I would have had a serious talk with those parents . <| sep |> I think if he ' s open to hearing what you have to say , you ' re half way there . It takes a lot of repetition , and just plain old time to learn new habits . I know it ' s more work for you , but perhaps setting up teaching him to use a system that serves the role of naggingreminders in your place could be worthwhile . The idea is that it eventually becomes habit for the other person , too . Example I hate last minute trips to the store to get something we ' ve run out of soap , toilet paper , etc . . And it annoys me when we make a trip to Target and forget to pick up the light bulb we needed . But I was also tired of feeling like the only one being proactive about household needs I wasn ' t , but we differed in our priorities and tolerance for last minute trips . I instituted a memo pad on the refrigerator with a pen attached . It ' s easy to jot down whatever comes up during the week , then we just take it with us next time we go shopping . If I was in the bathroom and pulled out the last roll of toilet paper , I would shout out to husband to add it to the list . Or if he mentioned needing something , I said add it to the list , instead of putting it up myself , or committing it to my own overcrowded mental checklists . It took a while who am I kidding . probably many months , but it is now a pretty automatic habit for both of us and I don ' t feel like I need to manage shopping lists on my own . There are probably apps that serve a similar function if you think that would be easier . Inertia is a strong force . I know it ' s frustrating , but I ' m sure we can all think of things we have been resistant to do out of laziness . It ' s just that women tend to get a lot less societal leeway for this , so we usually buck up faster . If your SO loves you , and is open to these conversations , and you work methodically and cooperatively , it will get better . Maybe not 100 %, and probably not fast enough , but better . And hopefully it will be less of a struggle for our kids when they ' re our age .