Comments on: Roommate Problems: How to Deal with Messy Roommates

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:35:39 +0000

I live with two sisters, one is 25 the other is 22. They still call their mom “mommy” and it is obvious they have been spoiled rotten their whole lives. I take out the trash and recycling, clean the common areas and the bathroom and if I ask them to take a turn they get really defensive.

They leave their dishes for days, sometimes weeks at a time. I love to cook but our kitchen is tiny so before I can cook I have to clean up all their dishes in order to use the counter. I do this every night after work but every day when i come home, it is messy again. I also do my best to keep the table and sofa clean in the kitchen because we don’t have a living room. It is a two bedroom apartment and the living room is my bedroom.

One time the older girl cooked a chicken for Sunday roast and left the carcass on a wooden chopping board, plus all the dishes and cooking things, on the counter for a week. I got fed up and cleaned it up. When I lifted the chopping board to dump the chicken carcass, the board was glued to the counter.

The older one was also really messy, all her crap spilled out of her bedroom into the hallway. She left all her coats and shoes in the hall behind the front door, so you can barely open the door to get in or out. She also trimmed her pubes in the tub and left the trimmings, and leaves used leg-waxing strips all over the bathroom floor. Luckily she moved out this week so hopefully the new girl is better.

The younger sister mostly keeps her mess in her bedroom, which is fine with me, but she never takes out the trash and leaves her dishes for ages. We have lived together before for a year, and are friends from university so I don’t want to mess up our friendship but she is so thoughtless. For instance, my mother came to visit and she is really clean, and felt bad for me, so she did everyone’s dishes every night and cleaned up the kitchen. The girls didn’t even notice, and never said thank you to her. Then my mother put some food on to cook and left a clean plate and fork on the side, and went to read in my bedroom. When she came back into the kitchen to serve her food, the younger sister had taken the plate and fork to eat off. I guess she thought the same Dish Fairy who did all the dirty dishes had left it out for her as a gift. WTF.

Anyway I am too broke to get my own place for another six months so I’m just trying to be zen about it until then. I can’t leave the mess, it makes me too unhappy and stressed out so I just have to keep cleaning up. All I can say is at least I’ll be in my own place soon and then the new girl can deal with their disgusting lazy thoughtless selfish living style.

By: guest

guest — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:14:18 +0000

wow,
my spirits have lifted monumentally after reading the above stories. I feel however it’s my duty to purge my own and perhaps loosen the load, ya know?

I decided against a nagging intuitive judgment to move in with two co-workers & friends. I get along smashingly with the one girl. We are good at the communication thing, which is key. It’s so hard living with people especially when you’re all at different stages in life. Some people are better at communicating than others, and some people’s ideas of clean…I am learning…are quite different in their “stages of evolution” than others.

My one roomate gobs in the sink and let’s it harden. Her pubes collect in the tub drain collection chewbacca thing. Yes, when her shower had stopped I gently tapped on the door and asked her, while she was still in there to look “way way down and..yeah, see that thing? holding all your trying to escape pubice refuse??? think you could clean that sweetums? thanks a bunch….”

I’ve tried the delicate notes….tried the chore sheet….and we have tried a communal discussion, but to no avail. This roomate is a sloth. She does the crying thing a lot when confronted, and now is threatening me with abusive behavior. What’s a roomie to do here? Save the emails? As evidence??? Geeze. If they find my body ……. one never knows.

By: Medusa

Medusa — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:06:47 +0000

My roomate has been unemployed for two months, and her father is paying all her bills right now, and she not only makes a ton of messes, but refuses to clean up after herself. She will clean up a mess she made if I point it out, and say ‘Hey, can you take care of this?’ but its like…I have to nag her for every single time she leaves something, or she won’t do it. The other thing is sometimes I’ll ask her to help out, and she does a half ass job, and leaves a mess from cleaning up; like I asked her to sweep/mop the floor because I was working all weekend and there were people coming over (plus I’d already cleaned up all her kitchen messes this week), and there is still a bucket full of old soapy water with the mop in it sitting in the kitchen, for about 3 days now…and I was trying to leave it there because I wanted her to clean up after herself. I do like things really clean, but I am a busy person, and I don’t like to spend a ton of time cleaning up. I totally don’t mind if there are some things left out for a few days (as long as it isn’t food/wet rags/other items that can attract bugs & mold)…I myself leave my stuff out from time to time too, its understandable, but I really have to get on her ass and act like her mom to get her to help me out…which I find really unfair, not just because she isn’t doing her share, but because she has no work or school obligations, daddy is paying for her share of everything, and she has been unemployed for about 4 months now, and doesn’t do anything! I have both work and school, and I have to clean the house, which I barely have time for as it is…how is this fair >:p ?

