See also: Messy House

In the scope of things this is pretty insignificant yet it bothers me quite a bit. I grew up in a household with three other females and a father who was well trained by his mother and being in the military. Between the five of us our house was always clean. I actually LOVED to clean when I was young (nothing better than getting in the tub and scrubbing the tiles!) and I stayed in this mode until a few years into my current 12 year marriage. My husband is not a slob but he's also not into cleaning at all. We had many many arguments early on about cleaning the house, to the point where I got tired of arguing and gradually I've sunk to the lowest common denominator and the house now gets really dirty before I'm motivated to clean it. We can't afford a house cleaner. I understand that he works very long hours (without bringing home much income, but that's another story) and doesn't want to clean on days off, but it's depressing to me and in my stubborness, resentment and sense of futility I've become someone I don't recognize in this regard. My son, newly out of the house, is also not a cleaning fanatic. I also work outside the home and cleaning up after males has never been my idea of fun. How do other couple deal with this? anon

He works F/T and goes to school F/T so he complains about the long hours and having to get fussed at by me as soon as he gets home too. Lord knows how this will change when we do have kids. House keeper is also not an option. How do we deal with this? There’s three sides to every story.

1. When I get completely fed up I yell. I tell him I am not strong enough to do my work and his work too and something has to change or I will snap – and then I break into tears. (this happens once a month – hormones).

2. I clean up. I bought a box and his stuff goes in the box. If the box fills up it goes in his closet and I make another one. But I keep on cleaning. I add it into part of my routine and clean clean clean. I clean when I get up (he stays up late studying and snacking.) I clean when I get home – the bathroom, his clothes from the morning and whatever he ate. I clean before I go to bed. (My grandmother says it’s a woman’s work and I better find a routine now before it gets out of control. Yeah, yeah I thought it was antiquated also until I realized somebody has to clean this house and it will never be him). Luckily, I don’t do any of the cooking so I justify it as the trade off.

3.&nb! sp;When in doubt I call my girls and they let me share my fantasies (having enough money for a housekeeper, coming home to a man that cleans, kicking him out so I can have some sanity again) and before I go to far they chuckle and tell me it will be alright.

Was any of this the concrete advice you were looking for? I don’t think so. But I hope you find solace in knowing that you are not alone. There are many men and women that are stuck with a slob for a partner. My grandmother is a domestic goddess. Worked every day of her adult life and to this day at 80+ keeps an immaculate home (with a messy husband). I’m just not strong enough. My grandkids will not be able to say the same of my home.

If my fiance could clean I would think differently but I’ve seen him try to clean. He can’t stay focused on one task at a time and ends up with twelve started and unfinished projects lying around the house. My only option is to get rid of the fiancé and recapture a clean home because my fiancé just doesn’t have what it takes to be a clean guy. Since I don’t want to get rid of him I also learn to live at the lowest common denominator. Some people call it settling. I call it getting past my expectations and dealing with the reality of my life. anon

That said, can you possibly get your husband to take responsibility for one small job? Maybe cleaning a half-bath, if you have one, which just means sink, toilet and floor?? It's about 20 minutes of work... Or could he vacuum, if you're willing to do all the pick-up and other rooms?

I've heard putting mats outside and inside all your doors reduces dirt tracked in the house. A shoes-off policy is even better. Cuts down on the need to vacuum. Also, maybe assess the problem. Too much clutter? That's picking up, not cleaning and calls for different solutions. (Find better storage solutions and picking up regularly.) Good luck.

My Spouse Doesn't Clean Either

The other possible solution is, rather than trying to get your husband to do his share of the cleaning, you could make a conscious ''trade''. You'll clean, because it's important to you, and he'll do some other task or tasks that matter more to him -- car or yard maintenance, perhaps, or the grocery shopping. In fact, the division of labor in your household may already be more fair than you think it is. (Or, if it isn't, perhaps your husband would be more open to discussing it if you were proposing something other than him doing more cleaning.) Hasn't Cleaned a Bathtub in Years

I started with the kitchen and bath cabinets and eventually moved onto my husbands office and daughter's room. I found all sorts of neat and inexpensive draw and shelf organizers, door hooks, etc at the hardware store that really helped. And I threw away and donated tons of stuff. With the piles of stuff off all the surfaces, I 'm able to display some nice things that have been buried in all our junk.

The main ''work'' --getting started with the kitchen took a few days; but once I got on a role, this cleaning process built up its own momentum.! My husband even pitched in, taking pride in his contributions. The organization has been contagious! My family has Started being much neater because the house looks so much better. And I'm on considering getting rid of our house cleaner because the house looks almost as good before she comes as after she leaves! Deborah