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Significant Others and S-kid Cleanliness

ExArmydad's picture

Hey guys,

I've been super stressed out about DW and SD9's cleanliness. I read a post earlier about a woman venting about her DH and his kids being dirty but what about when it's reversed?

I find my DW and SD9 to be a lot like https://www.steptalk.org/node/226150#comment-1760326
DH and skids, minus the video game playing and mattress stabbing (who does that?lol)

We've had a long going argument over individual accountability in the household, chores and basic cleanliness. I believe we should live in a clean house and it's not going to clean itself. So I find myself taking action and doing as much as I can to create a clean environment for our DD2 and DD3 months old. I'd add SD9 but I put her to work when I'm home with her and I get shit for it sometimes from DW over working the kid too hard (which isn't true). I tell DW and SD that I refuse to clean up after her and how it's not my job. She does have chores and does them but in a half-ass way...So that's another issue! Thing is, IMHO, DW doesn't even remotely give me %100 like I do her.

I cook, clean, do laundry, mow the yard, sweep & mop, vacuum, paint, dust, wash dishes etc. My DW will cook and wash dishes. She'll start a load of laundry but forget about it in the wash and it will end up stinking and have to be rewashed or she'll end up drying the load but never take it out and everything wrinkles. The rest will sit and wait on the floor. Face value,I chalk it up to her not being a multitasking type with a tad of attention deficiency. In the back of my head, I call it her being lazy and she knows that I'll do it if she doesn't.

Another thing to add is that, she'll leave her clothes that I just washed sitting on the chair in our room for weeks. Then throw clothes she wore on top till you can't even see the chair. This has been a fight sense day one and the last time I had to ask her to do it, I told her you're a grown woman and you need to grow up, you're not a teenager. Your DH should never have to continually ask you to put your clothes away, I mean I even washed them, all she had to do was put them away. I told her as much as I do for you, your showing me disrespect but not caring about what I want.FYI... that was weeks ago and as of last night, a new pile is forming.

We've been married 2 yrs and dated about the same and nothing has changed. The list continues on and on from anything like cleaning our shower, not once has she done it in over 3 yrs living together.To pulling weeds from the flower bed, I do that too.

By the end of this weekend, I was so stressed from putting in so much effort, I blew up on her and of coarse I was the bad guy. It would be easy to say back off, right, but it's not, I can't live in a dirty house that never gets dusted unless I make SD do it or myself. DW claims she does so much but she doesn't, I'm watching.

My DD2 has spilt something on the floor and grabbed a rag to clean it up, not my SD. I've seen her yell at SD in baby talk about her shoes in the hall (which I thought was hilarious, a nine yr old getting chewed out by a 2 yr old), my wife comes in and kicks hers off too. Both will leave dishes in the sink when the washer is empty.

I stressed that I worked so hard to get to where I'm at and how I came from nothing and the crap I had to deal with in the service just to get to be a homeowner. That's my house, I bought it a couple years before I met her. I worked hard to get it, so I take great pride in maintaining it. Now It's "OUR" house, so why the hell doesn't my DW treat it like it is?

ExArmydad's picture

Ha, you weren't the first to call me a clean freak lol.

I hear ya, it was what I told her last night. I informed her that I will not be doing everything anymore and she's going to have to step up or it won't get done on her end.
I also agree with me only doing mine and my children's laundry. It was all I kept thinking as I was doing all the laundry this weekend. EFF that!!

Yes we dated two years, the first year, she had a small apt and honestly, there wasn't enough room in it to store all of her clothes. Her closet was this size of a hall closet. Believe me, I noticed it, I just figured she would put it away when she moved in. Then I gave her the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to a few bugs to be worked out but it never changed.

ExArmydad's picture

Yes it is and its freaking nuts! I can't believe people are this lazy and or oblivious, it baffles me.

I'm sorry you live in a similar situation, adults shouldn't have to do that. It sounds like you have a solid handle on it now. Good for you, that's awesome!!

I refuse to to be a woman's bitch, I mean that is nice as I can and I've told her that as well Smile I also refuse to do all the cleaning, which is what caused the big blowout last night. I brought up an idea similar to yours about Saturday morning cleaning and I added every night after dinner, we as a team, all take fifteen minutes to clean up so on our Saturday cleaning it won't be so much to do. I'm ready to start treating them like roommates, leave the common area free of all personal items ( already been in place for SD for a long time but not DW), always leave it better than you found it.

I was already a shinny turn long before the Army, I've been this way since I was a child. I used to put my toys on display on a shelf after I was done playing with them. Needless to say, the Army loved a squared away guy like me.

I like you idea about the laundry but I refuse to stand over her. I'll take the advice of only doing mine and my children's.

