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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

Dh said he wants to leave me because I'm a domestic nazi (sorry long and petty)

119 replies

AlmightyMess · 23/08/2013 10:40

Have name changed as lots of personal information here.

Dh fell out last night, then it carried on this morning.

The situation in our house is like this. We have a small shop, Dh works 6 days a week and can do long stretches without a day off. He leaves the house at 8am when he's dropping dc at school/nursery (2-3 times a week, 10 if not) and doesn't get back till almost 8 at night.

I am meant to work in the shop 2 days a week, but during the holidays I have only been in once every three weeks (childcare is too expensive).

Dh has worked incredibly hard to keep the shop going through the recession, I respect him allot for this. It has been very stressful and he has fallen in and out of depression with the weight of it all. He will not go to the doctor as he thinks he can pull himself out of it.

I do the majority of housework and childcare. I get up almost every morning with the kids at 6-6.30. I cook 6 nights a week and do all the kids meals unless I'm working. My house is not a pristine palace, I barely hold it together to get everyone out the door fed and dressed in clean clothes. I know this is how most people are so I don't expect a medal.

What I would like is a little bit of help with the housework. I'm happy to do all the washing and most of the cleaning. Dh does do general tidying and will sweep kitchen floor, hoover occasionally. He will also do DIY stuff when he has time.

I do like to go to bed knowing that the kitchen is clean for the kids getting up in the morning. I don't want it all bleached and perfect, just the dishes done (put away preferably, but not necessary), any beer bottle put away and counters to have no food on them.

I made dinner last night. We sat down together, dh asked me if I'd like to have sex that night and I said yes. I asked him if he'd tidy the kitchen and he said yes, then he called me a domestic nazi. I said that wasn't fair and he said it was a joke. He finished his meal then went next door to watch tv. I was still eating, I thought that was rude and I wondered why he wasn't cleaning up.

I then ran around getting the kids stuff ready for school. At about 10ish I asked dh if he planned on doing the kitchen as it was getting late. He asked if it needed to be done right now and I said as long as it's done before we go to bed as I hate getting up to rotting food on the counters, dishes and beer bottles.

He then went to the bedroom to wait for me. I went in and he asked why I seemed uptight. I said I can't switch off knowing I'm going to get up to that mess in the kitchen. He had a huge strop, went off to do the dishes and then wouldn't talk to me, then went to sleep on the couch.

This morning we fell out and he says I'm neurotic and uptight about everything. He said he pays all the bills and I reminded him that looking after his children is a full time job that he would have to pay someone to do it if I didn't. He said he would do the dishes but didn't want to have to live to my rules. Apparently I want everything done the way I want it, when I want it.

He shouted completely inappropriate things in front of the kids, like how he works 12 hours a day and do I want him to go kill himself. He said he was leaving but has since emailed me work to do today (that I asked for).

I am exhausted, one friend tells me I am neurotic but her dh is the same and doesn't do the housework she asks him to do. She thinks my situation is normal and I should just live with it if I want to keep a happy family.

My other friend, who I haven't told about any of these issue thinks I work too hard as I don't have any leisure time and dh takes the piss.

Sorry this is so long and sounds so petty but I really don't have any time to myself and I should be able to ask my dh to do a small bit of housework without all this anger.

Am I being petty and neurotic? Is this situation normal, do most women feel like a servant to their families?

OP posts:
TheDoctrineOfPositivityYes · 23/08/2013 15:19

Larry, after the DH got home, OP cooked and asked DH to do the dishes from that cooking. Thereby sharing the domestic load once they were both home.

saggyhairyarse · 23/08/2013 15:23

I can totally relate to this!

I am a fulltime student on a course that requires me to either be on work placement or in lectures for 40 hours a week plus studying on top of that. I am also a Company Secretary and I have 3 kids by my XH also.

My partner lived with me and I did all the cleaning and cooking. I would cook meals on the weekend to reheat in the week or have quick options for other nights.

