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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband hangs up call when I ask him to do his basic chores. Am I asking too much?!

197 replies

Biosblbay · 12/11/2025 19:39

been with my husband 10 years, married 1, had a house and two children aged 3 and a baby 4 months old. I am on maternity leave but of course I do absolutely everything from when the kids wake up to when they go to bed, this includes most night duties with the baby, feeding the kids, washing bottle constantly, and also food shopping, appointments, arranging dates out, arranging seeing family, remembering to flea dogs, feed dogs, never ending laundry, all house work which is pretty much daily like dishwasher 2 times a day, hoovering, mopping etc and occasionally do breakfasts and lunches for my husband if I get the time. On top of this I am I committee member for my sons nursery to arrange fundraising so at the moment I am doing this for Christmas. This doesn’t include me trying to do things for myself, bath, do my hair which takes me forever, go gym, squeeze a day a month to see a friend but my husbands duties are work, get home, maybe work some more, pick up dog poos in garden, change gas bottles once’s every 2/3 months, bins, pay bills and anything DIY. Please bear in mind I also will be going back to work full time (38 hours per week) but currently on maternity leave, but I do contribute to bills and food shopping so I’m not exactly a stay at home mum.

My husband is on his way home and I feel like I need other people to tell him that it is not acceptable to hang up on me when I remind him to pick up the dog poos that haven’t been done in about 5 days. My mum lives in the annexe at the back on our garden and comes over most days to help me while I pick my son up from pre school so I don’t have to take the baby and she told me today that the poos are really bad and she had to dodge them.

my husbands excuse is that it’s too dark to do it when he gets home or too tired which I think is a very poor excuse, so a few weeks back I actually bought him a nice warm hat with a very bright light so he can’t blame the dark anymore.

durning the phone call I had to explain to him why he needs to do it today for him to say he will do it in the morning… my husband tends to do this very often when he says “I’ll do it tomorrow” and 9/10 doesn’t get done to be left another day. Because of this I have to go on and on quite a bit to which it ends up me moaning and over explaining to which ends up in a row then he either gets nasty, shouts, or as it is on the phone, hang up.

I think he is very unreasonable and very nasty at times not realising that me asking for the bear minimum isn’t a bad thing, I just want him to be able to do dog poos and bins every day without me having to ask but when I do it always ends up in an argument.

Can anyone please explain to my husband that I am not being unreasonable here! It is driving me crazy!! Yes he works, yes he is stressed but he forgets when I go back to work in a few months I have to work and do everything else!!

OP posts:
Nanny0gg · 13/11/2025 20:08

amber763 · 12/11/2025 19:50

Why are the dogs poos not being picked up after he does them? Id hate that! Also feel its unfair that is one person's job!

Well he does bugger-all else!

Luckyingame · 13/11/2025 21:58

Lots of different points of view.

It IS too dark to pick up dogs' mess in the evening. Why is this designated to him only?
Husband presumably keeps a family of four/five?
afloat at the moment.
Presumably this setup was mutually agreed before another baby.
Hard life in general, admittedly, presumably
an adult choice. (Which I would never make).

So I voted YABU.

Bungle2168 · 13/11/2025 22:38

The guy is on his way home from work and the first thing you ask him to do is remove dog turds? Charming.

Reading you post, I am uncertain whether to r issue is your husband not pulling his weight, or the fact that you seem to have bitten off more than you can chew and are spreading yourself too thinly.

I mean, do you really need to help out at the nursery? Of course not. You do not need the dogs, either.

TLDR: you have made yourself a martyr.

Hopingtobeaparent · 14/11/2025 13:39

Fitzcarraldo353 · 12/11/2025 19:55

I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. He needs to be doing way more at home. This one chore doesn't work in the dark so is better done in the day by you but he needs to pick up lots of other tasks - sorting kids breakfast, doing bed/bath time, laundry etc.

This!! You both need to sit down and have a proper adult chat about the division of labour…. You are doing way too much!!

Ariel896 · 14/11/2025 14:29

didntlikeanyofthesuggestions · 12/11/2025 19:52

Is it definitely the dog? Maybe he's worried you're having an affair and this is the other guys poo? I can see why he wouldn't want to pick that up.

😂😂😂😂 this has got to be the answer!

CameltoeParkerBowles · 15/11/2025 08:48

didntlikeanyofthesuggestions · 12/11/2025 19:52

Is it definitely the dog? Maybe he's worried you're having an affair and this is the other guys poo? I can see why he wouldn't want to pick that up.

Yes, that'll be it. The OP is almost certainly shagging some bloke who takes a post-coital shit in the garden every day, possibly as some kind of territory marker. Poor husband - what a fucking life...

