Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for January 31, 2020

There’s ‘Arlo’ clean, and then there’s ‘Janis’ clean. And never the twain shall meet.

So what is left? Wipe down the counters and cabinets, then mop the floor?

That’s way more than what my OH does when he cooks. Be grateful, Janis.

I’m not following either.

Frankly I’m not following her either. Arlo should discuss the concept of division of labor with Janis. One cooks, one cleans.

Maybe she doesn’t like, or is tired of his cooking. ??? Not following this one.

I am totally lost on this one as well. If Janis is anything like most wives that I know, she expects the spouse to clean up after HER mess.

Men/Arlo don’t/doesn’t turn on the dish washer???

She doesn’t appreciate his cooking? idea of cleaning? volume of what he cooks?

I’m not following her either!

If I remember right, Arlo makes a HUGE mess when he cooks. Most of which will not be taken care of by a dishwasher!

Generally, when I cook, I clean up the “cooking stuff” and put it in the dish rack as I go along.

You eat/enjoy his cooking? No, I’m not following you, Janis.

Janis doesn’t want to have to follow the PARADE with the SHOVEL

Reading the above comments, I see a lot of you don’t follow it. From experience mind you, my wife doesn’t want me in the kitchen because there is absolutely no way will I put every little fork, or spoon, or plate, or pan………etc. back into the “designated” spot it belongs. My wife wants it “just so”……every thing has its place, every place has its thing, and that’s just the way it is!……Goodnight Walter!

I’m not!

When my sister would come over and cook for my dad, she’d wash up any dishes she used, BUT the stovetop and counters would look like someone had a grease versus flour battle…. even if she never used either! Countertops and stoves are just as important to keep clean as the dishes. Maybe Arlo doesn’t get that they’re “cooking stuff” too!

Cleanup is why you have a dog.

For God’s sake man! She’s volunteering for KP!

She just doesn’t like him cooking in “her” kitchen.

Yeah I gave up this battle a long time ago. I don’t even ask mine to make me tea and toast anymore, it’s more work for me to clean up after than if I just did it myself. I stay out of his workshop and he stays out of my kitchen.

Let me say it’s not just a guy thing. My grandmother lived with us when I was a kid. She liked to “help out” by cooking, but had stuff strewn and splashed all over the place which ended up being twice as much work for my mother afterwards.

I thought they had an agreement that when he cooks, she cleans up after. Loading the dishwasher and putting his stuff away is a big start. She shouldn’t be complaining. Per the agreement, he didn’t have to do anything.

For me, even though I am a guy, I believe I get what Janis is saying….. at least I think so…. the big issue not described in what Arlo does is wiping the counters down well and cleaning them afterwards. I grew up with that notion as automatic…. but my wife’s family did not… and so my wife initially did not do this. In my family it was drilled into us to avoid food contamination, so form me it was required.

Considering how some men can barely do better that boiling water & using a microwave…..

I’m chalking this up as us men just don’t understand women, cause the only thing I see left is his food sucks.

I’m not.

I have a side burner on my gas grill between the two I can cook 90% of what I want, I do the prep work outside worst case I use the hose.

Your all wrong. She just doesn’t like his cooked food!!

I’m not either

You are all missing the biggest mess of all – the pots, pans, cutting boards, and other items that won’t fit in the dishwasher. If he’s cooking something messy, like ribs, that enormous pot will need some serious elbow grease when he’s done. The rest of the kitchen may be pretty spattered, too.

This makes me think about an episode in “For Better or For Worse” where Ellie was complaining to her girlfriends about how, when they do laundry, John just doesn’t fold the towels right. Their response was “Your husband folds the towels??!!”

Not too long after I got married over 30 years ago, several of us “young marrieds” from church were discussing this very thing. We husbands all believed when we were asked to “wash the dishes” we were supposed to wash the dishes. The wives all agreed that when they asked us to “wash the dishes”, they meant wash the dishes, clean the kitchen……… ;)

There’s more???

Neither am I

unload the dishwasher and then put everything away when it is done.

Like he’s still stuck in the shove-the-mess-into-the-closet-and-under-the-bed stage.

Well?

I cook, I clean, I wash dishes, etc by hand – dishwasher finished dying about 15 years ago and I decided it was not worth replacing it as it takes no longer to wash everything for the two of us than to load the dishwasher. Husband said that I could not do the dishes by hand every night (and back then we made Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family of 14). I pointed out to him that first 9 years we were married we did not have a dishwasher in the apartment and only had one here as it came with the house and he had convinced me to replace it when that one died. He insisted that we had a dishwasher in the apartment and I asked where it was – he then figured out that we had not had one.

Two people – 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 glasses, one mug for tea, tableware for two, a few pots – how long does it take? I don’t need to spend $500 to $1000 for a dishwasher – and would have to make sure the slots are wide enough for our dishes.

Man clean