Making a list

[krazy kat2]

When I was not working, I did the housekeeping, laundry, shopping, pretty much everything except mow the grass and take out the trash.
It has taken him a little while, but since I am working 1 full time with as much overtime as they can get us to do, and also a part time job, he has gotten so much better. He even scooped litter boxes the other day. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
He mops the floors occasionally, too. I still hate the overflowing trash can next to his side of the bed, but I am not going to complain too loudly. He has gotten so much better, I don't want mess it up.

 

[jenc511]

I'm a big fan of setting a "minimum standard of cleanliness" and making the neatfreak in the pair/group handle anything adhering to stricter standards. For me (and Dave), that means he picks up in the living room and bedroom, does all the vacuuming and dusting, and I clean the kitchen and the bathroom. I also handle all the pet duties.

I am a barely reformed slob, so left to my own devices, the bedroom would involve a carpet of dirty clothes and a "clean pile". The closet would explode when you opened the door. I also happen to be very bad at ironing. Dave does the laundry and will even iron my work clothes if I pick them out ahead of time.

On the flip side, Dave doesn't feel the need to clean the kitchen or bathroom nearly as well as I demand. So, I clean them. I also scoop litter boxes (ferret and cat) at least once a day, if not more. I hate using paper plates, plastic cups, etc., so I do the dishes. Dave would have us using disposables 100% of the time if I wasn't willing to do the dishes.

If I wasn't working, I'm sure I could work the extra cleaning into my routine. It would make our free time after work actually free to do what we wanted. Why should he clean after work when I've been reading The Cat Site all day?

For the OP, if you guys can get by one one income, why not work part-time and hire a housekeeper to deal with the chores, if it's that much of an issue? I always said the only way I would stay home is if the other person made sufficient money to afford a housekeeper and all of the other "luxuries". If not, I'd much rather be working at just about any job than be responsible for the house being clean enough to meet both my and my partner's requirements. I'd rather avoid the stress in my personal relationships and pay someone else to keep the place up.