Even the tidiest systems fall apart when unfair expectations pile up.

One woman was used to doing all the cleaning, but when her husband went off on her for not cleaning on short notice before he had guests over, she started questioning whether this system was really working for her.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for not cleaning before guests came over because I was tired?

I usually do a majority of chores in the house.

My husband helps with laundry and sometimes vacuums, but that’s pretty much it.

I usually don’t mind because things get done at my pace.

If something bothers him, he cleans it, and he is generally appreciative of what I do.

If I ask for help, he will help.

But lately, the status quo has begun to break down.

Lately, he has been having friends over after work.

He works second shift, so I am asleep by the time this happens.

In the past, if he mentioned having people over, I would clean.

This time, though, it was different.

But a couple of days ago, he mentioned people would be coming over just a couple of hours before I was going to sleep.

The last few weeks have been very stressful for me, and I haven’t been cleaning as much as I usually do.

I just didn’t have it in me to clean much before they came over. I was tired.

I cleaned up the dishes from dinner and took out the trash but didn’t have the energy to do more.

Then I went to sleep.

Her husband wasn’t happy about this at all.

I woke up, and he was not in bed.

I had some text messages from him saying how it was embarrassing having people over because the house wasn’t cleaned.

He said it was disrespectful to him and his friends because I knew they were coming but didn’t fully clean up.

I talked to him about it later that day, and he reiterated the same points.

It was clear he was expecting her to clean more thoroughly, but she defended the fact that she was exhausted.

He said I had a couple of hours before bed and should’ve at least vacuumed, mopped, and picked things up.

I told him I was too tired to do that and if he wants me to do all the cleaning, he needs to accept it will be done at my pace, depending on my time, energy, and motivation.

I don’t mind doing it, but it’s on my schedule.

That’s the price of our arrangement.

Now the two aren’t sure how to move forward.

He thinks I was being spiteful by not cleaning more and that I am being rude with my comment on our arrangement.

But I just didn’t have the energy for more cleaning.

AITA for not cleaning before bed knowing my husband would have friends over?

Sounds like if the husband wanted the house cleaned bad enough, he should have just done it himself.

A storm is a’brewin’ in the Reddit comment section.

This boyfriend needs to take his expectations down several notches.

It’s high time this dude starts doing his fair share.

Ultimately, she needed proper notice if she was going to help out.

His guests, his responsibility.

This situation showed that in an equitable relationship, it’s not fair for one person to shoulder the entirety of any task.

The biggest mess here is one of unfair expectations.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.