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101 (Small) Things to Keep the Wife Happy

Wednesday, March 05, 2008 by Bethany

As always, I'm back to my lists. I love them. And this one in particular. Do you love your wife? Well, let me tell you, there are many ways you can keep her happy. Little things. Nothing too special. Just tid bits you can show her you care (there's big bits too. And that kinky stuff as well. And let me tell you NONE of that hurts either. So get creative). Here's a few to get you started onto a happier, healthier, wife. It can do wonders in the bedroom too, I hear.

101 (Small) Things To Keep The Wife Happy
  1. Give her a hug every day
  2. Say "I Love You" at the end of every phone conversation
  3. Remember to take out the garbage
  4. Take the kids for a walk (or drive). Alone time does wonders for refreshment.
  5. Make her her favorite drink (whether it be coffee, tea, soda, or martini)
  6. Ask about her day
  7. Make dinner every now and again (or bring home take out without being asked)
  8. Record her favorite television shows (or get Season Passes to them on TiVo)
  9. Paint her toe nails (or fingers. She might have a preference)
  10. Let her win an argument (or seven)
  11. Pick up your dirty laundry off the floor
  12. Play footsie in bed
  13. Snuggle
  14. Offer to help her carry the groceries
  15. Give her a weekend to herself
  16. Bring home unexpected small gifts
  17. Comment on her new hair cut
  18. Bring her tissues when she's sick
  19. Offer to watch the movie of her choice
  20. Clean the kitchen
  21. Spend a weekend away (again, this time she gets the house to herself)
  22. Call during the day just to say Hi
  23. Hold her hand when your out and about (that is, if you can get it away from the children)
  24. Smile the first time you see her each day.
  25. Fold a load of laundry. Or start a new load in the washer. Or do both.
  26. Trust that she knows where to go for the party next weekend (got and printed the directions).
  27. Listen when she's trying to tell you she's upset
  28. Let her take an afternoon nap
  29. Pick up milk on the way home (or whatever grocery item is always "empty")
  30. Offer to wash her car
  31. Bring home a favorite flower (or bouquet)
  32. Take out some favorite photos of the both of you and reminisce
  33. Give her a back rub (or massage her feet. Or shoulders. Or really, whatever she likes)
  34. Let her sleep in this Saturday
  35. And then make her favorite breakfast (or go out to a restaurant for it)
  36. Ask about one of her biggest wishes or dreams
  37. Leave a love note in her purse/car/wallet
  38. Buy a coffee shop gift card (if that's her thing) and leave it for her in the morning
  39. If you empty the toilet paper roll, get and place the new one
  40. Windex the bathroom mirror
  41. Take they dry cleaning in
  42. Never underestimate the power of a good night kiss
  43. Clean off the dinner table dishes
  44. Ask her to go for a walk with you
  45. Talk to each other... have a conversation about something meaningful or nothing in particular
  46. Put the kids to bed
  47. Hang that picture/shelf/candle holder you always meant to
  48. Bring home a gift certificate for a pedicure or massage
  49. Fill her car up with gas (and wash the windshield)
  50. Hershey Chocolate Kisses (get creative)
  51. Zip up or button the back of her dress or shirt
  52. Gently place a blanket over her if she falls asleep in the afternoon or on the couch in the evening
  53. Go to the pharmacy for her medication when she's sick
  54. Bathe the kids
  55. Buy her "girlie" shampoo, conditioner, and soap for the shower
  56. Make dinner reservations (complete with arrangements for a baby sitter)
  57. Don't complain if she's having one of those long phone conversations
  58. Offer to clean up her computer screen and/or keyboard
  59. Take a picture of her favorite place and send it to her (or leave it in a card on the table)
  60. Whisper sweet nothings into her ear
  61. Feed the pets
  62. Run her a bubble bath. With candles.
  63. Offer her your jacket if it is cold.
  64. Rub lotion on her hands (and hell anywhere else you want)
  65. Give her space when she needs it
  66. Ask about her work (and yes, if she stays home--ask about the children, the housework, etc)
  67. Make a mix tape (or playlist)
  68. Send funny e-mails. Either share a funny remark, send love notes, or even URLs for the funniest videos you've ever seen. It just means you are thinking of her. And she of you.
  69. Shut the door sometimes when you are in the restroom
  70. Hang up your coat after you come in (and the shoes, put them away too)
  71. Warm and pull up the car to the restaurant/store door if it is cold or raining or windy
  72. Buy her earrings. Or a necklace. A ring. Something inexpensive, but fun/beautiful/reminiscent of you
  73. Let her cry if she needs to
  74. Help get that item off the "high shelf"
  75. Rub her back as you pass by her cooking dinner (or reading e-mail. It is the touch that counts)
  76. Clean up the clutter in the living room/kitchen/bathroom--any room. Just spruce it up tonight. She'll notice
  77. Come home early
  78. Offer to cook her dinner (not on the grill. In the kitchen please)
  79. Pull out the wedding glasses and toast to your "togetherness"
  80. Sit next to her on the couch
  81. Look her in the eye and tell her how you feel about her
  82. Look up her Favorites or Wish Lists at an online store... and buy her something small from the list
  83. Take charge for the evening--corralling the children for bedtime, bathing, reading, television, etc.
  84. Ask her what one small thing you could do to make her life easier at that moment and do it
  85. Offer to paint a room the color of her choice
  86. Give up the television remote for one night
  87. Pack her lunch for the day
  88. Call her favorite girlfriend to schedule a surprise her with a girls' night/day out and about
  89. Bake her a cake/pie/muffin/favorite dessert
  90. Remember a special moment you had together, talk about it, discuss it, and share it with her (this can just be done verbally, in a letter... anything that you want to do)
  91. Tell her when she looks good. As in, "Hey, you look great in that." Or if she is wearing your favorite perfume, mention it.
  92. Fluff her pillow before bed
  93. Next time you are at a party or social gathering--give her wink from across the room. Or a knowing glance. Or a grin. Some sort of shared thought or expression that the two of you can share
  94. Find out how she likes her eggs and/or coffee. This can be valuable information.
  95. Clean the toilet(s)
  96. Take her picture when you think she looks beautiful. Even if she doesn't want you to.
  97. Open the car/restaurant/store door for her
  98. Let her pick the music in the car next time your driving together
  99. Remind her why you married her.
  100. Find a way to make her laugh. Really laugh. It does wonders for the soul.
  101. Tell her you love her. And mean it.
As always, if you want to play along with the fun and make your own 101 list regarding making you wife happy--or even making your husband happy--let me know about it. I'll give you props if you share the love. And of course, have more to add that I might have missed? Let me know in the comments. Gotta keep these guys in line!