Sunshineandgrapefruit · 15/11/2025 10:47

Tell him he needs to step up or the dogs go.

ruethewhirl · 15/11/2025 19:10

Bungle2168 · 13/11/2025 22:38

The guy is on his way home from work and the first thing you ask him to do is remove dog turds? Charming.

Reading you post, I am uncertain whether to r issue is your husband not pulling his weight, or the fact that you seem to have bitten off more than you can chew and are spreading yourself too thinly.

I mean, do you really need to help out at the nursery? Of course not. You do not need the dogs, either.

TLDR: you have made yourself a martyr.

OP has been changing nappies all day and he expects her to pick up the dog turds as well? That’s not so charming either.

Soontobe60 · 15/11/2025 19:26

Your ‘chores’
this includes most night duties with the baby, feeding the kids, washing bottle constantly, and also food shopping, appointments, arranging dates out, arranging seeing family, remembering to flea dogs, feed dogs, never ending laundry, all house work which is pretty much daily like dishwasher 2 times a day, hoovering, mopping etc and occasionally do breakfasts and lunches for my husband if I get the time. On top of this I am I committee member for my sons nursery to arrange fundraising so at the moment I am doing this for Christmas. This doesn’t include me trying to do things for myself, bath, do my hair which takes me forever, go gym, squeeze a day a month to see a friend

His ‘chores’
work, get home, maybe work some more, pick up dog poos in garden, change gas bottles once’s every 2/3 months, bins, pay bills and anything DIY.

In reality, the following are not ‘chores’.
appointments, arranging dates out, arranging seeing family, remembering to flea dogs,

And these are things you’re choosing to do
breakfasts and lunches for my husband if I get the time. committee member for my sons nursery to arrange fundraising so at the moment I am doing this for Christmas, do my hair which takes me forever, go gym, squeeze a day a month to see a friend.

Plus your Dm lives with you and helps out. Maybe she could help DH by picking up the poos!!!

fruitbrewhaha · 15/11/2025 20:42

HearMeOutt · 13/11/2025 16:54

I agree. And in my experience the ones who say ‘I had it all nailed and it was easy’ have low standards; a messy house, UPF food and a dog that isn’t walked as much as it should be. Or it’s a classic case of it being so long ago they can’t recall the day to day calamities so ‘I must’ve done it all fine’

Second one maybe. They are teenagers. I definitely had a tidy house and cooked everything from scratch and had walked dog. I’m not a sloven.

Or maybe because they were like clockwork in a routine and napped well. But I truly don’t remember if being a shit show to get stuff done and found it more chilled than teenagers.

Golden407 · 23/11/2025 23:04

Comtesse · 13/11/2025 08:36

Yes he should be doing about 50% - she is on maternity leave not “doing the housework” leave.

So he should be doing the same amount of work she does in the home, plus working a full time job?

Biosblbay · 24/11/2025 09:48

OP HERE AND AN UPDATE BECAUSE I WAS NOT EXPECTING SO MANY RESPONSES AND THEY ARE STILL COMING THROUGH.

I have taken on dog poo duty so I can do this in the day when baby is asleep and my son is in pre school, he is now doing a load of washing when he gets home from work. Although housework is still about 70/30, I don’t mind so much now I don’t have to keep asking him to do it. Seems to be working well, let’s just hope he doesn’t let the washing pile up. Fingers crossed!

OP posts:
MenoCoach · 24/11/2025 09:53

usedtobeaylis · 12/11/2025 19:55

Why the fuck is the suggestion that she adds it to her never ending list of EVERYTHING ELSE? YANBU unreasonable OP, not by a long shot.

Strongly agree with this, OP it's obvious your DH is lazy and isn't helping round the house at all. In this situation I'd swap the dog poo responsibility- do it yourself while it's light (it's just easier in the end to do before it stacks up and wandering round in the dark is objectively harder). Then in return, hand off a bunch of other stuff to him to do instead. Don't discuss it or ask him, just tell him it's happening.

I think it's pathetic of him tbh, you're having to feel like a mum nagging a lazy teen to do the bare minimum.

Edited to add, nice one OP, let's hope he keeps it up!

Biosblbay · 15/12/2025 10:01

@MenoCoach so I have religiously been picking up dog poo and unfortunately have ended up doing the laundry as well as he wasn’t getting it done and my two children had no clean clothes and he had no pants or socks and kept asking me “where’s my pants and socks”. I did explain to him that he needs to keep on top of it because it’s no longer down to me to keep reminding you but it’s now just ended up me doing it anyway because I’m sick of having to remind him.