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:40:16 +0000

I am a messy person. My roommate knew this when I moved in. Both had seen my apartment from before, one having spent many nights at my place, the other having seen it and both found it disgusting and told me so prior to us moving in together. I said I would work to improve on my cleanliness because I wanted roommates since it would save money, but that I am a messy person and that is how I am. One of the two even said that was fine that she likes cleaning. Within the first week together she was freaking out over it got a sub leaser, and now both of my roommates the one who knew me before and the sub leaser whine and complain about our different lifestyle choice.

They are both behind on bills and the one even told me that he is purposely not paying bills because I don’t keep the place clean enough. It is absurd to think because you’re the more clean one that you get to dominate and push your ways on another person. Maybe your ways bother that person. They are equal partners and have as much a right to have things their way.

My roommate the “clean” one has an annoying habit of using the table in front of couch as a place to keep his papers and soda bottles and cluter for a few days till he has friends coming over an cleans and is mad I dont see a need for it, and he uses the couch as a place to sleep and keep his blankets and pillows, yet I don’t argue about that because its his place as well.

If people want roommates who are clean freaks (honestly having to do dishes right after finishing using them, I never heard of such a thing. It is common to let them sit and do a bunch together come the weekend or a few days later. Even my clean roommate does that, not the one who moved out but the other one) then the clean freaks need to look at the peoples place they live in before they move in with you. Don’t just expect someone who has a messy apartment to be perfectly clean because you’re a spoiled brat who is used ot getting your way at home!

Don’t Assume everything must be your way and that your way is the right way!

Later today I am looking at a one bedroom apartment. I will never take in a roomate again. I did it to save money but between their whining about things they already knew about me and the fact that I am the only one to pay rent or bill in a while, the savings was little. We were best friends now one I dont talk to as that one screwed me out of a lot of money and the other I barely can stand to be around because he is screwing me out of money as we speak. Live alone, it is worth the money! I lived alone for 3 years prior to moving in with roomate, biggest mistake!

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:46:19 +0000

that’s what I said!!! I’m telling you , one big communal OCD house. yay!

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:38:57 +0000

I feel like this would be a really good place for people like me to find roommates, ha. Get everyone who is fed up with there roommates and put them all together in one giant clean OCD freak house. My roommate claims I have OCD as I can see a lot of people’s roommates have claimed the same of them.

I was best friends with my roommate all through high school and finally thought it would be fun to live with her for my last year of college. I went from the cleanest home (due to my mother) to the disgusting pit from hell.

Honestly, I think I am better for it. It started with quite a few drunken arguments of me yelling at her about the gross mess and how she just sits around everyday while I’m at work and her yelling back at me about how I’m just like my mom. It still amazes me that she will come home and say, “it smells in here” and not realize that it is because of the food and trash she throws in our sink.

I recently cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and came home to her playing beer pong in the living room over the carpet because it was too cold outside.

The weird thing is, she will keep her room clean, but not the kitchen or other common areas, which are much more important to me because I use them so often; I just sleep in my room man.

After the initial drunken outbursts, I eventually just started cleaning up after her. Then I stopped caring for a little while and left the mess. She finally started cleaning up a little. Its still pretty bad, but when something is gross, I tell her and say we are going to clean it today or tomorrow.

I think she never learned respect for others under the same roof. Since I have so much history with her, I don’t mind just telling her to do something.

Actually I tried this one for a while and she got all butt hurt that I was telling her what to do, so I told her, “when you sign a lease agreement with other people, you are both responsible for what happens to that place financially, and in all aspects. You have a responsibility to the other people on your lease to allow them equal use to common areas, which means they need to be usable. Hence, the mess needs to be at least organized. I don’t enjoy TELLING you what to do, and I’d rather not play the role of Mommy, so maybe you should join the real world and take responsibility for yourself.”