The hours I do are over 3 or 4 days so on those days I would get up, sort the kids breakfast, make packed lunches and clear up everything (I don't want to come home to it after a 12 hour shift) and in the evening the kids would have eaten at the childminders or my BF at the time would reheat something I had previously prepared. I would then have whatever when I got in.

Herein lies the problem, 1) he would make his sandwiches or cook a huge fry up and leave all the mess there before he left for work so I would come home to mess and the house stinking like a truckers caff, 2) he would then eat after I had cleared up his breakfast things, the kids dinner things and my dinner things and, if I was not on his back, would then leave that mess which I then had to clear up before I could make the breakfast and lunches the following morning.

If I asked him to do any jobs about the house he would do them with the least effort possible an would bitch like a PMSing woman about it and then expect gratitude for weeks after.

I dumped him.

somersethouse · 23/08/2013 15:29

saggy with all due respect to the OP's DH, I don't think he sounds like your exh.

AlmightyMess · 23/08/2013 15:30

Okay, so I need to go get on with things now, instead of MN, much as it's good to be back on.

I'm going to take all of what you have said and try and work on my daytime routine. I am going to talk to dh and try and work out a structure in which he does a very small amount of house work, cooking once a week (on his day off) and dishes 2 or 3 times a week. I will happily help him, or I can use that time to get the kids things ready for the next day. The kitchen is tiny, so It's not easy for us both to be in the small space at the same time.

I respect the work he does and we love each other, I don't see why this has become such an issue. He thinks I'm a good mother and I know he appreciates me cooking for him.

Thank you all for your input, I know it's been a petty topic.

OP posts:
cheerfulweatherforthewedding · 23/08/2013 15:30

I think you need to divide the chores more fairly and equally, with you spending more time in the shop and your husband spending more time with the children and the housework.

Perhaps then, if needed, you'll both have a little more empathy and understanding. for each other.

larrygrylls · 23/08/2013 15:31

And nor does the OP have anything likr the same schedule as Saggy, but never let completely different circumstances allow someone to make a (poor) comparison...

TheDoctrineOfPositivityYes · 23/08/2013 15:33

That sounds like a good idea OP - to agree some set tasks.

Tiredemma · 23/08/2013 15:33

do people really ask each other if they would like to have sex that night?

AlmightyMess · 23/08/2013 15:35

No Saggy, the life you were living is not comparible, you are wonder woman compared to me.

OP posts:
AnotherStitchInTime · 23/08/2013 15:36

I agree with you that it is not too much for him to do the dishes a few times a week.

My DH works in a very physical job, but still comes home and manages to wash up after dinner a few nights a week. Sometimes we do it together to make it faster. If we want time together then I do it in the morning.

I think you both need to be more flexible and understanding of one another's needs.

He needs to step up and wash up a few times a week, you work hard too. You both eat the meal, he is not expected to do much else around the house, it would take 10 minutes then he could relax.

I think that last night you could have let it go. He wanted to spend time and be intimate with you. It is important to make time for that as it will keep your relationship healthy (even if sex is not involved).

I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old at home all day, I know it makes life easier and the kitchen is nicer if the dishes are done the night before, but sometimes I do it in the morning and sometimes it gets left until the toddler naps after lunch so that we can get out in the morning. Just scrape the plates, empty the bottles, pile it up and work around it.

Life is too short to get wound up about the little things. When we get old we won't remember the time we left the kitchen dirty for a night. We will remember the time we spent with our loved ones.

WorrySighWorrySigh · 23/08/2013 15:38

I dont think you are a domestic nazi but I do think you are a domestic martyr. Why is there food rotting on the counters? Why dont you tidy as you go? It sounds to me like you are deliberately making a mess to show how hard you are working.

You only have two not exactly tiny children to look after. Yes there is laundry to do but I am guessing you have a washing machine, it is not as though you have to go down to the river and beat it on rocks. One of your DCs is at school 5 days per week. So you are only looking after/tidying up after the one DC during the day. You do seem to be making very heavy weather of your role.

Meringue33 · 23/08/2013 15:39

Dishes have to be done before you go to bed, it's just gross otherwise.

I always thought that one person cooked and the other did the dishes.

