Just a little bit of a rant and what would you do?

**alotofgooddeals** · 06-27-2011, 09:25 PM

Seriously...i am trying to save money and dh will take the dish that he is using and wash it all by itself....he leave the water on and lets it run over and over...I swear like three gallons per one little bowl...I can't take it, it makes my skin crawl...I almost lose the filter from my brain to my mouth.....I have talked to him about it over and over and over again but he just says i am nagging and it doesnt take that much water...so i let it go....so how would you handle the situation.....another pet peave that i have is he will go down the hall even during the day and turn the light on and if i dont go behind him it would stay on all day...ugh! Sometimes i think he thinks money grows on trees...but i don't want to cause world war 3 over it so i probably should just let it go or have any of you ever figured it out....like somehow make him think its his idea and that would make it okay...sorry for the rant but he just did it right now....and i had such a hard time keeping my mouth shut...but i did.....

**Spirit Deer** · 06-27-2011, 10:30 PM

If these are the worst financial issues you have between you, count your blessings and move on!

**alotofgooddeals** · 06-27-2011, 10:33 PM

but its nice to hear it from another point of view....so i will work on letting it go....

Originally Posted by Spirit Deer

If these are the worst financial issues you have between you, count your blessings and move on!

**mauimagic** · 06-27-2011, 10:49 PM

While I agree with SD - his attitude is childish and irresponsible IMHO. My DH does the same with paper towels - and it's not the same at all really. Your water is literally and figuratively going down the drain!!

**Spirit Deer** · 06-27-2011, 10:57 PM

It IS the same, MM. With paper towels, the money is literally going into the trash.

The little stuff can get irritating, for sure. I'm still working on not letting all the little stuff bug me, too.

Still, it's a couple of small things, and if he's mostly on the same page as you are about money, that's not something to be taken for granted. A lot of people aren't so fortunate.

**Debbie-cat** · 06-27-2011, 11:01 PM

Don't get me started on DH wasting paper towels!! Ugh, that's my pet peeve!

**frugalfriend** · 06-27-2011, 11:20 PM

You two sound JUST like my dh and I! He turns the hall light on in broad daylight just to walk into the bathroom for pete's sake! And many, many other little annoyances like that. I accidentally (really it was an accident!) broke the paper towel holder, and since then have kept the paper towels in the pantry and kept cloth towels available at all times. It has cut down on our paper towel usage A LOT!

I try not to be a nag about wasteful things, but it's not easy!

**alotofgooddeals** · 06-27-2011, 11:30 PM

however i just deal with it....there are days it is very hard and his ocd does cause conflict and we get in a huge argument over it...trying to work on that though...he knows he has a problem..he admits it outwardly and has been doing better the last few years with it...so for some reason he feels the need to wash the dish that way....I have tried time and time again to have him leave the dish in the sink and i will do them once a day when i get home so i can wash them all at once however he cannot handle the dirty dish being in the sink....it would drive him insane...oh well...we will figure it out... we always do...thanks for listening to me rant...

**greekislandgirl** · 06-28-2011, 03:59 AM

Does he care about the environment at all? Try to approach it from that angle. "Let's try to live a greener lifestyle" rather than "you are pouring money down the drain." That may appeal to him in a totally different way.

(It worked on my DH so well I almost regretted it!)

**2ndGenGranola** · 06-28-2011, 06:38 AM

Since he doesn't like the dish in the sink, could you buy an inexpensive dish basin to put to the side or under the cabinet??

This would irritate me too. For most people it is not the big items that kill the budget. It is the little leaks all over the place -- the 10 extra gallons a day, the candy bar out of the machine, the extra roll of towels a week -- they are not huge but when put together they are a big leak.

You are going to need to find his "language" to explain it in. For my hubby, I put it in $$. EX- Do you know eating at XX costs $$$ but I can buy the rib eye at the CSA and we can have the same meal organic and additive free for only $$?

To me it sounds like he needs the science. Maybe he doesn't think it is getting clean your way. How about the soak basin with added vinegar or bleach?? Explore the reasons.

**AmyBoz** · 06-28-2011, 08:31 AM

I'd be thrilled if dh was washing his own dishes!

**krbshappy71** · 06-28-2011, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by AmyBoz

I'd be thrilled if dh was washing his own dishes!

Snicker...I was thinking the same thing.

So on that note, another suggestion: put a dishwashing pan/bucket in that side of the sink. Ask him NOT to dump out the water that he used to wash his dish.

1) It will help him see how fast that dish is filling up with his over-washing task.

2) you can use that water later either to quick-wash other dishes, say silverware, that don't need a full basin by adding more hot water, or dump it out in the yard. Unless he's using a gallon of soap as well the little bit he uses shouldn't hurt your yard.

3) you can use that water to scrub a few spots on the walls, quick spot clean the kitchen floor, add bleach to it and dump it in the toilet and then swish around the toilet-brush

4) you can use that water to dump on his head the next time he does it. Ok kidding. In the nicest way, try to lighten up, he's trying not to be a slob and having dated slobs in the past, I assure you, this is a good thing.

**Ceashels** · 06-28-2011, 08:46 AM

I can't offer advice for the water use... I'd just be happy he was washing the bowl. LOL

But for lighting.....

I asked Greebo to install a motion activated/timer switch for the bathroom light. (And would love to have them in most rooms of the house.) The light turns on as soon as you enter the door and switches off in 5 mins. It works like a dream until we have party and someone fiddles with the button because they weren't listening when you told them it is automatic.

**McD** · 06-28-2011, 09:20 AM

Keep in mind, men process things differently than women do. So to a man, 3 gallons is 3 gallons. They can't always visualize the big picture when they are looking at a little corner of it.

Maybe break it down for him. Does he do this once a day? Twice a day? 3 gallons X 2= 6 gallons. 6 gallons X 30 days = 180 gallons.

Take your water/sewer rate and do the math and show him how much that 180 gallons of water is truly costing him.

**lisa0069** · 06-28-2011, 09:43 AM

Great idea Edgar ing the light. Sorry I have not read the whole thread. Go to lowes or home depot and get a light switch that when you walk by it turns on and you can set how long it stays on. I put them in my bathroom and my stairway.