It’s not your job to make your roommate a better person, but it won’t hurt to sit down and provide a convincing argument that they need to keep common areas clean.

On the bright side, as I mentioned before, I am better for this experience. I have learned to deal with mess and I have a feeling that will help me practice for when I have kids of my own (whom I will pound cleaning skills into for there entire lives).

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:34:25 +0000

OHMYGOODNESS
I can sooooo relate to everyone here! I thought it was just me! My husband and I live with 2 roommates in a 4br/2ba house. We have a dog and the roommates decided one day that they would get one too (Without asking, they just brougt one home one day). This dog was tied outside in the back yard, right next to our bedroom window and it would whine and whine all night long, until one day…. Let’s just say a family member knew someone who would actually feed it and take care of it (Thank God)-Pet neglect is horrible, it disgusts me.
Aside from the dog problem, These people are F-I-L-T-H-Y. An outside gas station bathroom is cleaner than theirs. The smell in the bathroom makes me literally nautious, I have no idea how the even stomach going in there, much less using the facility. They also have two children, these children stay w/ them two or three days per week (Long story). The kids are disrespectful and the older girl (age 6 or 7) bathes with the young boy (age 3) unsupervised.. in our bathroom b/c they don’t have a tub. The kids use our toilitries, etc so we buy new ones because its disgusting (Imagine someone using your bath poof and what they wash-then you using it UGHHHHH)As if that were not enough, they MAY do dishes 1x per week after the sink has filled completely and we’ve nagged about it. Oh, the clothes, we share the washer and dryer and for some reason EVERY time i go to do laundry, their clothes are in the washer or dryer… WTF? She doesn’t work? How can she be wearing that many clothes? Oh, and there’s a basket of dirty moldy clothes next to the washer that’s been there for ever. Also, they apparently smoke pot… They deny it, but somehow the entire house smells like pot every night and everytime we return home after they’ve been here! So, there’s a new dog now that just appeared, apparently she got it for her daughter who is never here, this dog uses the bathroom EVERYWHERE in this house! They NEVER take it out… I assume b/c she sleeps so much? Or is busy with other things during the day-like not doing clothes, dishes, or taking care of her kids that aren’t here??? I am so disgusted with the filth of dog urine and poop, the stinch of the filthy bathroom, the cups and moldy dishes, the pile of old dirty clothes in the hamper, the clothes still in the dryer and washer, the stinch of DRUGS and the lies, I’m so fed UP with these filthy people. They are the most disgusting people alive i think!!! I no longer eat here, she does the dishes maybe one time per week if were lucky and she’s disgusting so i can imagine how much time she spends cleaning a dish! UGHHHH THE FILTH IS TOOMUCH!!!

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:06:21 +0000

My roommate, ugh. I bought a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment and decided to take this friend of mine to sort of split the monthly costs.

Like all these entries have in common, my roommate is a slob. Yes he leaves the dishes in the sink. They pile up so that the dishes are starting to hit the faucet. He leaves his crumbs all over the kitchen and doesn’t contribute a damn thing to cleaning the place. I seriously am thinking of kicking him out if the strategies provided in the article do not pan out.

When I remind him to clean up, he laughs at me and doesn’t take me too seriously. He thinks cleaning the apartment is just a big joke. I think I might ask him to find a new place before the end of this semester if he can’t get his shit together.

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:50:02 +0000

i have the worst roommate ever! she is so disgusting and disrespectful! She eats my food so I had to put a line down the middle of the fridge which she promptly complained about and called me a baby. She steals my EXPENSIVE hair products. She lets her dog who hasnt had a bath in over a year lay all over my couch even though i asked her politely not to on several occasions. And she leaves all of her laundry hanging all over every conceivable surface in the common area for it to “dry” (even though we have a dryer). The only time she cleans ANYTHING is if her parents come over and last time i went in her bathroom there was an inch thick coating of black dog hair on EVERYTHING which made me strongly reconsider going down the street to the 7-11 for a cleaner bathroom (mine was occupied by my brother). She lets her dog eat out of my nice bowls and she stacked my shoes and purse in front of my door while she was “cleaning” yet that was the only thing that got “cleaned”. She also lets her dog pee on the floor and doesnt clean it up. And yesterday she turned the modem & router off that i pay for/own and refused to turn it back on because she was “sleeping” even though i confronted her 30 seconds after she turned it off. I’ve had many roommates both male and female and messy and clean that i’ve never had any issue with but this is absolutely ridiculous! I’ve been very polite and adult about the entire last 4 months but last night was the straw that broke the camels back and i turned the heavy metal channel on tv at full volume until she turned the modem back on 45 minutes later. We are 24 years old, why do we need to live like this? I’m disappointed that i had to stoop to her level to get things accomplished.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:27:37 +0000

I can totally understand and feel for the people in the stories above.

