There’s nothing wrong with keeping your apartment spotless, but if you lose your cool over the smallest mess, you may have a bigger issue to deal with. Likewise, if your roommate doesn’t have the same knack to keep clean as you do, you may find yourself at odds with each other. Most people jump to the conclusion of needing to find a new, cleaner roommate when the only conclusion they should make is the need to talk to their current one! Before you lose faith in your roommate’s organizational skills, you should try to figure out the reason for their untidiness. There are many avenues to assist your roommate and help them be cleaner.
Learn the Cause of the Mess
The worst thought you can have is thinking your roommate’s objective is to pester you with their mess. This could not be further from the truth. The reality is there are many explanations as to why someone is messy. If someone is lacking mental clarity, it is normal to see them living in disarray, as they are using their belongings to express the mess in their head. More often than not, your roommate could easily just be bummed, perhaps the result of a breakup or loss of job or career. Perhaps they’re genuinely trying to be organized, they just haven’t had it modeled for them so it’s not as easy for them as it is for you. There are many arguments as to why your roommate is struggling to stay structured, so it is imperative you learn the hidden explanation for the disorder. You will strengthen your relationship with your roommate when they learn you sincerely want to know what’s going on in their life and help them better themselves.
Personal and Shared Areas
It is impossible for the whole apartment to be kept at your ideal standard of clean, it simply won’t happen. This is because the apartment is divided into shared and personal areas, and while you can discuss how shared areas must be kept, you can’t try to control your roommate’s personal areas. You can try to inspire your roommate to keep their personal areas clean, but establishing how shared areas will be maintained and when the routine cleanings need to occur will go over significantly better and possibly inspire your roommate to tidy up their personal areas.
Let the Professionals Help
If you and your roommate can afford to share the cost, let a professional cleaning service handle the apartment cleaning. When your roommate has to pay someone else to clean the apartment, their messy habits will hopefully shape up quickly. It might even be the push they need to start cleaning themselves so they don’t have to spend money on a cleaning service.
Distribute Chores Wisely
Sharing chores is part of living with other people, so you might as well be smart about it. Not everyone is good at every chore equally, so take responsibility of the chores in your wheelhouse. If your roommate never forgets to take the trash out on garbage day, let them be responsible for it. If you can whip through cleaning the bathroom and living room, take ownership of maintaining them. Finding easy ways to compromise will tremendously better your living situation, especially if you have a messy roommate.
