Being a couple

[Howyoudoin]

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or grumpy old fools, or whatever the place is called here. But here goes . . .

Even though i'm nearly 50, i've never been in a relationship where I have actually lived with the other half.

Now that I am, a couple of observations:

1. I only used to wash my clothes once a week, at weekends. Now we do washing at least every other day if not every day

2. I only used to do a weekly shop, er, weekly. Now we go to the supermarket at least every other day if not every day

Is this normal?

There are only two of us in this household.

GAH!!!!


HYD

[PinkDalek]

… Our work attire has someone simplified in the last few years though.

Who's been simplified and does it involve disposables?

[Itsallaguess]

Even though i'm nearly 50, i've never been in a relationship where I have actually lived with the other half.

Now that I am, a couple of observations:

1. I only used to wash my clothes once a week, at weekends. Now we do washing at least every other day if not every day

2. I only used to do a weekly shop, er, weekly. Now we go to the supermarket at least every other day if not every day

Is this normal?

I don't think it would be classed as abnormal, although we tend to do a 'main weekly shop' still, and have done since forever, but it'll often be topped up with little bits through the week.

Regarding the washing - doing it little and often does help to make it less of a 'chore', but we all tend to fall into our own routines, so I'd try to just go with the flow for a while and let things settle down....

Sorry to be brutally honest though HYD, and suggest that what you're currently experiencing is very much the thin end of the 'things are going to change' wedge, in terms of lifestyle changes via cohabitation.....

Just always remember - compromise is a two-way street.....

Good luck!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Howyoudoin]

… Our work attire has someone simplified in the last few years though.

Who's been simplified and does it involve disposables?

Ha ha.

You of all people should 'no' better PD.

You corrected yourself earlier today for a spelling/grammar mistake where you didn't need to. Just as Snorvey didn't need to either above.

Until you corrected yourself, with a following post, I had no idea that you'd made a mistake as the brain seems to fill in the gaps 90% of the time.

Or is that just me?


HYD

[jfgw]

1. I only used to wash my clothes once a week, at weekends.

When my father were a lad, he used to change his clothes once a fortnight and have a bath once a fortnight (alternate weeks).

Julian F. G. W.

[PinkDalek]

… Our work attire has someone simplified in the last few years though.

Who's been simplified and does it involve disposables?

Ha ha.

You of all people should 'no' better PD.

You corrected yourself earlier today for a spelling/grammar mistake where you didn't need to. Just as Snorvey didn't need to either above.

Until you corrected yourself, with a following post, I had no idea that you'd made a mistake as the brain seems to fill in the gaps 90% of the time.

Or is that just me?


HYD

Yes you are right. The post I later corrected was initially corrected for me. No idea if I used preview or not but I often only spot the mistakes later.

I'm sure Snorvey knows me well enough by now as to when I'm engaging in pub banter.

Anyway, my suggestion was serious. It does do away with some of the washing, allegedly. No doubt you are no longer using your cotton handkerchiefs.

Good luck with the other stuff. Shopping = Shudder. Sounds like a normal relationship though.

[Howyoudoin]

Sorry to be brutally honest though HYD, and suggest that what you're currently experiencing is very much the thin end of the 'things are going to change' wedge, in terms of lifestyle changes via cohabitation.....

Just always remember - compromise is a two-way street.....

Good luck!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Ha. Thanks as always IAAG.

I should point out that the Mrs is into keep fit big time, whilst i'm the opposite.

She will get up an hour earlier than she needs to, in order to 'go for a run'. I just laugh and spread myself out in the bed with the extra space.

I wouldn't change things even if I had a chance. I know when i've hit the jackpot.

HYD

[Howyoudoin]

1. I only used to wash my clothes once a week, at weekends.

When my father were a lad, he used to change his clothes once a fortnight and have a bath once a fortnight (alternate weeks).

Julian F. G. W.

Hi JFGW,

You make a great point.

I think this is probably worthy of a separate thread but I totally agree as far as the way things were done a generation or two ago.

When I was a nipper, we had a bath once a week, twice if we were especially 'mucky'.

I understand that just 150 years ago, it wasn't unusual for the middle classes to only have a bath once a month. The working class? Once a YEAR!!!

At this rate, our grandchildren will be showering on the hour, every hour.


HYD

[PinkDalek]

I'm sure Snorvey knows me well enough by now as to when I'm engaging in pub banter.


Right. That's you in the book.

Vot ist your name?

Don't tell him Pike.

[kempiejon]

When my father were a lad, he used to change his clothes once a fortnight and have a bath once a fortnight (alternate weeks).
Julian F. G. W.

Whether he needed to or not.

[Leothebear]

If you like fresh fruit and veg you cannot do a single weekly shop.
But so what? Is it so difficult?

You've been a batcheler for a long time HYD; it might be a bit tough to change your ways. Consider the alternative.

I couldn't cook when I got married. Now I do the cooking and I aint bad. I can operate the washing machine too.
I still view porn now and again though......

[vrdiver]

I still view porn now and again though......

You mean, financial porn, like the TLF HYP board, I presume...

[Slarti]

Mostly, we shop once a week, though if we can't get enough milk with a long enough life on it we may have to get a bit more during the week.

We do buy fresh fruit and veg and find that it survives quite well for a week, usually.