I live with a girl that is 23 years old and she acts like a 12 year old. Her room is half of our large living room and there is a portable wall to make it a little more private. But when you first walk into our apartment all you see is all of her shit thrown everywhere and her cleaning her room is pushing everything under a blanket on the floor.If that isnt bad enough I cant tell you the last time she picked up after herself the coffe table in the living room is covered in dirty dishes and just piles of crap. She even keeps a pillow and blanket on the couch. I get so tired of her not helping out with any of the chores. If the garbage is full she just takes off the lid and starts staking it even higher. If the sink is full of dirty dishes she will start a pile on the counter. The only clean place in the whole apartment is my room. I am going nuts!!! I mean I am not asking for alot here jsut a little help. And the other day I noticed that she is eating all of the food that I buy. And it wouldnt be so bad if she helped with the bill… but nope. How can I get her to do her part without being mean about it? I just am going crazy with her just sitting around doing nothing and watching me do all of the work. And I am working,going to school, and am involved in alot of activites as well. And her only commitment is work.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:09:32 +0000

I think if she’s seriously not helping around the house, to sit her down and ask for $50 would be fully reasonable. But for that price, you would have to promise to clean all her dishes and the house fully alone. It could be worth it and she could be happy to not have to bother with any of that stuff.

I love my roommate but she only cleans when she has guests coming over and hires a family member to come clean her room - she’s really that lazy.

I just have accepted that I need to do all the cleaning and consider the fact I don’t have to pay the full rent my reward.

If I nagged and bitched at her more than I already do I could end up forking out the full rent as I don’t want to live with strangers.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:54:23 +0000

This is a great place to vent. My roommate is a dirty slob too. We’ve shared an apartment for a year and a half, and still have 6 months left on the lease…then I’m getting the hell out of here.
He doesn’t clean, the only time he’s ever cleaned was when he had guests come visit him. Both times he had guests they stayed for over a week, in the living room. We share a bathroom. He has stained the sink, the toilet lid, the walls. He won’t take the trash out or contribute to cleaning supplies or even put his dishes in the sink. The countertop next to it is too far away. When he tries to cook he throws a slab of steak on a hot pan without oil and smoke fills the kitchen. When he brings his dinner in (most nights) he leaves the paper bag/plate on the kitchen table or on the counter. His idea of cleaning, whch happens when he needs counter/table space, is taking the bag and setting it next to the trash can, EVEN IF THE TRASH CAN IS EMPTY. He can’t bring himself to open the lid. After having cleaned the place this whole time, I decided to stop, so now I only clean when he travels on business (once in a while) and enjoy having a clean apartment then. When he’s here I avoid cleaning his mess as much as possible. He brings random dudes over, his bedroom is next to the living room, so sometimes he’s hooking up when we’re in the living room…and someone will walk out of the bedroom wearing just their underwear (if that much). And the dudes are always ogres. I’ve woken up late at night to find a stranger walking out of the bathroom (next to my room). I’ve gotten so mad that I’ve wished he were dead, or kicked out of the country (he’s not from the US and is here on a visa). Or arrested. I’ve imagined scenarios where I’m calling his mother to tell him he’s dead. I’ve even thought about calling his work and making up shit to try to make him lose his job. I’ve never been a violent person but this guy’s laziness, lack of consideration and his stupidity really make me want to fuck up his life. I’ve had tension headaches, muscle aches, and chronic anxiety. I hope he wakes up dead.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:09:49 +0000

