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I'm sick of running the 24hr "Corona Cafe" !

357 replies

Pebbles574 · 06/02/2021 16:39

DH and two young adult DSs at home and I am just TOTALLY fed up with all the food shopping (online), delivery & putting away, stocking, checking and constantly restocking the fridge, freezer and larder and the ENDLESS meals, snacks, cups of tea and coffee etc etc.

We take it in turns to cook dinner, but the mental load is still mine ("what shall I cook"/ "I don't know what to make"/ "how do a defrost XYZ" etc).

Also, I have a food intolerance which means that I can't eat a lot of ready meal type food (including soups and pasta sauces) so I tend to make stuff from scratch for me. But I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS!
So for example today I made a huge batch of bacon, tomato and lentil soup which I thought would see me well into next week for lunches.
I said there was a small bowl each for lunch today, but to leave the rest to cool.
Then I came downstairs to find them all having massive bowls and seconds, emptying the pan and finishing off the loaf of bread which only just arrived this morning!

And it’s a constant round of nagging to get people to load and empty the dishwasher, and anything that needs handwashing just gets left on the side.

I really am totally fed up!

Anyone else want to rant too?

OP posts:
HerselfIndoors · 06/02/2021 21:33

Oh god yes OP, Corona Cafe is so right!

I don't have an OH (which is a big plus as if I was still with ex he would definitely have added to the stress, not relieved it). But I feel like I'm constantly catering for my snack monster DC, and the cats who follow me around the house whining because whenever I move they think I've got up to feed them.

The extra shopping, unpacking, menu planning, cooking, tidying, and the piles of dishes... urgh. It's not just that it's hard to work from home with everyone around, the work time is also massively reduced.

I am better with evening meals but I'm SO BORED of trying to think what to make for lunch every day.

Porridgeoat · 06/02/2021 21:33

Personally I’d let them organise the meals start to finish. Don’t get involved or save the day. Stop the online shop and only shop for your days. They can shop for their days.

HerselfIndoors · 06/02/2021 21:35

Oh and about allowing it to happen, I do train them, my teen cooks and brings me cups of tea, they have housework jobs. But there's just such a lot of extra stuff that needs doing.

Porridgeoat · 06/02/2021 21:40

One person cooks. Over tea discuss and agree clearing up jobs for everyone. Two people clear the table, loading the dishwasher and washing up, drying pans. Last person empties the dishwasher. Turn the wifi off if people don’t comply.

TatianaBis · 06/02/2021 21:44

I am better with evening meals but I'm SO BORED of trying to think what to make for lunch every day.

Why are you making two meals?

Our fridge is stocked with ‘get your own’ lunch foods - cold meats, cheeses, salads, soups, boxes of ready made couscous salad, potato salad, ready made packs of rice/lentils/quinoa, taramasalata, hummus, tinned tuna, tinned beans, quick cook pasta, bread etc - then everyone helps themselves.

Then there’s meal a day that actually needs cooking.

CheddarGorgeous · 06/02/2021 21:45

I just asked my slightly deaf DH if he remained grateful for my vagina and he asked Alexa to put grapefruit on the shopping list.

Defenbaker · 06/02/2021 21:45

Good grief - not even a humble brag just an all out boast ! You sound unbearably smug and totally insensitive

@Mydogmylife Agreed. Hell of a Bore doesn't seem to have managed the art of the stealth brag. Never mind.

ssd · 06/02/2021 21:52

It's the being the only one who notices when we've run out of something. Or being the only one who actually writes on the list on the fridge door when we run out of something.

Or the rare time dh goes to a supermarket to get some fancy ingredients for something hes decided to make...and doesn't look in the fridge etc before he goes so doesn't actually get anything we need apart from his sesame oil or fresh coriander...and we've no milk or bread etc and when I challenge him he says oh you didnt tell me..Angry

ssd · 06/02/2021 21:58

So saying that hes a bloody great cook now so I cant moan. It's just the never ending shopping that does me in.

ImnotCarolineHirons · 06/02/2021 22:04

YABVVU to expect a "small bowl of soup" to satisfy that age of DS's. I know hollow legs syndrome very well. I'd have put soup to cater for my intolerance away just for me and let them fend for themselves.

We have a magnetic shopping pad on the fridge. Want something? Write it on the list. Not on list, not in order. Tough.

Sort yourself breakfast and lunch here. I cook an evening meal, if you don't fancy it, welcome to fix yourself a sandwich. (They never do, always eat what I've made and say thank you or it's gimlet eyes).

I buy enough snacks for the week. Go through them in 3 days, well that's a shame. There's the fruit bowl.

