Why do men not care about the cleanliness of their dwelling?

Question

How can men be content to sit in a dirty house with six weeks washing lying on the bathroom floor? I don't get it. Seriously, is there some biological or psychological difference between men and women on this issue, or is it essentially a matter of conditioning since childhood?

I know there are many exceptions. I'm speaking in terms of stereotypes and stereoptypes don't arise without good reason. But I know there are exceptions, okay.

Answer 1

While there are clean men, and messy women, I'd say that most men put cleanliness of their dwelling far lower on priorities then women.

This makes it hard for couples to compromise on cleaning. If he - living on his own - would vacuum every 2 months, and she'd vacuum twice a week, how do they divide the chore? In his mind, doing it half the time would be once every 4 months, wheras she thinks he'd need to do it every other week - 4 times more often then he'd have done it doing the entire job.

Answer 2

It's social conditioning. From early childhood, little girls get taught how to clean - and they are held to very high expectations. By age 10 or so, most girls have become highly competent little homemakers - and have been trained to be very focused on home cleaning for the rest of their lives.

By contrast, boys are not held up to the same standards - if they're lucky, some boys, by age 18 or so, have some very basic housekeeping skills - but many males go into adulthood with minimal ability to clean a home.

Worse yet, unlike girls, who will get upset if a house is dirty, many males casually accept dirty home surroundings for extended periods of time (basically, until the dirt has piled up so high there's no getting around it and it has to be cleaned)

Answer 3

I have no idea why this is either. I do the housework since I am not working and my fiance is. But, when we were both working, he would leave his laundry (clean) on the cough for days, hardly do any dishes, etc. Now that I am home all the time, that doesn't happen. He also doesn't mind having boxes in the living room or other rooms for a long time. That really bugs me! I don't mind them there for a couple days until I can get to them to put things away (we have stuff in storage and are slowly getting it out and going thru it). I may leave the dusting for awhile, but I do everything else quite frequently. One thing I can say about my fiance, tho, is that he would do his laundry, and mine, when I was working. The bad thing is leaving it on the couch for days! That drives me nuts!

I am friends with his ex wife and she said that when he would do his laundry when he lived in an apartment (they were separated then), he would keep the laundry in a box or basket and leave it there (clean laundry mind you) for days or weeks and just pick out of there what he wanted everyday! I have no idea where he got this idea from. His mom and sister are neat freaks. Then he gets out his model trains and would leave them out for days or weeks at a time, but since I have gotten after him about it, especially since we moved here nearly 3 months ago, he has been picking the stuff up when he is done with it, especially since we have cats and a kitten that would get into them! I guess these things aren't too bad considering what I had put up with when married to my ex for 17 years. My fiance is NOTHING like my ex and I can handle a little laundry or trains being left there for awhile, as long as he doesn't do the rest of the crap that my ex did (which he doesn't).

Answer 4

I think its psychological because my husbands mother made him clean and wash clothes every weekend starting at 6:00am in the morning. He was basically Cinderella! His mother and sister were so lazy and trashy it was disgusting! Know that he is married he really doesn't want to do anything to help out around the house. In a way I feel sorry for him but I do get angry because we have been married for 9 yrs and he still doesn't really help. I have gotten to the point where I dont expect him to do anything. I do hate his mother and sister but he should grow up and realize that if he stays like this he is going to wind up alone in his own filth.

Answer 5

I think it may be a bit of both. But, in my experience, it seems that a lot of men simply don't care about being clean. Whether it's laziness or just not caring, I don't know. But I venture to say that most would rather go out and buy a whole new set of dishes rather than washing the ones they already have.

Answer 6

Most men associate cleaning with femine activities and therefore never build their skills in it. Its like an unspoken masculine code. Actually as they get older or married some men actually WANT the clean and are willing to do it but will tell their friends you make them do it.

Answer 7

my wife does all the housework during the week while I am at work but on the weekends I do it to give her a break she is a stay at home mom with 2 kids and its rough on her so I help her out in any way I can

Answer 8

Not sure because I personally can't stand it. Can't stand dust, etc. I do my share of the cleaning although washing clothes isn't my forte.

Answer 9

man not have clean gene. must hunt for video games and bring home KFC. too tired slaying boss and coworkers. if it is dirty to you, i just need to turn it inside out. i'm not trying to make you mad. why do you think they invented Axe?

now if they had a video game that got my laundry done...or if i had to kill it...

once i was clean. my mother made me clean my room. now i have the freedom to have a mess. i clean when i want to. or if i run out of underwear. i go commando for a couple of days while i do the mother of all washes.

Answer 10

Very simply, cleanliness is not at the top of a man's list. He has too many really important things to do...........like enjoy himself.