I’m going to run away and be a hermit.

My latest experiment in household stupidity was realizing that the paper towel roll was empty on Thursday.  I did not use the last one, but someone else did, and that someone else was likely an adult and (presumably) contributing member of the household.  The spare paper towels are about 10 feet away, outside in the garage, and can be reached by opening the door.  You don’t even have to go into the garage or up or down any steps.  They are RIGHT THERE BY THE DOOR easy to reach. Today is Sunday.  I finally walked over to the garage door, opened it, grabbed a roll of paper towels, and put it on the roller, all while my eggs were cooking in the skillet for breakfast.  If it took me 30 seconds, I’d be surprised.

So the question is, who used the last paper towel and didn’t bother to go get a new one to put up in its place?

The same question could be asked of the toilet paper (and you don’t even have to GET UP to get toilet paper, it’s right there on the back of the sink, with more in the closet right outside the bathroom, some monumental THREE FEET AWAY).  The same could be said of the last packet of sweetener, the last of the shampoo in the shower, the last napkin on the table, the last of the milk in the gallon, and on and on and on.  Then there’s the laundry basket that belongs in the bathroom that somehow gets carried upstairs but never quite makes it into the bathroom, so someone (not me) starts throwing their clothes on the floor in the bathroom instead of walking out to get the laundry basket that is no more than 15 feet from the bathroom.  And who keeps taking the hand towel off the bathroom rack, throwing it in the dirty clothes, but not replacing it with a clean towel?  Here I am standing here with dripping hands and NO TOWEL and I didn’t take it down.  Even if I HAD taken it down I’d have reached into the closet and gotten a new one and put it up.  And would it really kill anyone to pick up their empty sweetener packets, dirty napkins/kleenex, the wrapper from the bag of popcorn or slice of cheese and throw them in the trash can that is literally ONE STEP AWAY?  And those dirty socks you took off while you were sitting in your chair.  Two days later they are still laying there, in the living room, for everyone to see (and smell).  No wonder the house stinks.  I can’t even get anyone to take out the trash; the closest it comes is the bag gets tied up and set in my office, which is also the way out of the back of the house.  A short short walk outside will take you right to the trash can where these things should be ending up in the first place.  Then there are the coats and jackets.  Two or three adorn the back of the sofa at all times, and at least one chair in the dining room will also contain a coat or a jacket.  The scary thing is, you have to walk RIGHT BY THE CLOSET on your way in the house.  You PASS BY THE CLOSET in order to throw your coat on the sofa or a dining room chair.  Really?

I spend half of my time at home replenishing, refilling, putting away, throwing away, picking up, and nagging others about regular chores that should just be a matter of routine.

And if I ask who did it, I get a whole string of “not me’s,” or worse yet, “I was going to do it later.”  Later?  LIKE THREE DAYS LATER??

Really, is it that hard for someone else to do a few things around here to pick up behind themselves?  I’m not the only one who uses paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, sweetener, has dirty clothes, and eats or drinks.  But my recyclables always go in the recycle bin (it’s in the kitchen so it’s pretty convenient), my dirty dishes manage to make their way within the same hour of use from my office to the kitchen (or from the table next to my chair to the kitchen), and my socks and other dirty clothing make it into the laundry basket.  Even better, my dishes actually make it into the dishwasher, and I strive not to use dishes that have to be hand-washed so they don’t have to sit.

I’m tired of picking up behind grown people who should know better, who DO know better.  My just leaving it sit hasn’t taught anyone anything, it just means that eventually I get too annoyed and go take care of it myself (like the paper towels and the toilet paper).  I work full time and have an at least 90 minute commute every day for work.  Klown works full time but has a five minute commute.  The Perfect Child works full but she rides with me most of the time.  There is no excuse for anyone in this house not picking up behind themselves.  It is getting really old to keep having to do the same things over and over and over again, and to nag about the same things over and over again.  I may not be perfect, but I do pick up behind myself and I don’t leave messes for others to pick up.  My wet towels do not end up on the floor or stuffed into the laundry basket where they can turn into piles of mildew.

A bit less of that from the other adults in my house would be awfully nice.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.