Wow, I didn't realise there'd be so many responses so soon! Thank you all for the feedback! It looks like I have a lot of answers to give so I'm gonna try to divide them into manageable chunks.

Here's what I got from you so far:

The sanitation and hygiene issue may be a family thing, but the shifting gears is definitely more widespread.

Excessive waste and a "disposable" attitude is pretty much a universal thing here.

The English language issue may be regional.

Raising boys to rely on women isn't universal so it might just be my in-laws' attitude.

The women's behavior might be age-related.

I can deal with other people shifting gears in my presence as long as they understand I will not shake their hand. I'm sure they'd have the same reaction if I suddenly scratched my armpits, sniffed my hand, then reached out for a handshake.

The waste was a big issue to me because my family was poor when I was growing up. There were times when our neighbors gave us food every day because we couldn't afford our own.

It's no longer an issue for me now as we have our own house so no one's been chucking food that I paid for with my hard-earned savings. As for the furniture, I've convinced my mother-in-law to donate certain things to charity shops. If you think the sofas I got were beaten up, I can honestly say I did a great job restoring them. Even my mother-in-law says they look like they've got a new lease of life.

To those who disagree with the things I've said, it's okay. I'm not here looking for people to agree with everything I say. I'm looking for input so I can figure out what exactly I'm dealing with. The sanitation issue is the one that REALLY bothers me and I've been doing some research these last couple of weeks so I can talk to our local MP (Jim Dobbin) and suggest possible changes to how health and sanitation are taught to school children. Who knows? Maybe the next generation won't be so complacent just because NHS care is free.