilwell revealed her cunning ways and ensured the girls cleaned up their own mess. She documented the day; “ “Today began the clean-up. I am not touching a thing and this house is on lock-down until it is to my standards.
“I’m sitting on the couch drinking coffee that I made them make for me.
“Quinn continues to gag and mini barf in her mouth every time she goes near the sink. She had to sit down as she felt sick.... awe muffin...are you ok?”
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Dirty tissues and leftover cups covered the house...
The children eventually saw the funny side, apologised and thanked their mum for everything she does for them.
She added: “The small people have read the blog and they think it’s funny. I threw an extra twenty bucks into the therapy pot just to be on the safe side.
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The Stilwell's dog seemed to be living the dream...
The blog has become an internet hit with mums around the world praising Jessica for her secret plan and standing up for working mums.
We’d say there are quite a few worried teenagers around the country this morning…
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