I have to vent about my lazy roommate. And lazy is being nice. I’m about ready to go downstairs right now and scream at her for not doing anything. We’ve been living together for 8 months now and she has barely done anything in that time. I know she has never mopped or vacuumed and has never cleaned the upstairs bathroom that she showers in. We live in a good size house and I don’t ask her to do much. I except her to keep the downstairs bathroom clean because her bedroom is down there and she mainly uses. Yeah right it hasn’t been done in weeks and the last time it was cleaned I did it. And it’s a small bathroom. Just a sink and toilet. How hard can that be. The only time I’ve ever seen her clean is if I set a night aside and make her help. But that’s a pain in the ass because I have to get a babysitter for my son and it’s not worth it when there is no reason the cleaning can’t get done a little a night for the week. Thank god she actually puts her dishes in the dishwasher cause if she didn’t I would flip. I’m at my whits end with this girl who is a good friend and I also work with every day. I don’t know what to do. She needs to help but I’m afraid if I flip too much she’ll just move out and I can’t afford the rent on my own. I work full-time, go to school and have a 14 month old (who is neater than her). My mom says I’ve been nice enough and need to tell her she needs to pay $50 more a month for the lack of cleaning and lack of buying things we both use (laundry soap, toilet paper, etc). Anyone have any ideas? Does charging for being her “maid” seem fair?

By: Guest

Guest — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:30:55 +0000

I have been living in a houseshare with two (2) other girls. I have been here for almost a year and out of the eight (8) years that I have been living on my own, this is the first time I have ever had roommates. I am a super duper neat-freak/fanatic and these girls seriously go beyond the definition of “DIRTY.” Never in my life have I known girls to be as filthy and disgusting as these two (2) are. I am constantly cleaning blood and piss off of the bathroom toilet seat from these two (2) girls. They take showers and leave the globs of hair in the drain to clog up the tub. They leave dishes in the sink, food in the kitchen sink drain catcher…what does it take to knock the food out of the catcher in the garbage?! I found a friggin’ cockroach on the stove yesterday. I allow the girls to use “MY” Microwave and yesterday when I went to heat something up, there were two (2) styrofoam containers of rice and beans which accumulated mold from sitting in my microwave for days…this is a thirty-nine (39) year old woman that did this mind you!!!!! I can’t take it anymore, I do everything in this damn house! I am constantly changing the garbage liners and paying for the liners myself. I take the garbage pail down to the end of the driveway for pick-up and bring it back in at the end of the day. I am constantly scrubbing this house from top to bottom. I have really been putting my foot down lately and telling these girls that this filth don’t jive with me, but these just don’t care. The thirty-nine (39) year old woman walks around the house in her nasty shit-stained granny panties, with her private parts hanging out. I have told her numerous times that it is offensive and embarrassing to me, but she refuses to cover-up before coming out in to the communal/shared areas from her bedroom. Whenever I complain about being tidy/clean, I get blamed for having mental problems, being too uptight and serious and that I’m OCD…damn straight I’m OCD about Cleanliness!!! I was raised to be clean, not be a godforesaken filthy, disgusting, revolting pig!!!! I was finally left with no other option but to go to the landlord because no matter how many different approaches I’ve taken, it just will not change. The landlord said he would talk with the girls…hopefully this will put some fire under there butts!!! I do everything in this house…I refuse to live in filth!!! I am truly shocked and appalled that WOMEN live like this. Oh and did I tell you that the thirty-nine (39) year old girl is a doctor…could you imagine having her treat you in the hospital…I would scream bloody murder and that woman would not touch me with a 90,000,000 Foot pole!!!! I hate having roommates!!!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:09:49 +0000

My story, i can’t even begin to explain, but i sure as hell will try! Well me and my boyfriend hit it off the second we met, yet his roommie brother was a harder person to please than G.W.Bush Himself! I really don’t know why he never warmed up to me being around until i moved in. I had my own apt and life was great especially with my and M. One day M was talking about what it would be like to live together, and i couldn’t have been more thrilled with how intimate we were getting. After talking about our bill problems one day we decided that with me moving in with him would save a lot more money for pleasure for us two rather than obligated bills. So what did i do? Anyone? Yea, i moved in with M and his rather unpleasant brother. Space isn’t limited though, it’s like a dream apt, with two front doors, the whole second floor with three bedrooms, and an attic for pool-playing. Life seemed like it couldn’t get any better, but then again it never really is what it seems. After awhile i realized what a problem-maker his brother really is, like insisting on having his drinking buddies here every night until 3am or later. Ok, i’m no Taco Bell here open for your enjoyment. hehe Well lets just break it down to our daily routine for better understanding.

