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A survey has revealed that the top ten things a mother finds most irritating includes dirty clothes dumped next to the washing basket, wet towels on the bathroom floor and toothpaste left in the sink.
The research by www.TheBabyWebsite.com found that mothers were also irritated with overflowing bins, urine on the toilet seat, and tissues left in pockets in the washing machine.

The survey on 3000 mothers also showed that failing to refill the toilet roll holder, leaving the toilet seat up and finding empty cartons and boxes in the back of the cupboard or fridge, can be major causes of irritation.

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“These irritations might seem small and insignificant to other people, but when mums find themselves doing absolutely everything for their families, the endless list of tasks soon starts to grate,” the Scotsman quoted Kathryn Crawford, of the website, as saying.

“Mums already have enough to do without cleaning up after dad and the children.

“It would make life so much easier, and the housework would get done so much faster, if other family members chipped in and tidied up after themselves.

“The fact is that many mums in the UK are taken completely for granted, and because of this they find themselves ”mothering” everyone who lives in the house, including dad,” she stated.

The survey also shows 36 per cent of mothers detest picking up the phone to find they are on the end of an automated call.

A third say they hate to see crumbs in the butter and the same percentage are left fuming by shoes left in the hallway.

Fathers are criticised for leaving a room and not turning off the lights, leaving curtains closed when they are the last out of bed and failing to rinse hair from the bath.

And men are also accused of shaving over the sink then leaving the bristles there, dumping muddy shoes outside the back door, and failing to wake up in the middle of the night when the kids start crying.

Children are also at fault, with mothers holding them responsible for storing dirty cups and mugs in their bedrooms and leaving toys scattered over the floor.

Other annoying habits include narrow shopping aisles, finding the toothpaste squeezed in the middle instead of the end and a lack of ‘me time’.

“This poll shows it isn’t just household chores which annoy mums,” Crawford added.

But Dr Mary Brown, lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said such lists trivialised women, making them seem like ‘martyrs’.

“Like men, women encounter a mixture of political and trivial experiences but we don’t hear about what annoys men,” she said.

“There is a danger that women, especially those without adult company and who are not challenged enough, buy into this mindset.

“Instead of acting like martyrs, they are actually good at managing people and capable of laying down ground rules for family members instead of using up their energy getting angry,” she added.