To ask how much you could do round the house at 21?

[StupidMistakes]

Did you
*Know how to use the washing machine?
*know where the fuses were?
*Know how to reset the boiler?
*know water has to be paid for?
*Know how to wash up?

Three of the above things are acceptable not to know but seriously my flat mate at 21 didn't know how to use a washing machine, where the powder went or the difference between fabric softner and washing powder!!!

OP - move out at the first possible opportunity. Everyine needs to learn these things, most do out of need or embarrassment that they don't know but housemates do, but no one will when you are being their replacement mum. Like molding's example, those men could wait while their mum was way for her to come back and do the washing, and could afford to eat out for a week, if its forever, you have to learn.

Don't do their washing up, they are lying, they can do that (everyone who can wash their own body can get their head round the principle of applying soap and warm water to something dirty then rinsing it all off, there is no nack to washing up, no skill), they just don't want to and know you'll crack first so they don't have too. Remove their dirty dishes from the sink, wash up your own. (If you can afford it, buy some separate plates and keep away from them household ones).

Considering I moved out when I was 18 and had my first at 20, yep I sure did know how to do those things.

No to the boiler, but yes to all else. I lived in work accomodation from 18-22 sand in share homes so usually it fell to me to do the cleaning, deep cleaning and 'play housewife' for me and my DP at the time

Now at 24 I have my lovely fiance do a huge chunk of it Though we are in a house-share and I point blank refuse to tidy up after my landlords, whereas he will so ends up doing the kitchen on our chore days.

Oh but I wouldn't expect you'd been switching off the boiler completely, normal people just turn off the heating element, are you aware you can leave a boiler on but not have the heating on? Its not a good idea to keep completely switching it off.

Also, I'm 34, it's only in the last 6 months I've had to pay for my actual usage of water, my brother, PIL and BIL still don't have metres so pay a flat amount regardless of how much they use.

All of it.
Dh and I moved out together at 18 and brought our own house at 21 so we had to!

At 21 yes but I left home at 16. If I'd moved out at 21 I'd have had no idea how to do any of those things. I self taught myself everything and for a while I was useless (nearly set the kitchen on fire everytime I attempted to 'cook' for example).

My mum insisted on doing everything martyr. If we tried to help it was always "oh let me do that, you don't know how". So I knew how to do nothing, not even how to put powder in a washing machine let alone turn it on.

I still don't know how to change a light bulb or how to do anything with fuses though.

I didn't do a thing in the house when I I lived with my parents, I was heavily into a sport and my mother said that and school work was enough and I actually still agree.

I moved out when I was 18 not knowing a lot. I worked it all out within minutes, it's not rocket science, lol

I could run a house from the age of 14, cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping etc. I had to because of my Mam's illness at the time, Dad worked a 60hr week and i was the eldest. DSis is now 26 and hasn't the first clue at these things.

I left home at 19 with DD1 (then 3) and loved having my own little home to care for.

Yep
Im 21 and can do all of that plus look after 2 dc 1 which has SN and make sure dinner is cooked on time.

:)

Yes, all of those things.

But I had a flatmate who couldn't do any, and they were in their thirties.

Although I suspect in that case it was less 'can't' and more 'can't be arsed because HeadlessLady is enough of a mug to pick up after me'.

I had my own house, mortgage and all the rest of it at 21 but it was a learning curve, it took a while to get things right in my head!

Although water is a null point, it's not 'paid for' here as such, just chucked in with the council tax.

Yes, could manage all of the above and was keeping my own house at 18.

I know someone who shared a flat with a young woman (22) who was from a very wealthy home. My friend worked but the woman did not have to work. The flat was a shambles with washing left dumped, dishes and pots unwashed (all the woman's stuff).
When she was asked to clean up her stuff, she was genuinely shocked and said she assumed a hired help to come in and do it.

Had my own flat at 21. It had a terrible boiler so I learned quite quickly how to bleed the air out of it and re-pressurise the system. I didn't have a washing machine but in a previous house we had a twin tub machine which meant "wash day" really was a day.

