Married? Here's some advice on pet peeves and house rules from the book "How to Survive Your Marriage" (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who've done it:
“When it comes to chores, specialize. I vacuum and do most dishes. My wife folds the laundry and cooks most dinners. I do the finances. She writes the thank you notes. That way, each person does what they do best or like best, and there’s a lot less arguing about ‘whose turn is it?’”
—Tony T., San Francisco, married 4 years
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“Try to eat both breakfast and dinner with your mate. Even if it involves changing your work hours, just do it. This allows you to sit down, communicate, spend time and pay attention to one another.”
—J.M.D., New York City, married 5 years
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“The household rule that my wife and I have is no TV in the bedroom. The bedroom is only for sleeping and ‘other things.’”
—Anonymous, Fort Worth, Texas, married 26 years
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“Tell your spouse when something he or she does bugs you—in a nice way. My husband insists on leaving the dishwashing brush on the counter. It’s not a big deal, but it bugs me because I want it to be put away in the drainer under the sink, WHERE IT BELONGS. Instead of letting that pet peeve fester until it turns into a MONSTER DEAL, I remind him. Bless his heart, he tries. Likewise, he reminds me that he likes to have his shirts hung up when they come out of the dryer.”
—L.A., Iowa City, Iowa, married 17 years
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“We have a shoes-off policy in our house to keep snow and mud off the floors, but sometimes you just forget one little thing and it’s not worth taking them off and putting them on. So we cheat. But we’ve made it a policy that if the other person catches you, you’re the one who has to do the vacuuming the next time. One time my wife heard me coming and tried to do a handstand in the middle of the hall so that I wouldn’t ‘catch’ her with her shoes on. She’s not very good at handstands, though.”
—Paul W., Minneapolis, married 3 years
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© 2006, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.