Untidy roommates are a real pain. They can cause a lot of tension in the house, and if the problem isn’t dealt with, feelings of bitterness and botheration are likely to spill over resulting in contentions and conflicts. The main thing to remember is that being on good terms with your roommate will make life a whole lot easier, and so blunt confrontation rarely has a high success rate.
Seek to understand
Your roommate is not untidy intentionally. Nobody in his right mind would want to be unhealthy and unhygienic. So, please bear in mind this simple point. Try to understand why your roommate is behaving in that way. It may be a bad break up or he might have had a bad day at work. Sometimes there is a chance that even though your roommate wants to keep the room clean, he thinks he is not capable of doing it.
Talk to your roommate about the issue and see what he can do about it. Try to explain him the reason why you want to keep it clean and how you need his help. If you can sit and sort this out, it’s quite possible you can reach to a conclusion on the issue without unnecessary arguments.
Divide the apartment in to turfs or zones
You might be a neatness freak. If you are, then there is every chance that you might be disturbed and annoyed at the mess created by your room mate. The best approach is to divide your apartment into three turfs or zones: your zone, your roommate’s and the common zone.
Maintain your bedroom as you like. It is completely up to your choice how you want it to be. Similarly your partner’s bedroom should not bother you if it is not clean, since it is his/her choice. The common areas which include common zones in your apartment such as kitchen, bathrooms, and living room, you should sit and discuss about maintaining these areas neatly without any fuss.
Hire a professional cleaning service
As discussed earlier, talk with your roommate and check if he/she is willing to chip in with you to hire an expert cleaner. You can notice the difference if the pro handles the common areas once in a week or if the budget is tight, once in a month. You are more than likely to see a change in your roommate’s attitude.
Take the initiative
If you are more worried about the cleanliness of your place, take the initiative and show that it comes naturally to you. If you are indeed good at cleaning and stuff, offer to do more of that job and maintain the common areas cleanly. In return, see if your roommate would agree to do a greater share of some other chores. Work as a team and see wonders working!!!
Perfect plan
The best way to go about is by not having a perfect plan. Trust me it never works when you plan these things. If youâre considering living with a friend, contemplate the way your friend maintains his or her current living space
Before you think of getting along with someone as a room mate, talk and see if he meets your requirements, if he isn’t just avoid him/her. If in case you end up with an untidy fellow, discuss about the issue; the cleaning rules without getting personal. If everything fails, nag him to help out to the best of his or her ability, and get the hell out of that place as soon as the lease is up.
