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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Have you ever instigated on an MN style domestic strike? Did it end well?

39 replies

NotAnotherNewNappy · 12/12/2011 22:18

"D"H has royally pissed me off this weekend. His stupid words and thoughtless actions have left me with the impression he has very little appreciation for the work I do to around the home or empathy for how tough it is to be at home with 2 preschoolets then up every 2-3 hrs during the night with a BF baby.

Tomorrow I feel like separating our laundry baskets and only cooking and shopping for me and the DC. However, I can't imagine taking this stance will end well in the long run.

OP posts:
Spuddybean · 14/12/2011 19:21

Well, yes i agree, which is why i have had to drop my standards and just do the parts i want to do. And not sweat the piles of clothes/shoes in the middle of the floor.

When we were first together i was made redundant after a month, i was unemployed for a year then got part time temp work. He paid all the bills and i was at home so i did everything - as my contribution.

However, i have been in full time work since August and now the house is a right mess. I resent doing it all so have come to a decision inside my head of what i will do - and told him what i think is fair.

He works really long hours and travels a lot - so i do feel bad for him as he is knackered most of the time. But part of it is also that he just doesn't care. He doesn't 'expect' me to do things for him - in the way that he would never say 'where's my shirt/pants etc'.

He also will go to visit his parents or away with the TA for weekends, so all the mess that has built up in the week which has been left for the weekend gets done by me - or not, and then another week of mess layers on the top.

Also he is doing a distance Masters course, but of course all of his travel, ta, and studying is only possible because i keep everything else ticking over. And just as his free time is precious to him so is mine and i would like to spend it painting, reading etc rather than 2 days per week cooking and cleaning!

So now i just step over his mess or put it in his study.

I will never change him so it is a compromise or leave. I am at peace with my compromise :)

NOW! if he was like my dad who does absolutely fuck all, retired and home all day and shouts at my full time working mum that cleaning is her responsibility then i certainly wouldn't put up with it.

Sorry for the long post, i'm rambling (i've got concussion after an accident so my thoughts are a bit scattered). But what i mean is it's acceptable to me because there is no expectation from him that i should do it. IYSWIM

ChablisLover · 14/12/2011 19:31

Spuddy your dh sounds like mine except pots and pans are cleaned but not cutlery. That is when he bothers his arse. If I have run out of tea spoons they will be on his office still in the manly yoghurt pots.

But apparently as I only work part time 30 hours a week it's still my responsibility! He after all takes ds to school so I can go to work at 7 and be home by three thirty. If I left ds to school wouldn't be home till after 6 and even more stress would kick in.

I tried a strike but dh never noticed!!'

Could really start a rant but will leave it for another day

pregnantpause · 14/12/2011 19:47

Worked for me. dh realised straight away and picked up the slack, he then got me flowers as he thought i 2was Ill! I explained that i was striking and he was mortified that id been doing it all and he hadnt noticed. It just hadnt occured to himfor that i was doing all the housework as he didnt See me doing it. It was just done. Out of sight out of mind. I found out that if i do nothing at all dh doesnt mind. He will do it- without complaint, when he gets home. As long as the dc are cared for hes happy.

rotool · 14/12/2011 20:14

My DP does nothing,no cooking,washing, ironing,shopping...nothing.
I tried striking but all he did was complain and be nasty to me and I decided it wasn't fair on ds's so gave in to a degree. I haven't ironed his shirts and when he said to me " are not ironing my shirts now" ? I said "er,not today" !
I work p/t,he works f/t I do all childcare and I do think he should pull his weight but he doesn't. You know when you first meet someone and fall in love and you do everything and more to please them? that was me and now he just expects it. What can you do?

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 14/12/2011 20:21

You could leave him

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 14/12/2011 20:22

I mean, what would change ? You do everything now and he would still have to contribute financially

win/win

rotool · 14/12/2011 20:26

I would love to leave him but he is a total cntrl freak and he would make it so hard. I have no money and no family to go too,don't think I haven't thought about...everyday!

fivegomadindorset · 14/12/2011 20:26

A couple of times.

Once at college, agrremet was I would cook and do the shopping, the boys I shared with would do the washing up. Needless to say they forgot to do the washing up so they didn't get fed.

DH's clothes all went into bin liners once.

DH now oes a huge amount of the household chores.

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 14/12/2011 20:31

I am very, very sorry to hear that you feel you are trapped rotool Sad

MabliD · 14/12/2011 20:34

I left a washing basket of DH's clean clothes out after getting sick to the back teeth of putting them away. After six weeks of them being on the floor I put them on top of the wardrobe. Six months later he noticed. They were a little dusty. He is slightly less crap about putting them away now, but not much.

Broodzilla · 14/12/2011 20:42

a few years ago, I stopped cleaning the bath because I figured out DH clearly thought that we had one of those magical self cleaning baths (disclaimer: we hardly ever have an actual bath, both of us shower daily)... After a disgustingly long time, DH told me he really fancied a bath, but it was too grubby. I innocently asked "well why don't you give it a scrub?" but he just shrugged and said "it's ok, I'll just shower instead!"

I went and scrubbed it straight after his shower and had a lovely long bath. I did give up on strikes though: our standards are just too different.

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 14/12/2011 20:54

what a waste of effort

NotAnotherNewNappy · 14/12/2011 23:40

Well it is day two of the great sandwich strike here and the bread still shows no signs of being tampered with. DH has come home for lunch both days so has not succumbed to the lure of the chippie, yet.

I am aware I have made him sound like a twat but he does have many redeeming qualities so I doubt I shall be leaving the bastard. The child free time was hard won as we were on a visit to the PIL and I had forced encouraged him to ask them to babysit.

He complained we didn't need to buy coffee as they have a fancy machine. I trust I do not need to explain to you the difference in drinking coffee alone in a cafe with a newspaper versus at home with a baby and toddler?

He's not normally so tight, we're in the process of buying a house and he's panicing about money.

OP posts:
brandrethmupp · 15/12/2011 19:32

I'm sorry to hear about your situation rotool.

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