WHAT DO I DO NOW IN THIS SITUATION??!! 😩😩x

OP posts:
Aimtodobetter · 15/12/2025 10:06

Stop doing anything for him at the bare minimum. No laundry, no cooking etc that is for him. Don’t hoover his side of the bedroom. If there are spaces just he uses let them get mucky. Oh - and suggest rehoming the dog if you’re not already attached.

Agapornis · 15/12/2025 10:07

Ltb

Tillow4ever · 15/12/2025 11:27

If you aren’t prepared to leave him over this (why wouldn’t you though - he’s creating more work for you, not helping) I would do NOTHING of his. So do laundry but leave his clothes. If you’re washing up, leave his stuff. Don’t tidy anything of his away. If he’s not home at the same time as the rest of you for dinner, don’t make him any. When he starts complaining, remind him that the laundry was the job he agreed to do instead of the dog shit.

Nanny0gg · 15/12/2025 11:39

I'd never leave laundry to my DH because he'd have no clue as to what would be needed when. (that's my DH. YMMV)

Is there nothing else he can do that's part of life? Clearing the kitchen? General housework?

What on earth will he be like when you return to work?

99bottlesofkombucha · 15/12/2025 13:05

Biosblbay · 15/12/2025 10:01

@MenoCoach so I have religiously been picking up dog poo and unfortunately have ended up doing the laundry as well as he wasn’t getting it done and my two children had no clean clothes and he had no pants or socks and kept asking me “where’s my pants and socks”. I did explain to him that he needs to keep on top of it because it’s no longer down to me to keep reminding you but it’s now just ended up me doing it anyway because I’m sick of having to remind him.

WHAT DO I DO NOW IN THIS SITUATION??!! 😩😩x

I suggest telling him to come out to the porch, where you hold some of his underpants and a lighter, and you set them on fire. You say I don’t want to live in a house filled with stinky pants, and I don’t want to be married to a toddler, so here’s what I’m going to do. Every night you haven’t done some washing, if it’s piling up, I will burn one of your socks or undies. At least this way I will gradually be reducing the pile while keeping my promise to myself to absolutely not treat you like one of my kids and catch up with your washing because you are just so fucking lazy.

TreeDudette · 15/12/2025 13:09

Leave all of your DHs washing for him to do. If he leaves a wet towel on the floor put it on his side of the bed. Don't restock his toiletries or pick up his socks or anything that you do just for him. Tell him that you will be doing this because he clearly won't do anything to contribute to the house work for the joint house and family that you have together. Then call a divorce lawyer as this is no way to live and it is far easier to do it all alone without the burning ball of resentment in your stomach!

OhamIreally · 15/12/2025 13:51

Don’t buy or cook any food for him either. Actually just leave him.

AgDulAmach · 15/12/2025 13:57

When my DH got like this, the only thing that worked was to say I was divorcing him. I meant it. He finally saw the light, went to counselling and completely changed. Ten years later he does so much that yesterday I actually told him I'd be really annoyed if he changed our bed as I was planning to do it and he kept doing jobs before I could get to them (nice complaint to have, I know!).

At the moment he doesn't give a shit about you and how you're feeling. The fact that he actually asked you where his pants and socks were boggles my mind - does he think you're his mother???

TheSandgroper · 15/12/2025 14:03

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/she-divorced-me-i-left-dishes-by-the-sink_b_9055288

I bet he doesn’t treat his boss like he treats you. Respect. The word you are looking for is respect. However, the word you are receiving is insult.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_kXIGvB1uU

WelshRabBite · 15/12/2025 14:08

Do a list of everything that you do and everything that he does on it.

Put “bring in an income” as line 1 for both of you.

Show him the list and ask if he would be happy if you guys swapped. And you did everything on his list and he did what’s on yours, and if not, why not?

He’ll probably say “but I work”, yet men who use the “I’m the provider” argument are failures.

  1. because you also provide whilst doing the bulk of all other chores
  2. if that’s his only contribution to the family, what if he gets made redundant? Does he become worthless? What if he’s sick and can’t work?
  3. Why doesn’t he contribute more in the evenings or at the weekends when he’s not working?
  4. If he takes a week off work, does he immediately do all the things that you usually do? If not, why not? If “work” is the only thing stopping him from being an equal partner and parent, why doesn’t he automatically pitch into those roles when he’s not at work?

He’s acting like an entitled arsehole and he either steps up or you should leave him. Your life will be easier if you do and his will be harder; ask him if that’s what he wants? But you need to stick with your boundaries and if he doesn’t change, then divorce ASAP or prepare to spend the rest of your life being his mother.

Tryingatleast · 15/12/2025 14:12

Get him to do more around the house and you do the dog poos instead. I’m the only one to do dog poos and it’s bloody miserable!!

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