Yes, they don't see the same things we do. Love mine dearly also, but sometimes I just internally go "Hmmm".

They sure don't see things the same way. My husband is OCD and everything is neat and every thing has a specific place. It can be as dirty as heck, but its neat and in its place. I just retired, but when I was working he use to clean the kitchen floor. This past Easter I was missing a magnetic bunny head I had on my dishwasher when I went to pack up Easter. About a month and a half after Easter I decided to wash the floor myself. I found the bunny head under the rug in front of the sink. He never ever moved the rug to mop. Yep, Hmmm

I have realized I have to "go with it" when he gets in a cleaning mood like when we are expecting company, even if what he is working on isn't my priority. I'll take any cleaning I don't have to do.

I don't think my DH has ever run the vacuum or used the Swiffers, but he does do the bathrooms, goes through the junk mail, cleans up after dinner (we both do this), and is good with laundry.

My husband changes lightbulbs, does the garbage and takes the spiders outside. , Please dear, don't do anything else.

Oh my! ;-)

Being a DH, I'll have to watch from the sidelines on this one! Grabbing some popcorn first.... :-)

Faron

I'm married to Messy Marvin. He doesn't do housework unless I specifically ask, which I don't. He works way more than I do, so I'm OK with that. But dang, son, try to keep the clutter a *little* confined, huh?

This is so funny. I dearly love my DH, but his “I cleaned the whole house today” consists only of running the vacuum on the 2 area rugs and one bedroom rug, mopping the tile entry floor, straightening the kitchen and cleaning the counters, and dusting the coffee table. That’s it. Then he awaits the parade.

My husband used to think helping me get ready for a party was to change the air filters, clean out his closet, and change the oil in the lawn mower. Things which make big messes.

lol, I always thought that same thing about myself - my house is tidy and neat, but not all that CLEAN if you really look!

Me, too, Schoolhouse! LOL

When my DH helps me clean house, he always asks what I want him to do. And then he does a much better job than I do!

OTOH, almost everything he sets down will stay where it lands until I move it or bug him to move it. Mail on the kitchen counter, stuff on the coffee table, etc.

Donna

Then he awaits the parade. (deeinohio)

LOL! *wipes coffee from computer screen*

Bumblebeez, you described my DH exactly! Ugh.

Love mine dearly too, but . . . although he’s a fantastic cook himself, whenever he volunteers to make a meal I can’t help but inwardly cringe. I can’t relax because, while he does create truly delicious meals, he also creates a MAJOR mess throughout the entire kitchen! Cleaning up as he goes, reusing a utensil, skillet, bowl or cutting board, loading dirty things into the dishwasher, just is not in his DNA. And so, I have two choices: be there dodging around him as he cooks, cleaning up after him, or resign myself to the fact that after dinner I’m going to have to spend the next hour cleaning my kitchen that looks like a bomb went off in it.

I can relate! I had a rough week last week. After all my stuff was done on Thursday night DH suggested that I go to Costco on Friday and pick up a pork butt so he could cook for "us". My treat for a long week is to go to Costco the Friday before Thanksgiving so I can get pork (which is not my favorite)? I don't think so :)

I remember my father being very proud of himself and announcing to my mother "I emptied your dishwasher and cleaned your kitchen for you." This was the early 1970s and my mother had always worked full-time outside the house. I thought she was going to blow a gasket. She strongly reminded him that the dishwasher and kitchen were not hers alone and suggested that sort of activity was simply part of contributing to the well-being of the entire household.

I feel pretty fortunate that the only thing I have to say is that I need some help and my DH will usually step up. He vacuums while I do other things, but sometimes, he will also get distracted and do stuff that is completely off track from what needs doing. I don’t even say anything anymore, as long as he’s not relaxing and watching me work alone, I’m good.

"Hey husband, why is that half-eaten, crumpled, linty piece of cellophane-wrapped cheese sitting on our dresser?"

"I cleaned out my pajama pockets."

(And no, we don't have kids.)

My husband is obsessed with sticks in the yard. I fully expect to see him outside Thursday morning, patrolling for sticks.

When I'm cooking and he offers help, my response is usually go sit in the green chair. It's on the other side of the kitchen, out of my work space. We can see each other and talk but he can't get in my way. He has a knack for standing in front of whatever cabinet or drawer I need next.

