I created a chore leaderboard to be fair and now my girlfriend is threatening to go on strike.
By @maraforsure · Relationships
We were always bickering about who does more around the house, so I made a point system to settle it once and for all. Now she says I've ruined the relationship with 'spreadsheets.'.
The full story
Alright, look. I'm a simple guy. We both work, we both live here, we both should pull our weight. For months it's been the same argument: 'I did the dishes last night,' 'Yeah but I did the laundry,' blah blah blah. It goes nowhere. So I got a whiteboard and put it on the fridge. I made a system. It's beautiful. Taking out trash: 5 points. Wiping counters: 5 points. Unloading dishwasher: 10 points. Cooking dinner: 15 points. Full bathroom deep clean: 50 points. You get the idea. At the end of the month, whoever has more points gets to pick the fancy date night spot, and the loser pays. I thought I was a genius. It's just numbers. It's fair. For the first week, she actually liked it and it was a fun little competition. But then the problems started. She tried to claim 3 points for 'killing a spider.' I told her that's not on the list. Then she wanted to add a category for 'emotional labor,' which I vetoed because you can't assign a number to that. I'm the commissioner of the league, I have to maintain the integrity of the game. Now she's started actively sabotaging me. She'll 'accidentally' spill coffee grounds on the floor and then look at me and say 'looks like there's 5 points on the floor for you.' Yesterday, she put one single dish in the dishwasher and tried to claim a pro-rated 0.5 points for it. I refused, obviously. The bylaws are clear: you have to run the cycle to get points for dishes. Last night she announced she's going on strike. they says I care more about the points than I do about her. I told her the points are just a tool to make things fair. Now her side of the bedroom is a mess and she refuses to cook or clean anything, saying she 'opts out' of the competition. I'm crushing her on the scoreboard, but I'm also living in a disaster zone and eating takeout. I still think the system is good, she's just a sore loser.
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 33% (50 votes)
- Both Messy — 36% (54 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 31% (46 votes)
Readers are split: “Both Messy” leads with 36% — 150 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@brynnkay — I have a feeling 'emotional labor' wasn't the only category she suggested that got vetoed.
@caleblol — She should make her own board and give herself 100 points every time you mansplain the rules of your own game.
@mae — lmaooo
@jettagain — This is a beautiful example of what happens when you try to solve a relationship problem with a spreadsheet.
@sashatbh — Sore loser.
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