Whoever is last to bed at night puts stuff on side in dishwasher and puts it on to run. (Usually teens)
Whoever is first up, unloads it. And let's dog out for a pee. (Usually DH).

Fagey · 06/02/2021 22:04

@MagicSummer

The constant buying groceries, putting them away then cooking said groceries is driving me nuts! I don't have children but DH eats all day long - starting with cereal around 6am, followed by breakfast (anything from toast with beans to a full bacon/sausage/beans/toast affair), then coffee and a cake, then lunch, then 'bits' he finds around the house, then tea and maybe a hot cross bun, before a starter and finally dinner. How can anyone eat so much??? My food bill has rocketed!

What annoys me is that he does absolutely nothing to help me keep the house clean and tidy - never empties the dishwasher (I don't know where things go), has to be nagged to put the bins out (yes, it is always Thursday), to 'forgot to bring the milk in from the doorstep' although he has walked past it several times.

I would love a whole day to myself at home in a clean and tidy environment.

You live with this person?!

Why on earth do you put up with it! Please do not have children with this man-child.

HerselfIndoors · 06/02/2021 22:05

Their father used to pay the bedder to do a little extra tidying but that's not possible now.

What's a bedder? Maybe this poster was being sarcastic!

Why are you making two meals?

Our fridge is stocked with ‘get your own’ lunch foods - cold meats, cheeses, salads, soups, boxes of ready made couscous salad, potato salad, ready made packs of rice/lentils/quinoa, taramasalata, hummus, tinned tuna, tinned beans, quick cook pasta, bread etc - then everyone helps themselves.

Well that's nice, but it didn't stock itself did it? Making all that available would require shopping too, not to mention cost a lot more than making meals. And I'm not making fancy lunches, just cheese on toast and salad. They could both get their own lunch but then... the mess!

TatianaBis · 06/02/2021 22:21

Well that's nice, but it didn't stock itself did it? Making all that available would require shopping too, not to mention cost a lot more than making meals. And I'm not making fancy lunches, just cheese on toast and salad. They could both get their own lunch but then... the mess!

No it didn’t stock itself, I had to sit at the computer and do the online shop. That’s why I will not a lift a finger to do more than I have to regarding cooking. There’s a list on the fridge and they write what they want, if they don’t it will have to wait for next week.

Only children under 5 need mess cleaning up for them.

PrawnPower · 06/02/2021 22:26

All the women on this thread complaining about their children behaving this way- what would your parents have done if you had behaved like that?

If you didn't get away with it, why do they?

Smashedavacado · 06/02/2021 22:43

This was me in the first lockdown! Precisely why I was happy for our two DS (21 & 23) to go back to their uni houses at the beginning of January - the day after our family covid isolation finished. DH and I are happy on our own this time - sons send us regular pictures of their meals - they clearly don't struggle to fend for themselves when they need to!

BlackeyedSusan · 06/02/2021 22:44

You can get fridges with locks. Keep the key on you. I would refuse to cook as they ate your food.

ssd · 06/02/2021 22:45

@PrawnPower

All the women on this thread complaining about their children behaving this way- what would your parents have done if you had behaved like that?

If you didn't get away with it, why do they?

Oh I did bugger all at home too Blush
DeRigueurMortis · 06/02/2021 22:47

@templetree

Hurrah!
Thats the spirit !
Do you think it carried on for so long because you saw yourself as the default cook?
If any of mine expected a full english or muffins and poached eggs I would just laugh !

It was my fault tbh.

As I said I (normally) enjoy cooking and DH is useless (but to be clear pulls his weight overall in domestic tasks).

Through lockdown the burden of cooking, or rather tbh shopping and meal planning got a lot bigger and I just had the mindset it was my job regardless.

As I posted, a few weeks ago I realised I'd had enough and a "re-evaluation" was needed. The balance of effort that had been equal pre-COVID was not so now.

The tipping point was very similar to the OP with her soup.

I'd cooked a large (massive) cottage pie that was enough for two meals to give me a day off cooking dinner the next day. Served with tender stem broccoli in addition.

All the family fed very healthy portions. I leave it to cool before putting in the fridge and get a shower. Come back to find everyone has microwaved seconds.

The killer being they weren't actually that hungry and if they were they could have put the apple crumble and custard I'd made (that was declined as they were full) in the oven/warmed on the hob and had that - just boredom/lazy eating because "it was really nice and it was easy to microwave".

No thought for me having cooked a pudding they didn't eat and having to re-cook another meal tomorrow because that wasn't fucking easy for me Angry.

So yes, I lost my shit and said more than a few choice words and decided a change was in order.