When we first married and he thought he was helping, he'd put things back in the fridge or pantry. But sometimes I wasn't finished using it and would turn around and say "what happened to the (whatever)?" Now he waits until I say "this can be put away."

I'm lucky. My partner was trained well by his mother so he can do most any household task. We don't work together well, however, because we both have certain ways we like to work, so we split the list of chores. If I'm really trying to move fast to get a bunch of things done, like for a party, I send him to the store. That gets him out of my way for at least 90 minutes.

I'm sheepishly laughing, A LOT here! Why?! Because it seems like you're all writing about me?! ;-)

Faron

Yes, thank him profusely. At least he is on the right track and with some gentle guidance he has shown that he is capable of more useful jobs! He has the will, don't kill it!!!

DH vacuums. I am just so thrilled to never, ever have to do that chore I try very hard to ignore his Every Flat Surface Is A Great Spot To Put Stuff habit.

You are all too funny! Why do many men think they should be given a medal for doing basic household tasks? I too have been known to send him on errands just to get him out of my way.

Today when I got home he announced that he'd clean the bathroom floor and the hardwood floor in the living room. Good man! And to be fair to him, he will be doing most of the cooking on Thanksgiving. We're having his "specialty" at a guest's request.

One of the guys at work said, not long ago, that he does things around the house "wrong" so that he won't be asked to do them again. I looked him straight in the eye and said, "And we know you guys do that. We do not find it cute, charming, or even slightly amusing. It just pisses us off. Stop it!"

I miss my DH desperately, but he could drive me crazy with many of these things. If we were having a dinner party and I asked him to run the vacuum to be sure all dog hair was gone, I'd go to the store and come back to find he'd decided to clean out the garage or the basement, both things that if I were not there, I'd never again in this life know where anything was, as the minute i.e. put it down, all memory of where was gone. I'd be furious, he'd have a serious case of righteous indignation. I finally learned what I could expect and not expect. I could send him to the store to buy the liquor and the mixers. That was it.

I'm in stitches here. But, of course, preparing for a party requires that the lawnmower oil be changed. Duh!

"cleaned out my pajama pockets" Hahahahahahahahaha!

I've never understood why HE helps ME with MY housework. You live here too, right?? Why is it my work , with your "help"? By the way, you're not helping. :p

Yes........I am both cringing & laughing here! ;-)

Faron

So I will say I do have a deal with DH. He doesn't mess with my kitchen and I don't mess with his garage. He totally understands this.

We are expecting DD home for TG. We’ve been cleaning out the basement and I emptied four plastic bins and they were sitting in the LR and they needed washing and stashed somewhere.

Monday night DH says:

I’m gonna go wash the bins in the tub and then I’ll clean the bathroom (dd will be using). A little bit later....Which sheets should I put on her bed? Then....I’ll go ahead and vacuum up here.

Now...this was a bit unusual. I will usually have to ask him to do stuff, but he always pitches in readily. And he does a much more thorough job than me whatever the task. The only thing he really doesnt do is dust. Not sure why he has such a thing about dusting, but it’s ok.

Yep....he’s a keeper!

You could just say, "That picture doesn't look quite the way I saw it in my mind's eye. I think I'll watch for something else." A few days later take it down and lean it against the wall. A few days or a weeks after that rehang it in the right place. If he asks why it's back just say you are going to try it again.

Although I do get irritated at times when DH's household priorities don't match mine, I am pretty lucky. He helps in the kitchen fairly often and sometimes even cooks (but doesn't rinse the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and if I am hand washing dishes he occasionally drops in an unrinsed dish). He is very good with laundry, maybe because in our old 1930s house, the laundry 'room' was the closet in his study and it became a habit. Just this morning he surprised me by making up (or straightening) his side of the bed when he got up before me -- that was a 1st and it made making up the bed so much easier for me. I think he's a keeper too!

My DH will vacuum the whole main floor. Except the M bedroom! Why? I end up doing that every time. Even though I have to do the downstairs as well. :?/.

I stopped at a place to get my bbq's propane tank filled today in preparation for deep frying a turkey on Thursday. Very nice man loaded it in my trunk and spotted a new Shark robot vacuum I'd just picked up. He said, "I just bought one of those for my wife!" I said, "Hmmm, it's not for you, too?!" He did come to his defense and assured me he vacuums, too.