As for fuses, I grew up in a house with the old kind where you had to slot in a new piece of wire if the old one blew. Never mind these modern circuit breakers that you just flip down if it pops up.

My Dad was always very practical and I used to "help", or at least watch when he did stuff. I shall be encouraging the DTs to get their hands dirty, though at 6 I'm keeping it to "watching".

By 21 I had been running my own house for many years, ran a business and had children.

All my children can do anything in the house, they would be embarrassed not to be capable of any task.

I knew all that and more, I was married with a child by the time I was 21, and my then DH was working in Japan so it was just me and my pfb.

Just read the rest of your posts about your flatmates, OP.

Fuck buying you chocolates. If he wants to spend money instead of doing his bit round the house, he can spend it on a cleaner to benefit ALL of you.

Washing up: when their dirty dishes become unbearable, put them all in a box and ask if they'd like them in their bedrooms or in the bin. Have your own pots, pans and plates and keep them away from the flatmates.

Really of course you should be able to have a grown-up discussion about how to split household tasks, but it doesn't really sound as though they're interested in that.

*Know how to use the washing machine? Yes
*know where the fuses were? Yes
*Know how to reset the boiler? Relight it, yes
*know water has to be paid for? I'm in Scotland. It's a bit different
*Know how to wash up? Yes

I moved out at 18, renting a flat.

Sometimes I despair. At 21 I was doing my own laundry, washing and ironing. It's not like it's difficult.

These are essential life skills and I blame the parents for molly coddling their kids and not preparing them for independent living.

I'm 22 and can do all of those plus pretty much any other household things as have lived away from home for four years on and off. My mum still won't let me do the ironing at home though as she's worried I will burn myself I am rather clumsy but I get it from her!

I've had various housemates with no experience of things though. One friend's mum provided her with all her meals in little Tupperware containers for the freezer. One day she had to cook some pasta to go with the sauce her mum had provided and phoned her mum, at work, for instructions as she didn't trust me, my other housemate, the back of the packet or the Internet to give her the right instructions she also had no idea how much gas cost and our bills were quarterly so she spent the whole first quarter (Oct-Dec) expecting to be able to wear only a t shirt and have the heating on at 25 degrees or more all day.

My dc still at home of 16 and 18 know how to use the washing machine, know how to change the fuse wire in the main fuse box and yes you can still buy cards with fuse wire on them, reset our boiler and are practical enough to Google how to do a different one too, they know I pay an annual charge for water rates they also do a share of the washing up.

Someone upthread mentioned about washing up under running water, I have never done this we have always filled the sink but eldest has come back from uni for the holidays with this habit?

I could do all of those things bar the boiler, mainly because when I still lived with my parents my dad wouldn't let anyone touch the thing, and when I moved out at 21 we couldn't afford hot running water in our flat so didn't even have ours on.
I still have no fucking clue about boilers now, DP has written me a set of instructions that sit in the airing cupboard in case something happens when he's at work

I don't know how to mess about with fuses either, but I know how to tell if one has blown and I need to ring my dad/DP for assistance!

That said, my 23yo sister probably doesn't have a clue about most things. She lives at home still, and while she does her own washing I don't think she contributes to anything else so has no idea about bills/how much things cost. Much like RubyTuesdays housemate, she expects to have the heating on while she's wearing flimsy floaty clothes instead of jumpering up!

I really think that the economic climate meaning increasing numbers of people can't afford to move out until mid-twenties means that a lot of younger people just don't learn these things as there's no obvious "need" to - they're still in their parents' house, and their parents deal with the stuff the same way they would if the kids weren't there, iyswim. If my sister moved out, she'd have to learn this stuff the same way I did.

I could do everything around the house at 21! I'd been living away from home for 3 years by that point but had done most domestic chores from a fairly young age.

I bought my first house at 22 so I'm pretty certain I knew all those things then.

yes I moved out of home at 16, living with a friend until 18 then off to uni and then met now xh and moved in with him.

M 16yr old an wash up, just about use the machine but only one cycle, I oubt I he knows how to reset the boiler or the fuses though.

I had my own house at 21 so all of those and a lot more.