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10:54 PM | | 22 comments

22 Comments:

Great list!! The beauty is that there are so many easy, small things that can be done every so often. This list would be an interesting 2 year challenge - do one thing for your wife off of this list each week. I wonder what the cumulative effect would be?

By Anonymous Cole Kelly, at 10:03 AM  

I love this! Amazing that such small things make a difference. Love your blog.

By Blogger TurboChik, at 9:07 AM  

i think your list is very sexiest i am guessing a man wrote this, if im wrong you need to change your attitude towards men, i ,e cook diner now and again, refering that women shoud cook the majority of the time, rub her back whilst she's cooking dinner? why isnt he cooking dinner! arrghhh angry and i wonder why men are the way they are.
sorry for any offence
take care , apart from that good job! x

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:37 AM  

anonymous cool your jets. Just let people do nice things for you gosh. My husband does the cooking but I always help. But still its just a nice list for people to do nice things for each other. Lots of women are the stay at home moms and do the cooking there is nothing wrong with that.

By Blogger Talitha (AKA Deborah Ruth), at 1:11 PM  

What a great list. Most of these are so easy, and don't even require much sacrifice of my silly 'male pride'.

By Blogger Bill Vincent, at 9:33 PM  

Its Just Superb!!!!

By Blogger Vishal, at 8:38 AM  

thats a great list. to bad i dont get any of that and prolly never will.

By Anonymous Jenny, at 6:56 PM  

You should add the comment "without bitching" after each and every one because my husband does most of these things because we both work full time and have to be a team. However it's with constant bitching like it puts him out to actually be a productive member of the household. Oh and I'm not happy.