Only regret - I should have done it sooner!

ssd · 06/02/2021 22:47

@BlackeyedSusan

You can get fridges with locks. Keep the key on you. I would refuse to cook as they ate your food.
Good grief. Who wants locks on their fridge. The op is having a moan about the family, shes not wanting to start putting locks on things.
PrawnPower · 06/02/2021 22:56

@ssd

Grin
Graphista · 06/02/2021 22:57

A rant is fine but what are you planning to do about the disrespect and laziness of the THREE men in the house who I assume - as I'm sure you'd have mentioned in op if this weren't the case - are fit and healthy at least enough that cleaning and tidying after themselves and planning and cooking meals are all things they are perfectly capable of?!

I suspect you already are kicking yourself for not addressing this many years ago, but there's no reason why it can't be now.

Time for a serious talk with them all and telling them this will not continue. That they are grown ass capable men and need to stop expecting you to be chief cook and bottle washer!

My own dad (NOT the most enlightened at the very least) wouldn't have dreamed of treating my mother or his daughters in this way. Mum did always cook and sort the shopping and meal planning BUT dad always did the dishes (which wasn't just the dishes - and no dishwasher either - but also just generally cleaning and tidying the kitchen inc wiping down all the worktops properly and sweeping and mopping the floor - every evening when he was home [army]) and while they roughly divided chores along gendered lines they certainly were pretty equal in how this worked.

I really don't understand women tolerating such entitlement and laziness. My ex tried it on when we were first married and I pulled him up on it and was backed up by my in laws who had not raised him to be entitled - far from it! He was just trying it on.

Dd who I raised alone was expected to help from a young age and by the time she was a teen was perfectly capable of doing all the basic chores needed to run a home. We divided chores fairly between us based on a number of factors including her having school as her priority and my being disabled and unable to do certain chores.

Op - I think a strategic "strike" would be very useful to you. Prep some things for you to eat (label as food they don't like so they don't take it?) and let them fend for themselves! In ordinary times I'd honestly recommend you disappear for a week or at least a long weekend having run stocks down before your departure so they HAVE to step up.

I think the suggestions of a personal fridge, warming labels and segregated food are all good ideas, you'll know what's likely to be most effective.

I also heartily agree with all the other pps saying they would NOT tolerate this and that you (plural your dh is even more responsible due to his "example" Hmm) have done yourself no favours raising them to be so entitled and selfish, they didn't become that way by themselves. I pity their future spouses/partners!

I have never done online food shopping in order to leave slots for those who really need them. off topic but thank you for this. I am disabled and housebound and at the start of lockdown it was really hard to get slots and I was seriously worried I'd end up stuck!

Op it's really inexcusable behaviour from an 18 and 21 year old, let alone your dh who must be at least what? 40 something?!

One point though on amount being consumed, teens and young adults do need more cals than adult bodies, my own dd is also very tall and slim (at least partly due to her own disability which means extra height and higher metabolism) she has to eat more than others of her stature as otherwise she would actually lose weight and she's at the lower point of healthy weight anyway. Very hard to get enough cals into her as another feature of her condition is she can't manage large meals in one go, she has to have 5-6 smaller meals spread through the day. It also affects what foods she can eat, I used to think fussiness as she wasn't dx until high school (whole other story) but once we had dx I was surprised to learn the foods she dislikes are not well tolerated by people with her condition. This includes high fat foods so it's been a real challenge finding "tricks" to get enough cals into her to maintain a healthy weight.

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 06/02/2021 23:02

Ugh yes am bored of it too OP!
But my 9 year old learnt how to make a cup of tea this week (never trusted her with a kettle til now)- that has been a game changer!
And my new dishwasher is coming next week, been without one since before Christmas so am thinking next week will be better. If it isn't DH or dd wanting to be fed, it's the bloody cat!!

AdoraBell · 06/02/2021 23:09

I broke my toe yesterday. DH asked DD to ask me if I had anything planned for dinner.

I answered - nope, there’s stuff in the fridge, he can use his brain, not mine.

They went to Tesco and bought whatever DD fancied for meals, plus ready meals. To be fair DDs do cook for themselves and suggest meals. DH on the other hand Hmm he can’t avoid food that is visible. I know this is because of his upbringing, but he can’t see it.

AdoraBell · 06/02/2021 23:12

Our new dishwasher arrived yesterday, our old one packed up in March. DH has done most of the washing up. I made a point of not doing it because I cooked.

middleager · 06/02/2021 23:18

I'm with you OP. Order a takeaway every Sat now as it's one day I don't have to plan/prep/cook/clean/re stock.

My teens have hollow legs.