Bedroom Dilemma

My OH and I also have separate bedrooms (mainly) because of his snoring.
His room is his own space, I don't do any cleaning or change his bedding. I'm really lucky that he is neat and tidy, he is also very fussy about his clothes so everything is put away in drawers and wardrobes. If he was untidy that would be his tough luck, no way would I go in clear up after him.

He has not always been like this, when we both worked and were raising our children it was a major battle to get him to help with any housework or do the garden. He has had to learn that the house will not clean itself, bedding needs to be changed and washed - as do towels (he has his own bathroom too)!

To be fair he now does most of the housework but he does leave all his tools lying around when he does any DIY. I just move them into the garage and ignore him when he blames me for it looking like a tip!

He is a bit of a hoarder whereas I am the opposite. We are gradually decluttering as we will downsize in the next few year and getting him to part with his massive collection of tools (which he no longer has any desire to use) is an ongoing battle.

I find the argument that just because someone has a room of their own they should be left to treat it how they want, to be a little shortsighted. I have seen this taken to ridiculous lengths. Neighbours of mine whose cat I feed when they are away, have a similar arrangement to the one described by Lyndylou - he collects newspapers and has the daily copy of a particular paper going back twenty years or so. These things began life being piled up on top of each other, but now the piles are so high that they spill onto the floor, the room is a complete tip, and moths have moved into the house generally. His wife takes the view that he won't do anything to clean it all up, but he's now started to create his pile of paper in another room. This is a sign of mental disorder, and frankly I think Lyndylou that if your partner is creating his own little island in your home he is looking just for a roof over his head and not a relationship. Your house, and therefore your rules - ban the tools and their possible rusty smell to the shed and make him tidy up, otherwise you might start to find dirty plates and rotting food in his 'bed' room.