Is Your Man a Mess in the Kitchen?

I just stumbled upon a blog post titled "A Man in the Kitchen Equals a Mess". My knee-jerk reaction, was "Heck yeah! Tell it, sister!" followed by my PC reaction, "That's a sexist generalization."

Sometimes you wanna strangle the cook instead. (Image via Food Channel Shop)

Truth is, I've only lived with one man in my adult life, and yeah, he's a mess in the kitchen. A loveable, well-meaning mess.

I learned my lesson a few years ago when I asked him to make me dinner for my birthday. He prepared a delicious, elaborate meal and an even more elaborate mess! Every dish and pot in the apartment was dirty. Food and packaging was everywhere. I refused to clean on my birthday, so I left the mess for the next morning. I didn't sleep well because it drives me crazy to go to bed with a dirty kitchen. I then spent the next day cleaning for almost two hours. (We didn't have a dishwasher then.) Argh!

Is your man a mess in the kitchen too? If so, here's my advice to make life a little less stressful:

• Let your guy cook for you, but make sure it's something simple and easy to clean up. Salads, sandwiches, and re-heating things are good for that.
• Offer to cook with him so that you can keep things under control. Put stuff back in the fridge. Throw stuff in compost bin or trash. Mix up things that might splatter.  He'll think you're being supersweet and a great assistant-- which you are-- but you're also secretly doing damage control.
• Ask him to clean up after himself. He will totally half-ass it, but that's less the work for you to do later. 
• Keep tools and products he likes to clean up with in an extremely visible and easily accessible spot in the kitchen. 
• Ask to eat out on your birthday, anniversary, and other special occasions.
• Remember that you love him.

Before anyone gets angry at me, I wanna clarify that I understand gender has nothing to do with how tidy or messy a person is. When working as a residential cleaner, I cleaned two insanely dirty apartments and both were occupied by one person-- one by a guy, the other by a gal. So I can't say one gender is messier than the other. Still, I have noticed that cleaning responsibilities tend to fall upon women when they're coupled with men. #realtalk

If you're the messy one in the relationship, theKitchn has 3 practical tips for cooking without making a mess.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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