ExArmydad's picture

Exactly...it's not rocket science!! What you said is basically what I implemented. Yes, training is what they need. I find it crazy because my DD2 does a great job cleaning on her own. Caught her picking up and putting away her legos last night on her own. It made me feel good to know that she's a mini-me Smile in a lot of ways.

In boot camp the drills left me in charge of the other enlistees because I was a little older, I think I was the only guy with a five o'clock shadow by noon but I fit right in. They'd pull me to the side and talk to me like an adult (we were the same age lol)

I must say it did polish me and taught me how to never give up or leave a task unfinished. So that causes problems in the house when I'm not done working till it's done. Then I can relax.

PrincessFiona's picture

I sympathize with you. I also tend more toward being a neat freak myself. And my DH and DD are LAZY and messy. It's beyond frustrating. But one thing that hit me about your situation is that you have a 2yo and a 3 month old. I remember being there also. I was exhausted all the time. I had no energy left to care about the house. I can't say that's entirely what you are dealing with as like you said she may be just like my spouse - lazy.

I deal with it by being very verbal about when I find myself cooking, cleaning, doing laundry while everyone else is just sitting around watching tv. I point it out each and every time. I'm sure it come across as nagging and bitchy but it makes me feel better. But really there comes a point when you have to resign yourself to realize that everyone has different standard when it comes to housework. You have to find a compromise.

Maybe you can start making Saturday morning cleaning time and everyone works together to get it all done. Working together sometimes makes it easier. Or if you can afford it hire a cleaning service so you can enjoy a clean home and take that point of conflict out of your relationship.

Good luck ! I find myself focusing on one annoying habit at a time and asking them to stop doing it. Then when they master that I tackle anther one. I will say DH is capable of learning, lol. My DD is resistant to every attempt.

ExArmydad's picture

Thank you for your comment. Your words are a picture in my house "I deal with it by being very verbal about when I find myself cooking, cleaning, doing laundry while everyone else is just sitting around watching tv." I told her if she keeps that up, I'm going to start to resent her.

I'd have agreed with you if this is was the first time. Thing is, this started a long time ago. I also stepped up when she was pregnant with our first DD, then I kept it up long after the baby was born. We had a huge fight about it and she started to put forth a little more effort. Then on the new pregnancy, she stopped doing things again and I happily stepped up again for some things but I also nagged her about others. Now that we have the baby, she wants to sit and hold the baby all the time. When in reality she needs to get up and help me.

I pointed it out as a question of is it just a learning curve that she needs to learn how to manage? I'd understand if it was. It took me a month to get used to the extra needs of the baby and toddler. Now it's a piece of cake.

PrincessFiona's picture

I guess my point was less about learning to manage the demands of an extra baby and toddler and more about the physical toll pregnancy and childbirth take on your body - and emotions. Having two babies/pregnancies in two or so years is especially taxing on you. Your body really doesn't fully recover from the first when you start it all over again. And then there is the very real baby blues that can play out in varying degrees for some women.

Again, I certainly feel your pain and don't discount the fact that some people are just lazy. You know better than us what you live with. And what you can live with.

ExArmydad's picture

That could very well play a part in it, I don't really know. What I do know is that I'm asking to help do stuff and I'm not getting a lot in return. I can't do it all, I need her.

As I think about it, you could be onto something with the baby blues. If that were the case, I'm willing to suck it up for a little bit longer Smile It's just that some of these things started happening before she was even pregnant. Who knows! Thanks for responding again.

SecondGeneration's picture

Maybe get a chores list?

I know it may sound childish, but it might help to actually see things on paper. Your wife might be able to see that currently the household chores are not being equally split.

Now my fiance and I have an agreement, we are equal partners, thus household chores are to be split equally. If both are working full time then its really important that chores are 50/50. If one is working less than the other, then the one working less needs to pick up more of the chores.
This has worked really well for us, and in the 3 years we've been living together it has done full circle with us both changing working hours at various points. Hats off to him, when he was working less than me there was not even a mutter of complaint about chores.

On a personal viewpoint, my fiance and I have very different points of view about cleaning. I get irritable and stressed if I feel like the house is dirty, him? He had this envious ability to just ignore it and didnt understand why I would get snappy.

When we moved into our new house we made a chores list. My fiance hates polishing, I hate dishes, so I am always responsible for polishing and keeping the glassware clean and he does the majority of the dishes. (That being said we do have the whoever cooks doesnt do dishes rule)

We literally sat down together and agreed to what needed doing and how many times in a week. We tried to make it as fair as possible and kept the list hung up on the fridge. After a couple of months he was much more aware and nowadays he is even somewhat houseproud.

