In a recent chapter from the Big Book of How to Stupidly Make Things Super Difficult And Unnecessarily Bad For Yourself, a Florida husband complained to his wife that he’s “the only one who cleans around here” at their home.
His wife, Jalie Gil, 27, had a different reaction than he might have expected.
After this exchange about household chores, Jalie explains, she realized “that I was conditioned to silently clean up after my husband.” She realized it had gotten to the point that “he literally forgets he ever left a mess behind.”
Jalie handled this unfair treatment the good, old-fashioned, American way: she went on strike.
“I realized I was not alone [in this circumstance],” she says. She realized there were many other “people out there with these husband and cohabiter woes.”
To make contact with kindred souls, Jalie launched a TikTok that documents her cleaning strike.
Things get very messy, very fast:
By Day 2, Jalie explains, her husband is giving her “the silent treatment” because he’s mad that she’s not cleaning up after him anymore. But he has begun to clean up after himself a little bit:
By Day 4, Jalie’s husband is making active efforts to clean. But, hilariously, he even makes a mess of that.
The toilet bears literal stains of cleaning product; all cleaning accouterment around it lie in disarray on the floor. The laundry room, filled with clean clothing, looks like burglars have ransacked the place.
Jalie also explains that she had to block her husband’s family members “to avoid any extra, unnecessary drama,” but that she thinks “we’re making progress.”
TikTok is here for it:
By Day 8, her husband seems to be getting the message more clearly.
But ultimately, Jalie says that she plans to continue the strike until all her “areas of concern are addressed.” Although her husband seems to understand now that he needs to pitch in with the cleaning more equally, the house remains a mess.
There is always at least one sock randomly in the middle of the floor, and the laundry room remains a disaster area. Jalie wants him to actually put in equal effort to clean their home with her, not just understand that he should.
And, in 2022, what grown man really needs a gold star for cleaning the toilet, washing his clothes, and putting his video game controller away? Stay strong, Jalie! We’re rooting for you.