But try and get a dishwasher by hook or by crook - it will change your life!

WorrySighWorrySigh · 23/08/2013 15:40

Sorry x-posted with your latest reply

Elsiequadrille · 23/08/2013 15:41

I absolutely agree with Worrysigh

Elsiequadrille · 23/08/2013 15:42

Yes, and dishwasher. It will make life much easier.

fuzzywuzzy · 23/08/2013 15:50

I hate having rotting food left out and dirty dishes over night, it's just asking for mice.

I always clean the kitchen before bed too, wash all dishes sweep the floor and wipe down worktops, all waste in the bin, leftovers covered and in the fridge.

YANBU, as you DH offered to do the dishes, what exactly was his personal timeline for it, a month or so?

fuzzywuzzy · 23/08/2013 15:51

didn't this incident occur during the summer holidays tho, so a lot more child generated chaos.

VenusRising · 23/08/2013 15:53

You know, I've heard that most couples argue about dishes than any other thing.

You really must get a dishwasher. A secondhand one and look up YouTube on how to fix it in. Put it the bathroom if the kitchen is a wrong shape.

You also might need to get another job outside the workshop/ shop. I know I would!

And as someone said, you need to thrash this out: no blaming, no "You never, I always" conversations. Just say when the dishes are left out, I feel.....

I also second the batch cooking and freezing: We cook three dinners a week. Two on Sundays and they're frozen in portions and microwaved, and served with salad, or veg. My DH cooks once a week on Friday (omelettes using up all veg and bits and blobs from the fridge) to give me some time.

We cook together on the weekends, me planning (recipe selection/ menu planning etc and shopping) and him doing what I tell him sous cheffing with the DC (stirring and rinsing and some chopping), and freeze the results.

Good luck.

VenusRising · 23/08/2013 15:56

Oh and don't underestimate that you both may be depressed.
I would also address this issue by both of you visiting the GP.

wordfactory · 23/08/2013 15:57

fuzzy it says in the OP that she spent her time after dinner running ariund getting the kids things ready for school. So not holidays.

I'm also wondering what these things for school might be, OP, out of interest.

valiumredhead · 23/08/2013 16:01

Oh yes put a dishwasher in the bathroom, that won't create extra work will it?Grin

somersethouse · 23/08/2013 16:10

word I was thinking the same thing about school and getting things ready - it takes me 5 minutes in the morning. Maybe 10, while DD eats her breakfast.

I understand if there were lots of DC's but there is one DC at school.

I don't want to be harsh OP but I think you are over complicating. Smile

Ragwort · 23/08/2013 16:14

But what are you doing when you say you 'honestly don't stop all day'? Genuine question, I am not trying to be sarky. On the day you are not in the shop or the workshop I don't understand how you can be busy every single minute with just one child at home?

I am a SAHM and my life is a piece of cake compared to my DH's (I don't have staff but I do have a dishwasher Wink.)

clam · 23/08/2013 16:20

A dishwasher won't solve the issue - it still needs loading and unloading. And sometimes you still have to hand wash saucepans or casserole dishes.

This is not about who does the washing up ( and how much DIY can there possibly be to do every week in a small house by the way?) It's about each of you feeling valued, or not, about what you do each day for the benefit of your family unit.

Offred · 23/08/2013 16:22

I don't think it is petty at all, not the actual issues even if it is a fight provoked by something that seems trivial.

How I am reading it is that the op has given up her life to basically help her dh keep his shop. A shop which is not making money and draining all his energy. He seems to think he is entitled to sit on his arse when there is still family work to be done because he is being paid (not that much) and she isn't despite her also working in the shop larry she is not a SAHM and retraining, giving up the chance to work outside the home or pursue her own career because he wants to chase his dream. He is sacrificing the whole family for it and what she wants is for him to wash the dishes before he sits on his arse and watches her finish her jobs which she started before he got up...

Honestly, I really think this is about the anti-women prejudices which both force or socialise women to accept this lower status role and then abuse them while they fulfil it.

I agree that the right course of action is either splitting home/family life more equally or getting rid of the shop and both getting jobs.

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