8am- M wakes up and watches his daily shows
10am-I get up and time for cleaning. (Start with the upstairs with old beer cans, and then downstairs to clean more beer cans in the bathroom, living room, and of course the kitchen. Afterwards i resort to the dishes which look like they haven’t been touched since the stone age, but don’t let appearances fool you. I’m sure that piles only been there for two days.)
12pm-After dishes are done, then i start on laundry (which i get bitched at for b/c we use the same plug for the washer as we do the microwave, so by the time T rolls outta bed at 2ish-3pm, he can’t make food b/c of our laundry. Typically. Around this time M helps by cleaning up the bathroom, living room, etc, then go’s back to his shows.
8pm-Laundry’s done and time for relaxation, yet hard to do with the party going on outside my bedroom door, sometimes i have to crank my t.v. on a high volume just to drown them out every night.
11pm-Try to sleep and can’t b/c of loud noise.
3am-i’m pissed and tried and still haven’t sleep, yet the jokers seem pretty content falling asleep on the floor or wherever.
3:05am-I go to the bathroom before i drift off for the night and slip on piss on the floor, or sit on a wet seat. Not fun at all!

As of always this same routine happens every day after day. Do i get respect for it? NO, but i sure as hell get more work and headache from it. One time T was drinking heavily and didn’t like they way i said someone to him, and needless to say he threw me up aganist the wall, almost had a knife to my throat when M came in and tackled him for it. Barely a slap on the hand for any drunk, so he got up and started a rampage on the apt, breaking everything in sight. We had to leave by this time, but when we got back he had a knife in his hand asking for me repeatedly. Creep much? If that ain’t bad, by the time i got enough courage to step foot in our apt i found broken cds of mine laying on the floor, missing items never seen again, as well as irreplaceable baby pictures from my grandparent’s torn up on the floor. Worse than that? The fact that that little mutant even had the balls to take my dead father’s pictures and tear them to shreds , and all he does now is laugh about it, like its freaking funny or some shit?!? I mean wtf? Not the only time my stuff got broken, or he freaked out cause he was too drunk, more like an every other week thing. Living here is draining me mentally, physically, and money-wise.

Now this lazy fruitcake is living with me and M getting in the way of our relationship, as well as causing problems between us two b/c his g/f and brother hate each other, understandable but wouldn’t you hate him too? This dude is 20 yrs old, doesn’t bath, work, or lift a finger unless its to cook up someone i bought for me. Yea so me and M are paying the bills and this kid’s just sucking it all up. I really don’t know what to do, b/c my man wants to help him get on his feet, when he has no desire whatsoever to get a job, license, or ged….he’d rather be another waste to society. I’ve already thought about him getting evicted or kicked out but none of that will work b/c he’s a crazy mofo and will destroy my relationship, car, belongings, which i can’t afford or want to lose. I’m at my wit’s end and thought of every possible solution but none helps what i’m dealing with here. The only think else i can say is HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any real advice would be greatly appreciated and willing to hear threw email, get ahold of me at sarahsweetums21@hotmail.com with RE:Roommie Trouble

