SAHM’s Husband Said She Does "Nothing" — So She Filmed Her Day to Prove Him Wrong

There’s nothing that irks me more than a dad carelessly throwing around the idea that stay-at-home moms (SAHMs) do nothing all day. And I’m not trying to take a subtle jab at men here — but it’s usually the dads saying this. And honestly? I think I, along with a lot of other commenters, finally understand why. Because if they were the ones staying home, the laundry would sit untouched, the dishes would pile up, and crumbs would collect on the floor. So yes — they would be doing nothing.

But that’s not the reality for most moms. We rarely get a “do-nothing” kind of day, especially stay-at-home moms, because being a SAHM is a job in and of itself. That's why this outdated narrative needs to be shut down — now! And it seems TikToker Heather Arnzen (@heatherarnzen) is trying to do just that. She dedicated a three-minute video — made up of clips from throughout her day — to show her husband what stay-at-home moms actually do. Spoiler: It’s not “nothing.” Let’s get into her video.

If you’re a SAHM, then you probably understand the frustration Heather is feeling when her husband claims that stay-at-home moms do nothing. I guess the clothes walked themselves into the drawers, the dishes crawled back into the cabinets, and the food cooked itself in the pan? Maybe the kids taught themselves how to do their homework too?

Before I digress any further, let’s get into Heather’s video, which seems to be her way of setting the record straight once and for all. She filmed her day as it played out to show her husband that no, she’s not bingeing Ginny & Georgia on Netflix or heading to Pilates with the gals. She’s working, man. It may not be heavy lifting or dealing with the public, but she’s doing a job that must get done!

So, Heather’s day starts at 7:58 am when she lets the cats out. From there, she gets her 4-year-old daughter out of bed and feeds her breakfast. By 9:08 am, she’s dropped her off at Kickstart for Kindergarten.

What she didn’t show, though, is getting her daughter dressed, fixing her hair, and walking her into the program, which she notes her daughter was “very scared” about. Sounds easy but what about when the child is noncompliant?

Anyway, after a quick porch pickup to grab an affordable birthday gift, Heather’s back home by 9:47 am. She removes and washes each individual couch cushion cover and vacuums the living room. By 10:27, she’s doing dishes, and by 10:45, she finally sits down to eat her own breakfast, joking, “I hope that’s OK.”

At 11:05, she’s doing laundry. And while pulling clothes from the dryer, she notices something — her husband had removed his garments, but left hers in the machine. How thoughtful.

From there, it’s more dishes, more laundry, and by 12:02 p.m., she’s back out the door to pick up her daughter. Then it’s more vacuuming, more laundry, and by 2:21, she’s driving again to pick her other daughter up from summer camp — a trip that takes about an hour. They finally arrive home around 3:22.

Rather than continuing to film, Heather wraps it up by saying she’s off to “make nothing for dinner, then maybe do a little more cleaning of nothing, and then take care of the kids.” Sounds pretty easy, right?

Except she probably left out the part where she cleaned up around the house in between — maybe took out the garbage, wiped down the countertops, and handled the endless little tasks that some dads seem to think get done by magic.

News flash: SAHMs — and moms in general — juggle dozens of responsibilities in a single day. There’s no invisible helper keeping the house running smoothly. So if you’re someone who brushes off a SAHM as someone who “does nothing,” you’re more than welcome to swap roles for a week — and yes, that means doing everything she does. Then feel free to report back with your findings.