Train your partner to be perfect, just like you! (A woman's perspective)

Why is it that men continue to do infuriating things like: 1. Leave their dishes on the counter just inches from the yawning dishwasher door. 2. Drop socks just centimetres shy of the laundry basket. 3. Stop to clean out a tiny desk drawer in your basement office when the house is a disaster and you have 10 minutes before your in-laws show up for dinner?

I believe it all comes down to good intentions gone awry – or maybe I just like to give them the benefit of the doubt. They meant to hit the laundry basket, the dishwasher, and the front hall with a vacuum, but generations of training have convinced these he-men that this is really not their job, so while they make a pathetic effort to “do their part,” they come up short almost every time...or worse, go too far. An informal survey of women and the frustrating habits of their partners revealed that there were quite a few who were totally annoyed by their husband’s tendency to clean too much. There seems to be no middle ground with these fellows – or perhaps we can file this in the “they just can’t win" category.

Either way, we have to un-train decades of learned behaviour (from their predecessors, but more importantly, from their mothers) to have them turn things around and do things the way we do (i.e., as nature intended). Most men work well with incentives, or rewards. Consider the following points system when implementing your own training program.

Clearing tables/dishes in dishwasher

From all accounts, the number one winner in the “imperfect traits” sweepstakes. Why is it that they can get that cup or plate all the way into the kitchen, just to stop short of placing the dirty item right into the dishwasher? Do they truly believe in the dishwasher fairy? Is it beneath them?
• 2 points for each item placed in the dishwasher
• 10 points for unloading the whole thing

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