For every action

there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I am a decent house keeper, but admit in the past I have sometimes left dishes in the sink for a day (or even 2).  I have always been fairly particular about my stove top being clean, however.

Living with other people has made what was a normal habit into a compulsion.

TW's daughters are not clean.  They leave dishes, food, condiments, fast food containers, etc in the kitchen, on the counter, in the living room, and in their rooms.  If the dishes and wrappers weren't clues enough, the stove top can be forensically analyzed to determine what they have cooked over the last few days.

I have tried various approaches to dealing with this.  Yelling had an immediate response, but no long term effect, and made me feel worse.  Logic and appealing to their ethics and morals got me that blank chicken stare I mentioned a few days ago.  I tried the reverse of the broken window theory - for a little more than 2 weeks I cleaned the kitchen twice a day, did all their dishes, thinking that if they got used to a clean kitchen they would keep it that way - nope.

My current approach is to wash all the dishes I use and put them away, almost immediately.  Prep dishes are done while meals are cooking, and if something needs to cool before being consumed dishes are done and the stove is cleaned while that happens.  I can't even leave something in the sink while I eat, it seems.  Like I said, it is almost becoming an obsession.

Unfortunately, the pool of clean dishes, pots, etc I have to draw from is ever dwindling.

Interestingly enough, I have been told that while I was away last week they actually cleaned the kitchen themselves twice.  But now that I am home, we are back to staus quo.

I am looking for a place to move in to.  I cannot handle this any more.  The disadvantages far outweigh any advantages for me.  I have told TW this, and she tried to change my mind, but I am sticking to my guns.

(And no, before any of you mention it, moving up to where Sebastian is posted is not currently an option, for a number of reasons.  Lovely thought, but not yet. He does, however, agree with me moving, and doesn't see how I stuck it out this long.)