My late husband was trained well by his mother. He could do and would do most household chores. I hate vacuuming (thus a new robot) and I could out wait him for that task - so he almost always did it. He did his own laundry and ironed his clothes while he watched football on Sundays.

I am a cook like Lynn's husband; I make a HUGE mess. He'd (not always cheerfully) always clean up the kitchen, esp when I was cooking for guests. AND he'd empty the dishwasher every morning before work...my life is so hard now!

My husband is probably on some sports site, telling his online friends "my wife can walk by sticks in the yard like she doesn't even see them!"

HH, we had a cat once who collected sticks. :)

Once years ago I went to meet my DH at the drugstore where he worked. It was closing time and he was vacuuming. When I walked in he said, "Oh, crap, now she knows I know how to use a vacuum cleaner!" LOL

Donna

This thread made me laugh. I've had days and days of parties and could not have survived it without DH. DS came home with his girlfriend Saturday, we had his friends over for dinner that night. Then Sunday they all returned to watch the Patriots Game. Tuesday we hosted 15 at a local restaurant for DS's 21st birthday. This morning we had a little open house at the restaurant that I run, then dinner for 9 at the house. It is the first year after my sister's death and there has been some drama. DH was smart enough to dive in and totally cover my ass. I'm so grateful. Tomorrow he will probably go back to designing things we don't need and spending way too much time playing solitaire online.

DH was a big help in prepping the turkey and then drying all the pots and pans at the end of the day after I washed them.

My DH is wonderful in helping out before a big do. He'll do anything I ask, but then, for some reason, he seems to throw in his own things he wants to get done, none of which are in line with my priorities for the event. For example, he will start clearing up the mail pile by filing some stuff away, and then decide that he needs to start cleaning out some files, right then! Or he'll run to the store to get something and then decide that he needs to wash the windshield and check the tire pressure, right then!

No, no, dear...can we please get the table set and the food prepared? The guests are not going to be looking at his tire pressure or his desk drawers...

Sigh.

I have to add to this thread. We hosted Thanksgiving yesterday for 12 people. While DH did hunt up the extra chairs for the table, peeled potatoes & did some of the cleanup, at one point I saw him outside sweeping the driveway! Made me think of this thread & I couldn't stop giggling.

This thread is so funny and so true. My dh once decided the day before house guests arrived was the best time to clean out the detached garage that they would never see. Meanwhile I was trying to clear out the bedroom they would be sleeping in.

Well, I have to say that even though my hubby turns a blind eye to the house needing cleaning (or even "picking up"), he did just take my car to get it washed and vacuumed and will gas it up and stop at the grocery store for the couple of items we forgot last night. That and a thousand other wonderful things he does on a regular basis sure make him a keeper!

Donna

I have to laugh at these stories and how similar our husbands are. I love my DH but he can make me crazy doing some of the same things yours do. He is the greatest at washing the dishes after dinner but will ‘forget’ to clean the stovetop or wipe ALL the counters. Smh!

And getting distracted when I need him to do something in the house before we are expecting guests? Oh that must be in their Y-chromosome!

But if I absolutely need something at the grocery, he will go get it for me and call me before he comes home to make sure there isn’t something else we need before heading home. He’s a sweetheart!

Amazing how many of us have similar stories. I wonder if the guys think as long as they are busy it doesn't matter what they are doing? So cleaning out the garage is just as useful as polishing the silver when you are preparing for dinner guests? Thanksgiving morning I was making apps and doing last minute cleaning/setup. He asked: "Should I go get some milk?" "Do we need milk?" "We're getting low." "I don't need milk for what I'm making. Do you need milk for your dinner dishes?" "No. But we're getting low." "Go get milk."

For us, the starting point is that we would rather indulge in services than goods, and as a result we have 3-day-a-week cleaning help and 1-2x weekly yard help, etc. So none of us is exactly put upon when we entertain. Someone else cleans the house before and after, someone else mows and weeds and plants (and picks up the sticks).That said, DH is a wonderful help in every way when we entertain. The only thing he does not do is cook (he does grill) or clean dishes. But he will run errands, move stuff, and is a darn good sous chef.

I shouldn't "complain" as my husband does ALL the cooking in this house and will help with direction. But when left to his own devices? If we are expecting guests and I haven't gotten around to dealing with paperwork - he hides it. Then when I ask where he put it, he claims he never touched it.