cereal boxes

[pianistimo]

do any of you have roommates, hubby or wife, or children that tear apart cereal boxes so that you can't even put the thing together at the top.  it's like a lion just tore the top off.  this is so irritating to me.  i can't express it.  the box is now rendered useless.  how can someone be so hungry they can't open the box right?

ok.  if i were to do some things over, i'd start at three years of age when they want cheerios.  "ok, honey, let's learn to open this box so we can shut it again."  is it a guy thing? 

[zheer]

I gess you would think about these things when you spend all day recovering from a broken leg.

[pianistimo]

that's not the only thing i am stewing about.  i come downstairs in the morning to a sink full of dishes.  it's not unexpected that hubby would not want to do dishes after cooking - so i start soaking them - to put them in dishwasher.  but, i mean - how much effort does it take to just soak the dishes?  it's probably just a stretch of the arm to turn on the water and put a few soap bubbles in?  why do guys think that if they give an inch they'll drown in a mile?  oh, well.  he cooks really really well.

usually i don't complain because i just clean stuff really fast.  but it took me about an hour just to do the dishes (rinse and put in dishwasher).  had to walk around the place and pick up glasses.  now i have a method.  i slide all the stuff from one side of the island to the other (why didn't i think of that the first day?) 

is this a taste of what it is like to get old.  you can't get up - so stuff starts piling up all around you.  kleenex, candy wrappers, magazines.  pretty soon, you're just part of the environment.  people come in the door and have to yell to find you.  "i'm over here, under the cereal boxes.  follow the mail to the crutches and around the corner of the couch.  excuse the laundry (it's not even mine)." 

[danyal]

My brother used to have a problem with his messiness. He dumped his clothes on the floor and just refused to pick them up.

Mother's 1st resort: Threatens... bla bla... gets completely ignored
2nd resort: Tells the cleaner not to, under any circumstances, pick them up herself. Still no use.
3rd: Mother picks up all brothers clothes and throws them out the window into the street... SUCCESS!! There wasnt a single item of clothing left lying for a very very long time.

Try something similar... it might work. Be creative.

[zheer]

Haw about paying a cleaner to clean you house from time to time.

[pianistimo]

say, that's a very good idea.  i could do this on a sunday, and put a sign on the front door 'yard sale' or something like that.  throwing them out the window would be quite easy from my son's upstairs window.  of course, i might feel extremely guilty that evening because he, like my husband, is good at making me feel that way.  all the groceries carried in, the odd jobs, and moral support (in other ways) by always telling me he likes my cooking. 

maybe i'll just shut the door.  they do outgrow it usually (i hope).

[pianistimo]

being 1/2 irish, i do not like spending money that could otherwise be used for something 'more important.'  of course, i could have had a maid all these years if i quit piano or didn't let my kids have any allowance.  ok.  for all you who might be next - get the maid right away so you're in the habit of spending the money for it.  it's probably a lot easier - and frees up your time.

[danyal]

Haw about paying a cleaner to clean you house from time to time.

That wont exactly change the problem. It'll just be saying to the mess-makers "its okay, do what the hell you want, we're paying someone to sweep behind you... life's good huh?"

say, that's a very good idea.  i could do this on a sunday, and put a sign on the front door 'yard sale' or something like that.  throwing them out the window would be quite easy from my son's upstairs window.  of course, i might feel extremely guilty that evening because he, like my husband, is good at making me feel that way.  all the groceries carried in, the odd jobs, and moral support (in other ways) by always telling me he likes my cooking.  

maybe i'll just shut the door.  they do outgrow it usually (i hope).

They only make you feel that way cos they know it works. My brother had a fright, quickly retrieved his things (before the beggars etc got to them) and didnt do it again. My mom has somehow discovered how to become immune to the guilt thing. 4 children has that effect on one I suppose.

[ted]

I'm quite careful about opening cereal boxes too, pianistimo. At certain times of the year, if the boxes are not sealed, moths get in and lay eggs, and grubs appear in the bowl at breakfast time. As for the dishes, I've done them by hand ever since we were married. It was just a rule we agreed on - whoever cooks does not clean up - it seems fair and has worked well for us.

[thalbergmad]

that's not the only thing i am stewing about.  i come downstairs in the morning to a sink full of dishes.  it's not unexpected that hubby would not want to do dishes after cooking - so i start soaking them - to put them in dishwasher.  but, i mean - how much effort does it take to just soak the dishes?  it's probably just a stretch of the arm to turn on the water and put a few soap bubbles in?  why do guys think that if they give an inch they'll drown in a mile?  oh, well.  he cooks really really well.

usually i don't complain because i just clean stuff really fast.  but it took me about an hour just to do the dishes (rinse and put in dishwasher).  had to walk around the place and pick up glasses.  now i have a method.  i slide all the stuff from one side of the island to the other (why didn't i think of that the first day?) 

is this a taste of what it is like to get old.  you can't get up - so stuff starts piling up all around you.  kleenex, candy wrappers, magazines.  pretty soon, you're just part of the environment.  people come in the door and have to yell to find you.  "i'm over here, under the cereal boxes.  follow the mail to the crutches and around the corner of the couch.  excuse the laundry (it's not even mine)." 

Clearing up and cleaning is womens work. Although you have broken your leg, you should not shirk your domestic responsibilities.

[Tash]

lol i agree with the whole cereal box thing, though i haven't thought about it in a really long time cos i don't eat cereal. but it's like packets of flour and sugar and stuff, and you don't have an elastic band to hold it together, so it's just sitting in the pantry in some half-opened state

for me, if my mum wants me to clean my room she threatens that she'll throw it all out- she hasn't done it yet because i don't want to take the chance that she's actually serious and i'll be left with the clothes i'm wearing (but hey she bought the clothes so it's her money she's wasting!)

but as a disabled member you should be getting your family to do absolutely everything for you- i admit me and dad are a bit lazy a bit of the time and mum has to hobble around doing the cleaning, but after 14 years the special treatment wears off...

[pianistimo]

thalbergmad, take a lesson from ted.  all women's work!  i'm going on a vacation.  (at least that's what i said two days ago - and i told my kids i'm not coming back until everything's cleaned up)  of course, my son started laughing and said i couldn't even get in the car, let alone drive.  so here i sit.  stuck.   with my 10 year old daughter gone on a camping trip (just wondering about all the rain tonight - and how she is) - which she gleefully left on.  i have the solace of my four year old still.  she is about the only one who truly cares to stick around me all day.  and, the cat.

tash, i was exactly the same way when i lived at home.  maybe what goes around comes around.  it's just that if i knew then what i know now, it's not as much work as it looks compared to later.  (i should have known when i opened my hubby's apartment closet and things were piled to the top and threatened to topple)  he's very sweet, though, so he's gotten away with a lot.  ok.  make sure if you are a messy person to at least marry a neatnic.  then, at least you have one person to start out - then when that person gets sicka nd tired of it - then the other person picks up - and then hopefully both people.