Now I was going to say “food” but that is too vague. Girl, get in that kitchen and cook a hot meal. No microwave, no frozen dinner, no canned food either. Don’t slave in the kitchen for hours. Go to Barnes & Noble and get a Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook and whip up a well balanced dinner: meat/protein, starch, veggie. No, it doesn’t have to be every night, once or twice is good enough (if you aren’t married or don’t have kids).

This may seem broad but, really, it means keep a clean house. There is nothing more disgusting than a nasty ass woman. This means dishes in the sink, crusty panties balled in the corner, magazines everywhere. Men notice everything—that snotty tissue that missed the garbage can?— everything. Most won’t say anything but they are taking notes. Ladies if you plan on moving in with a man be prepared to be somewhat of an interior designer and the woman of the house.

When I ran this list down to a man friend of mine he agreed 100% but told me that he needs a woman with whom he can have a conversation. I thought that was implied but he assured me that it needed to be said. If your mate is in the world of business, you should know something about the world of business, read WSJ.com or the NY Times, have an educated opinion on politics, sports, etc. Challenge him on his views and don’t give up so easily.

I know folks are going to get on here and blast this list as a traditional, rigid way of women being second-class to men and not every man wants this blah, blah, blah. Look at this list as a foundation, a skeleton that you can build on any way that you want. However, try having a relationship where after bad boring sex, you heat up Chinese food leftovers that you two eat out the box ’cause all your dishes are piled up in the sink and see how long he sticks around.