Joanne,

I like this song as it is written. It's a good folk song. And I especially liked the ironing the clothes line at the end - very creative. I also enjoyed your vocal. The harmonies are a little heavy and mechanical sounding. Sometimes less is more. Your musical production chops are improving so kudos there too. The music production could be varied a little bit more in the different sections - verse, chorus, bridge. Personally I think that's all that's really needed here for the style of song that this is unless you were to do a rewrite of the melody.

Also it is great to have people offer to do your mixing, however you will learn more and faster by doing it yourself and asking for feedback on your mix just like in your writing.

To answer your writing question, there are basic principles but there are no blanket rules in songwriting. One size does NOT fit all. Yes, there should be contrast between verse and chorus. However, the genre of the song is important. Certain styles of Folk music do not necessarily have as much contrast as a country or pop song might. The most important thing to do is to critically listen and actually study the specific style where your song fits. Notice how the great songs in your genre handle contrast.

You can achieve contrast in song sections - by changing the melody and rhythm, or by doing something different and unexpexted with the arrangement like subtracting, adding, or changing instruments. You can also change your chord sequence and start each section on a different chord BUT you don't have to do that. Here is a short video lesson on how to contrast a chorus over the same chord progression as a verse. This is not a folk song but the principle is the same and should be helpful to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RgCWt17Jb0

Josie Beck Youtube Channel
Josie Beck Soundcloud