Men (husbands) are who they are (and it sure annoys me)

Last night I noticed the garbage was full just before Mark announced he was leaving to run an errand. I quickly went to the pantry, removed the bag, and said, "Could you please bring these out to the garbage when you leave?" I also grabbed the recycle bag. In suburbia it is all mixed, so I just throw it in a paper grocery bag kept inside the pantry near the garbage. "Sure." he said. (Please note I did NOT ask him to remove the bag himself, or put a new bag in place.)

I commented I didn't think he had taken the trash out once since we moved in (6 months ago). "Sure I have." he said, but then forgot the trash at the top of the stairs. As he was putting on his shoes at the entry, I again said, "Can you take this trash out?" He replied, "Sure, if you bring it down to me." So I did. He finished zipping his jacket and left the house. I noticed the bags sitting at the bottom of the steps. I rushed out to the garage as he was pulling out. He rolled the window down. I yelled, "Would you PLEASE put these in the trash!!!" as I dropped them on the floor of the garage.

You get the drift... and yes at this point I might as well have put them in the large bins myself...

Mark returned home. Before entering the house, he did put the bags in their containers (I checked). Later, he drank a bottle of Izzy All Natural soda. When it was finished, he set the glass bottle on the counter (right next to the pantry). Many, many times I have noted Mark's recyclable items left there, and requested he PLEASE throw them away instead of leaving his trash on the counter for me to clean up behind him. I picked up the empty bottle, pulled back the pantry curtain, threw the bottle into the recycle bag, and asked, "Why do you always leave your trash on the counter??? Why don't you put it in the bag?? It is about a foot away?"

His response - "There is a recycle bag in there? I never knew that! You never told me."

Oh dear lord! I have kept the brown paper grocery bag in the pantry for this EXACT purpose since we first moved to our home (6 months ago). Maybe I should use my label maker and put a nice little sticker on each bag for Mark's benefit!

This solidifies my argument that he hasn't taken out the trash since we moved in.

The recycle bag (above)... and it's location inside the pantry (to the left in the lower photo, directly inside).
In Mark's own defense, he does vacuum, and will scrub a bathroom with out even being asked. He is a good guy... but good grief men/husbands (not just Mark) sure have their annoying qualities.

Mark also finds himself unable to get his laundry into a clothes hamper. I have asked many married women (both young and more mature) about their other half's use of this dirty laundry collection mechanism. From what I can tell through my research, this appears to be a universal problem with that other half. (No I do not ask Mark to wash laundry, fold laundry, or put it away. This would be a waste of my breath. I only ask that he put his DIRTY laundry where it belongs. He has a lot of excuses as to why he is unable to perform this task.)