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Basic Trope: When men live alone, their house is messy and dirty. When women live alone, their house is squeaky clean.

  • Straight: Bob leaves his clothes on the floor and never makes his side of the bed, and Alice picks up her clothes and always makes the bed every morning.
  • Exaggerated: Bob is The Pigpen who lives in Trash of the Titans conditions, and Alice is a neat freak who never allows visitors in order to not allow a single speck of dirt.
  • Downplayed: Alice's room is full of stuff, yet she barely manages to keep it all in some storage. Bob on the other hand keeps his room cluttered, though in an organized chaos.
  • Justified:
    • Alice and Bob come from a time and place with very traditional gender roles; keeping the house clean is Alice's job.
    • Bob has organizational issues, and keeping things neat and clean has always been a challenge for him.
    • Bob's ability to focus is temporarily gone thanks to a depressive episode, and he asks Alice to help him clean, knowing she's a Neat Freak.
  • Inverted: Alice is messy, and Bob is a Neat Freak.
  • Subverted:
    • Bob house is messy, but then he cleans it.
    • Alice is actually hiding a major mess.
    • Bob and Alice are equally messy.
  • Double Subverted: But he was expecting company, the house becomes messy soon after.
  • Parodied: Bob literally lives Down in the Dumps, and Alice lives in a house that literally sparkles.
  • Zig Zagged: ???
  • Averted: Bob and Alice keep their house relatively clean.
  • Enforced: Women Are Wiser, Men Are Uncultured, etc.
  • Lampshaded: "Bob, pick up your underwear off the floor!"
  • Invoked: Bob wants to break up with Alice, but doesn't have the guts to tell Alice, so he starts being sloppy so she'll want to leave.
  • Exploited: Carol blames David for a mess she caused, because men are assumed to be the cause of untidiness.
  • Defied: Bob likes to be clean and tidy, so he always picks up after himself and keeps his dwelling clean.
  • Discussed: "How come men are always so messy?"
  • Conversed: "Why does Alice stay with him if his sloppiness drives her up the wall?"
  • Deconstructed: Neatness issues are a major source of conflict, which can take a toll on Alice and Bob's relationship.
  • Reconstructed: Alice and Bob learn to compromise; Bob learns to pick up after himself, and Alice learns to let minor messes (such as Bob's cluttered desk) go. Their relationship improves.
  • Played For Drama: Alice and Bob are always fighting about cleanliness or lack thereof.

Back to Men Can't Keep House...and while you're there, would you please pick your underwear up off the floor? I've asked you 10 times already!

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