So downstairs is sorted, just the bedrooms to go Blum 3

SD5 is responsible for her bedroom, we always try to make sure its tidied up properly before she leaves but if not the door just gets shut. So long as all her toys are tidied away downstairs, her room is her room.

Putting clothes away is something I can sympathise with. Our bedroom is really big, we actually moved our desk up into our room to give more space downstairs. But soon the desk became a clothes dumping zone.
I bought a washing basket for my fiances clothes, I put mine and SDs away. If that washing basket gets full before he puts it away it gets dumped on his side of the bed and needs putting away before bed.

But to be honest, it wont matter what you do or suggest unless your partner is interested in making your home life easier and cares about doing what she can do reduce the things that are irritating/stressful to you.

ExArmydad's picture

A chores list is a great idea and something definitely worth starting. We do have the he who makes dinner doesn't do the dishes rule. I hate to nitpick but on my nights, I clean as I go so I don't leave a huge mess for her. And on her nights ha, she'll pull every pan and put out with a couple serving dishes lol. So that gets irritating at times.

Like you, I get irritable and stressed about the mess and my wife thinks it's clean. I really can't help it though, it's who I am. I wish I could overlook it but I can't.

SD is responsible for her room as well and in most cases, its presentable now that her and I are clear on what my expectations are. After our argument last night, the DW went in SD's room to say good night and today the DW said the kiddo is doing a list of chores in her room. So that's a win in my book! Now if we can just keep it rolling. I think I'm going to laminate that list and hang it Smile

Thanks for your response.

Notmomtomple's picture

We have a chore board and each person has responsibilities. Basically DH and I made a list of the most important regular chores and each person picked the ones they were willing to do. The leftover chores were divided equally. Obviously each person is responsible for their own room. If a chore board gets completely checked off for a certain period of time, the whole family gets a treat: dinner out, a movie, fun desert, whatever. This helps with accountability to each other. If YSD isn't pulling her weight, OSD is totally allowed to speak to her about it.

After a few years I don't need to nag anyone at all anymore. Everyone knows what they are responsible for. The skids took time to learn how to do their chores well. My DH and I would have discussions regularly about taking a chore "to the next level".

For example, the dusting: SD 16 (at the time 11) did a half-assed job, DH demonstrated proper dusting and asked her to repeat. If it was improved we let her be, even if it wasn't perfect. But a few months later we then demonstrate again and expect continued improvement. Now they rarely have to do a chore a second time.

This takes the responsibility of pushing for cleanliness off of the step-parent. Everyone has their job to do. Even the dog has a chore Blum 3 He rolls in the grass.

ExArmydad's picture

Her place was a small apt and honestly, there wasn't enough room in it to store all of her clothes. Her closet was this size of a hall closet. Believe me, I noticed it, I just figured she would put it away when she moved in. Then I gave her the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to a few bugs to be worked out but it never changed.

You sound like my close friend that I've talked to about this, he said you can't change people as well. And I know that but when someone asks you repeatedly please do this, I do so much for you and you still get the same problem, it sucks. If the role was flipped, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

moeilijk's picture

I think I'd sit down with my partner and talk about it.

1. Make a list together of all the household chores, how long they take, and how often they have to be done. Try to agree on this - it's not going to work out if one person insists that the floors be mopped daily and another insisting once a month is enough. Look for common ground.

2. Take a break for a few days after that! It will have been intense enough.

3. Consider that you are, objectively, doing too much. Maybe you like to have things done that way, but there are too many factors out of your control these days and maybe it's not worth the energy and stress it costs you. A happy life is most important. Maybe you can let some things slide a little bit. (Maybe not, but give it fair consideration.)

4. Sit down with your partner again, this time to look at how to arrange the chores during the week. If you realize that your chore list requires 3 hours of work per adult per day, that's not going to work for your family. But I'm sure 30 minutes per day is doable, even for the uninitiated! Again, see point 3 as the goal is to work together so that you're both happy.

5. Make that list into the chore-chart. It's the agreement you both make for how you contribute to your shared home.

6. After a week or so, see how it's going. Was it all promises and "I'll do it laters..." or did she come through? Make sure you tell her that you see how she's contributing and that you appreciate it. If she's not meeting her end of the bargain, first try to find out why. Is it too much? Did she not know how to do it? Or learn that she just hates doing a particular chore? (In my house, my DH unloads the dishwasher because I hate doing it, and he folds and puts away the laundry because he's so much faster and neater than I am. I do all the wiping of surfaces because the man hates getting his hands wet lol!!) Also, I was well into adulthood before I learned how to clean efficiently. Even now, I'm not so great at it. So be patient.

The big reason to be patient is that you're having this issue now, when you're already 10 degrees past pissed. The best time to talk things over is long before you get this frustrated. I know you tried talking before, but that was clearly one-way. Try again.

Good luck!