Washing, usually one, or at most 2, loads most days of the week ever since we were told by our washing machine repair man that this would make the machine last longer than doing 3 or more loads, one after another. Mrs S has it organised as to what day of the week things are done. We are 3 adults in the house which increases the quantity, though HYD's lady being into going running probably doubles the amount of washing she generates. Perhaps buy her more stuff so she doesn't have to wash it more than once a week?

Slarti

[Watis]

Perhaps buy her more stuff so she doesn't have to wash it more than once a week?

Slarti

I love the implicit - and no doubt unintended - sexism twice in this one sentence!

Watis

[Slarti]

Perhaps buy her more stuff so she doesn't have to wash it more than once a week?

Slarti

I love the implicit - and no doubt unintended - sexism twice in this one sentence!

Watis

Buying her more stuff is just a usual attempt at gaining brownie points and is probably better than suggesting she buy more herself.

She doesn't have to wash it only reflects the situation in my house where Mrs S does the washing, because she doesn't like the way I do it, but can't explain what I do wrong. But it does lead to my assumption that the washing machine is "her" domain.

Slarti

[Howyoudoin]

If you like fresh fruit and veg you cannot do a single weekly shop.

If you're buying fruit and veg that doesn't last a week then it wasn't fresh in the first place.


HYD

[Howyoudoin]

We are 3 adults in the house which increases the quantity, though HYD's lady being into going running probably doubles the amount of washing she generates.

Indeed. Her argument is that she doesn't want sweaty running/gym wear in the laundry basket for a week.

She has a point I guess, though it doesn't bother me like it bothers her.


HYD

[Slarti]

Indeed. Her argument is that she doesn't want sweaty running/gym wear in the laundry basket for a week.

She has a point I guess, though it doesn't bother me like it bothers her.

When the now Mrs S decided to take on trial, I had terribly smelly feet and my socks were horrible by the end of the working day.
So we got a plastic pedal bin for me to drop them in and applied a stick on air freshener to the inside of the lid. The bin was kept in the spare bedroom, unless we had overnight visitors.

Washing only one or 2 sets of running/gym gear at a time must be costing a fortune in electric, water and powder, compared to your previous regime.


Slarti

[brightncheerful]

Is this normal? There are only two of us in this household. HYD

1. I only used to wash my clothes once a week, at weekends. Now we do washing at least every other day if not every day

I think it depends upon one's personal standards (including hygiene). Mrs Bnc does the machine washing probably at least every other day - i say 'probably' because I don't keep tabs on frequency. All i know is that I'm asked to carry loads of washing up and down stairs several times a week. (Mrs Bnc's physical strength is nominal - unless it seems when she's out shopping in which case she still manages to carry shopping bags to her car, which i'm then asked to unload when she gets back…)

When I was single, I also used to wash my clothes more often than once a week and rather enjoyed using a washing machine and hanging the clothes out to dry in the bathroom. Nowadays, to minimise the cost of electricity and (metered) water from washing clothes, I tend to wear the same outer clothes for several days in a row, to get my money's worth when they're washed.

2. I only used to do a weekly shop, er, weekly. Now we go to the supermarket at least every other day if not every day

We? Mrs Bnc does a weekly shop at a supermarket, with tops ups every so often depending upon our food requirements for a particular week. Sometimes, she has heavier household/kitchen goods delivered - she rarely have food delivered nowadays ever since Waitrose allocated deliveries to us to a smaller branch that doesn't stock much of what she buys regularly - the store did offer to stock what she buys regularly and that worked for a few week until the novelty wore off, now it doesn't - and every few weeks circa 10 cases of bottled water. Once a week I buy many of the vegetables for our consumption over the next few days. 3-4 times a month i plunder a health-food shop buying for ingredients for Mrs Bnc and snacks for me The majority of food we eat is fresh, organic; Mrs Bnc bakes her own bread.

The only time 'we' go shopping to a supermarket is for Christmas/New year food and upon return from a holiday. The rest of the time it's one or other of us. I enjoy supermarket shopping but only because it's Waitrose. When I was single I used to go to Sainsbury's for a particular brand of pet food that W didn't stock but now we no longer have animals to feed (apart from me) W alone satisfies. I'm told the Aldi a few minutes' walk from where we live is much cheaper but after Mrs Bnc and I had a browse she promised never to ask me to buy from Aldi. Much prefer the 20 miles round-trip drive to the slightly bigger W store than delivers or whenever in the mood the 50 miles round trip to a much larger W.

[melonfool]

I try to get at least one wash in during the week, if not all of them done, so my weekends are not consumed with laundry.

I've taken to the extravagance of changing my bedlinen weekly where I used to do it - meh, whatever. In fact, since the hot weather I have been changing the sheet and pillow cases midweek too, so that usually means a wash has to go on mid week.

Same re towels, weekly changeover now.

PJs, I change at least once during the week, sometimes twice. Clean clothes every day, jeans maybe do two or three wears. But most of my work stuff only needs a quick wash, so it's no trouble putting it on and hanging it out while Eastenders is on.

Shopping - no weekly shop as such, though I currently work part time so have more time, but I shopped last Fri and again on Tue. Again, I prefer not to crowd my weekends with this boring stuff. When full time again I will do online shops I think.

I still spend half of the night before my work week starts making breakfast pots, lunch salads etc and putting fruit etc into tubs ready to take to work. Yesterday I made a chicken and broccoli lasagna so tonight all I have to do is cook that, and it will do four meals. I get home about 8pm so this is a good way to keep my evenings free.

Most of my life seems to revolve around doing things to make my life work. It's really dull.

Mel