How lazy can one get?

[Route246]

Not a plumber but I understand the theory behind basic house plumbing (vents, traps, bends, unions, etc.). That said, it is possible that there is more to the story than he described. If his plumbing is slow in general then a plunger may do a short term fix but the root cause may be something further down the drain path to the sewer line.

Slow drains could be symptomatic of something equivalent to clogged arteries. A good plumber can figure this out and snake out the clogged arteries and make things better. Our garage drain was slowing down but unnoticeable until I dumped a bucket of soapy water in the basin and noticed it was taking longer than expected to drain. I put some Rogo down the drain and it sped things up but kept an eye on it and noticed it was slowly getting more sluggish. I had a plumber in to fix a different problem but added on checking the run from garage to main and he said it was a little "dirty" and offered to snake it out which I readily told him go for it. He said it should be good for 10 years now. Quite a bit was cleared out, especially the soap and grease buildup from the kitchen which is inline with the garage. He ran a fiberoptic check before snaking and showed me.

 

[imjustawarrior]

Toilet: Keep in mind that people don't always tell the truth. Some people lie to cover up embarrassing situations. Do you really know what was going on in that bathroom? Do you really want to know?

Plate: Maybe the wife likes to do those things. My wife does way more than I think she should for our kids, but she really likes to do things for them. I joke with her that she would still carry them every where if she could.

I'm trying to learn not to project my subjective standards on others. I find that I am happier that way.

 

[MichaelB]

From the thread title I thought this was going to be a contest for forum members, and I was excited, because it's probably the only contest I have a shot of winning. Oh well. Back to not doing my chores.

I think your idea for the thread would have been more entertaining, and possibly useful.

 

[aja8888]

Having raised daughters, I can verify that a Barbie doll will not make it all the way through the S or P trap in a toilet.

 

[OldShooter]

And here I am feeling lazy for calling someone to install a new valve and flapper in the toilet every so many years when those things wear out.

WADR that's pretty lazy, considering that five minutes is about the maximum that task takes. I always have a spare on the junk shelf in the basement. IIRC Home Depot sells them in three-packs.

 

[Calico]

@OldShooter

Five minutes for me to attempt the task, and a couple of hours for me to mop up the floor afterwards and find a plumber to do it right.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I remember a time visiting a friend who lived in a high rise apartment building. While I was there, a light bulb burned out in a reading lamp, and I asked if he had any spare bulbs. He said yes, they were in the hall closet "but don't worry about it."

He then picked up the phone, called the maintenance office of the building and asked them to come up and change the bulb.

I want to live there.

 

[Calico]

Having raised daughters, I can verify that a Barbie doll will not make it all the way through the S or P trap in a toilet.

Was this experiment done in the name of science, or just for fun?

 

[Aerides]

.my parents were recently at a beach house with a couple friends. The one guy wont lift a finger for anything. His wife packs all his clothes, loads the car, etc etc. He was eating a sandwich on a paper plate. He was standing right in front of the trash can. When he was done eating, he let the plate just sit on the counter.

That's not (just) lazy, that's rude. It's one thing to do that in your home, but to leave food-related-garbage on the kitchen counter when other people are staying there too is just bad behavior.

Yes, even if he's used to his wife cleaning up after him. In a group setting, like a shared vacation house, most people who aren't jerks would/should step up their game a bit.

 

[aja8888]

Was this experiment done in the name of science, or just for fun?

Neither daughter ever admitted to being the initiator of the event...

 

[Calico]

Neither daughter ever admitted to being the initiator of the event...

Of course not! I am one of three sisters, and I was a perfect angel. Anything bad that happened was 100% my sisters' fault. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Lorenzo]

WADR that's pretty lazy, considering that five minutes is about the maximum that task takes. I always have a spare on the junk shelf in the basement. IIRC Home Depot sells them in three-packs.

Yes, but: (1) nothing takes the expected five minutes, as there is seemingly always something like a rusty nut that won't cooperate or the kit not quite fitting perfectly. And (2), I don't like sticking my hand in the filthy tank. For some reason, I am not squeamish about using a plunger or even an auger.

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

My 80+ yo BIL appears incapable of helping to clean up after meals. I’m wondering whether it is a cognitive problem. Seriously.

 

[RetiredHappy]

My 80+ yo BIL appears incapable of helping to clean up after meals. I’m wondering whether it is a cognitive problem. Seriously.

Not all 80+ yos have the same robustness, cognition and energy. Maybe he has all if those issues.

 

[ponyboy]

That's cause they are for sinks.

View attachment 58831

Yep, and people still use them for toilets.

 

[ponyboy]

I have another one. This is my uncle's house. He has a recliner right next to the front door. If someone knocks, he will yell for his wife to answer the door. All he has to do is stand up, take one step and reach his arm out to open door. She's usually babysitting a grandkid at the time but he can't answer the door. He's able bodied, and he is a chatter box. Makes sense.

 

[Kings over Queens]

My 80+ yo BIL appears incapable of helping to clean up after meals. I’m wondering whether it is a cognitive problem. Seriously.

I can't speak to your brother in laws cognitive abilities, and am wondering at his age, whether or not he ever cleaned up?