By Blogger Kerri, at 10:06 PM  

Thank you for the list, but as a husband of 18 years, I have to express some frustration. There are tons of these lists on the web about how to make your wife happy or how to help your marriage (they end up amounting to the same thing and including the same types of ideas). Maybe I'm different, but I do (most) of these things and have for years, without having to be told. My frustration comes from wanting to know what women are supposed to do to keep their husbands happy. These lists seem--if by nothing else than their number--to imply that wives don't need to work to keep their husbands happy or they instinctively know how to do that. Take it from me, we husbands are just as in need of those small things as the wives are, though what those things are may differ. In my attempt to keep my wife happy, I now have a wife who complains when I don't take her hand or hug her, but makes no move to take my hand. She will make comments like, "Sometimes I just need cuddled," which I get, but you know what? sometimes I need cuddled too and sometimes I need sex without having to make a huge production of getting her in the mood (and I don't mean just foreplay--I love foreplay). I'm sorry. I'm just expressing my own personal frustration here. I feel as though a husband's needs (or at least mine) are completely ignored by these lists and that we are expected to cater to our wives without being allowed to expect anything (at least the same treatment)in return. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife, and I've told her all of this, but I continually have to remind her that I have needs too, and I shouldn't have to constantly point that out to her, should I? By their very nature, these lists suggest that we husbands need help and wives don't. Who's providing similar lists to wives?

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:53 AM  

102 - Do everything you do because you want to, not because you think you should. See 101.

By Blogger Mike, at 1:04 AM  

I have done it all at once. Now I am tired.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:22 PM  

Why aren't there more "how to keep your husband happy." This is a pretty good list, but how many men are actually going to read it. I think it's the wife that makes the marriage.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:23 PM  

To the anonymous husband with the very long reply - can you please make that list? as a woman, i'd really like to know what little things would make my husband happy, but he doesn't really express his needs very well. so - make the list!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:23 AM  

102 Make her watch Madmen

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:12 PM  

This is a wonderful list and my husband does many of these suggestions. I feel so blessed!

By Anonymous Beverlyz, at 10:16 PM  

to all; the list of things to keep husbands happy is very very short and simple...mainly because Males are not as complex as Females. Help me help you in and out of bed.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:18 PM  

I'm with Kerri 100%; us guys keep so much of our feelings inside and this sort of stuff just encourages us to do more of this and put others first always. Men are always being encouraged to try and understand how women feel well how about some traffic the other way?

By Anonymous Matt, at 1:23 AM  

oops not Kerri, the anonymous one after; sorry!! Matt

By Anonymous Matt, at 1:25 AM  

Wow, amazed at the number of anonymous comments. Tell us who you are so we can help you through the process of reconnecting with your spouse.

As the man of my house, I love this list. It's given me 30+ ideas on lavishing love on my wife through the little things matter that I hadn't thought about before, so it's definitely been valuable for me.

If I could add a single item to the list, it would be "102) Do all of the above without expecting anything back in return." For me, the amount of unconditional love flowing through a relationship is the true metric of its health.

So, in what positive ways may I and the others here help those anonymous among us? Please let us know. BTW, my wife and I really enjoyed watching the movie Fireproof that premiered in theaters about a month ago. Great story on rekindling the romance of marriage.

Thanks for a great post!

By Blogger Chris Stewart, at 7:28 AM  

0.0
Jeez, is this a list of how not to be a man?
How about, if your wife complains, slap her down and make her get you a sandwich?
I know, feminists are going to hang me for this one, but before you do, I'll have you know that I'm a woman myself and getting in the kitchen to make sandwiches is fun ^.^
Seriously though, I find it funny how it's sexist to have a woman cook dinner, but crap like this list, making your husband your slave is sweet and dandy.
Whatever, I have a real man to go home to and it's almost sandwich time! Hoorays! ^.^

By Anonymous Dahlia, at 3:58 PM  

after 43 years of married life, all that is needed is simple, just do things for each other naturaly, no need for a list.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:08 PM  

Most of these items on the list are just things that aren't fun for anybody to do, whether they be a man or a woman.

Why is it that the guy is the one to do all these things? I agree with the other comments, this is the kind of sexist list that makes strong women look lazy. I agree to that most of these things should be done for men too, and aren't at all

By Anonymous ALovingHusbandDoesNotEqualASlave, at 9:39 PM  

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