My paternal grandfather was the only boy, the youngest, in a family of sisters and a mother who doted on him his entire life. Then his wife and his daughter took the reins. The man would leave a coffee cup on the table or dishes in the sink fully expecting that someone else would wash them. He wasn't lazy, it's how he was conditioned.

 

[TickTock]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, I did that a few years ago when my back pain was at it's peak. Now, after several procedures that eased the pain considerably, I no longer have that excuse.

I'm debating internally whether to tell DW that though.

If you have the money and it's worth it to you (and DW), then don't worry about it - have it done.

In the mid-2000s I was (for w*rk) flying out every Sunday afternoon and flying back every Friday night for months. No way was I going to waste the limited potential time I had with DW mowing. So for the first time ever we hired it out. After the project was completed, I discovered that I'd rather pay someone else than mow myself. And we've been doing that ever since.

 

[ksr]

My paternal grandfather was the only boy, the youngest, in a family of sisters and a mother who doted on him his entire life. Then his wife and his daughter took the reins. The man would leave a coffee cup on the table or dishes in the sink fully expecting that someone else would wash them. He wasn't lazy, it's how he was conditioned.

This sounds a lot like my late father. Whenever I had my family (father, sister and BIL) to dinner my sister and I would clear the table. As we walked around the table picking up dishes we would have to ask him to hand us his plate.

Once I was in the kitchen and heard a commotion from the dining room. When I walked in it turned out my father had spilled a glass of red wine. He was literally sitting there just looking at the mess while my sister and BIL frantically tried to wipe everything up around him.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

The first one I actually get. I had never seen a plunger in my life until I was in my 40s. I also had never had a plugged toilet. There was this plunger sitting next to the toilet in the home that my second husband and I bought. I asked him what it was....

We stayed at an EconoLodge last year, and the toilet happened to clog the first night. I went to the front desk, and the hotel employee handed me a plunger in a garbage bag (so I wouldn't be seen carrying a toilet plunger back and forth to our room).

I guess I could've made a "stink" about having to deal with it myself, but to be honest I didn't want to wait for them to roust up a maintenance person after hours.

As Red Green says "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy".

 

[RetiredHappy]

We stayed at an EconoLodge last year, and the toilet happened to clog the first night. I went to the front desk, and the hotel employee handed me a plunger in a garbage bag (so I wouldn't be seen carrying a toilet plunger back and forth to our room).

I guess I could've made a "stink" about having to deal with it myself, but to be honest I didn't want to wait for them to roust up a maintenance person after hours.

As Red Green says "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy".

Hence we stay at 4 / 5 star resorts so that we do not need to DYI because we are lazy.

 

[Gremlin]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, I did that a few years ago when my back pain was at it's peak. Now, after several procedures that eased the pain considerably, I no longer have that excuse.

I'm debating internally whether to tell DW that though.

Your secret is safe with us!

 

[planuntilthefisthits]

I can't speak to your brother in laws cognitive abilities, and am wondering at his age, whether or not he ever cleaned up?

My paternal grandfather was the only boy, the youngest, in a family of sisters and a mother who doted on him his entire life. Then his wife and his daughter took the reins. The man would leave a coffee cup on the table or dishes in the sink fully expecting that someone else would wash them. He wasn't lazy, it's how he was conditioned.

Maybe true, but when he sees me (able bodied male) helping cleaning up, what can he be thinking while he is just chatting and sitting?

 

[iloveyoga]

Of course not! I am one of three sisters, and I was a perfect angel. Anything bad that happened was 100% my sisters' fault. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I was one of six kids and we never admitted to anything!

 

[jollystomper]

The main place I really noticed lazy people was in college. The roommate who essentially left his dirty clothes where he took them off, and only picked them up when he decided to re-wear the item or take them back home for his mother to wash them (I tried teaching him how to do wash but he could not grasp the concept). Or a friend's roommate who did not bother flushing the toilet after use and just wiped his hands (without rinsing) on anyone's towel hanging in the bathroom. Or those who were too lazy to bus their dining room trays back to the dropoff point and would just leave them on the table (with comments like "I'm keeping the dining room staff gainfully employed"). Or friends who lived in off campus housing who would want to crash in your dorm room for a night or two because "we have a vermin infestation"... but when you saw their apartment, you were far from surprised why it occured.

You never know what might be behind an observed "laziness" situation. Spouse A might do things that make Spouse B seem lazy, but in Spouse A's vie wit is an "act of service" that they are both find with. Or extreme hoarders - sometimes laziness, sometimes psychological? We have friends where the wife is threatening to divorce him (she has already moved out) because she is tired of creating paths to get from the door to various parts of the house because of the items he will not get rid off. When they were in their 20s they lost their home, their business, and all of their possessions due to a serious flood that wiped out a lot of the town they lived in. I wonder if he might not be lazy, but just reluctant to let go of things.

Some former co-workers view me as "lazy" - though they do not say it directly - since I have not sought what they thought I should be seeking. Comments such as"I thought for sure you'd be doing something productive with all the knowledge and skills you have". But I am not offended, I have nothing to prove, and their words do not stop me from enjoying my life .