By: Guest

Guest — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:44:51 +0000

College Suitemates

My story isn’t as bad as some of yours, but it sure makes my life a living hell.
Okay so I go to a pretty small school and we have pretty cool residence halls (dorms) Where we live there is suite style living. Each suite has a kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, small counter, sink and some drawers. 3 people share a bathroom with a toilet, sink and stand up shower. There is also a common living room area. 3 people live in each suite and they get their own bedroom with a bed, desk and dresser. The suite is designed so that one room (A)’s door faces the main door, and the other tow (B) and (C) are past the kichen and living area and are across from the bathroom. I am in room C. I get along really well with the girl who is in B, Kelli. we have gotten to be pretty good friends in teh 5 months that i have lived there. But the girl in A is a whole ‘nother story. Lets start out with the fact that she is a smoker. I asked the school to not put me with a smoker, but i guess someone has to, so we got stuck with her. she doesn’t shower very often either. So pretty much our whole place smells like body odor (BO) and smoke constantly. It wasn’t so bad last term because it was just her. But recently her other friend, also a smoker, comes over pretty much everyday. And her friend, who doesn’t live her, but does live, oh 2 min walk away, decides shes needs to use our dishes, TV, etc. Its not only that, her friend also smells like BO, but its way worse. And pretty much i don’t know if she owns the same looking clothes but Ive seen her 3 days in a row, all the same clothes. And also, now this is pretty graphic: she goes number 2 in our place. Even i don’t like going number two there and I try to take a shower right after so the smell goes away by the time i get out. I think it is very rude, especially if you live basically in teh same building, to go poop in other’s rooms and to use their dishes, tv etc. I am a nice person but I want to say “GO TO YOUR OWN ROOM” but i haven’t (yet). aside from being totally gross, the roomate, not the friend is also very paranoid. she looks the door every chance she gets and will even look her bedrom door when she is watching tv, so stupid. and another thing about her friend is that ( i love to sleep in and my classes don’t start till 11am) she comes over at 10 in the freaking morning. she doesn’t just knock and leave, she knocks so hard that its woken me up a few times. My room mate and her friend should just go get a seperate place together and have a grand ol time in each others smelly and disgusting ways.
like i said, this is by far not the worst story, but i needed to vent, so thanks everyone for listening to me!
-Courtney
PS: only 43 more awful days till i get to leave and have a clean place!

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:43:33 +0000

I am so happy to find all of your comments, because they make me feel like Im not alone!

Today I wanted to just rip my hair out because of my roomate! I live with 3 other people, and I only have a problem with 1. I cleaned up last friday and had it out with her because she never does anything unless its “scheduled” or a “planned cleaning day”. Days in between those cleaning days are littered with dirty dishes around the apartment, dirty clothes in the bathroom, food on the stove, pans on the kitchen table, a hairdryer in the middle of the living room floor? KILL ME!

Ive tried to talk to her about it a million times, but she just tells me that I’m crazy and that its not normal to be as clean as I am, because to her the place looks spotless. I seriously don’t know what to do anymore and I just want to move out because my words are obviously not getting through her thick skull.

I usually just pick up after her, because she kind of convinced me that im the one with the problem of having to have things completely spotless. Hey, I don’t mind if you leave your cup in the living room… but after 3 days of it sitting there, i just have to pick it up! Maybe I’m OCD, but ive lived with a few other people before and Ive never had problems like this.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:05:43 +0000

I just asked the same of my roommate, to be honest, because I feel like I do the majority of the work (dust, sweep, mop, keep the place picked up, etc.). I wrote a note and then discussed it with her. She flew off the handle because I mentioned that I might start leaving a to do list for to complete since I work two jobs and am a full time student. My suggestion is to sit down and mention it to them again. Tell them how you feel and how it is affecting them (I said that it’s starting to mess with my schoolwork, that I’m tired enough when I get home after work), say that you know they are busy as well but that you do need help…perhaps they’ll be more receptive than mine (who tore up the note, said I was being crazy about “dust on the floor,” and stormed into her room).

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:15:00 +0000

yeah, from August to March I’ve been with three messy girls, completely disrespectful, will not compromise, and always make huge messages in the kitched, bathroom, and living room … and never clean it. I work hard to keep things clean, but they are rude and disrespectful and have also said I’m OCD, and say things about me to their friends, and that’s the worst part of all. If they were nice girls who tried a little bit, I could deal with cleaning a lot. But they are so rude and unfair! So not only do I have no choice but to clean up after them if I want a nice place to live, but I also have to deal with the fact that they are mean, selfish young girls who aren’t worth my time … they really just serve to make things difficult. I can’t see the positive with them. I work hard around here, with no apparent benefit … pay equal rent but feel completely shafted. I’m guessing that’s how a lot of you feel … maybe … good luck everybody. Sorry I don’t have more advice. I sometimes think I should just live in my car. But that wouldn’t work.

By: Guest

Guest — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:12:39 +0000

I lived with one of my closest friends for three years only to realize that his style of slobbishness is unbearable to me. It’s one thing to leave a couple dishes in the sink but it’s another to leave dishes unrinsed with a thick coating of slimy navy bean soup on them, or an old bowl of cereal with sour milk and two cigarette butts and ashes. He also had a small dog that was supposed to be litter trained. By litter trained I guess he meant trained to spread kitty litter all over the kitchen floor and to pee on the shallow piles of it found anywhere in the house. He is seriously disgusting when it comes to hygeine also. For atleast 6 months, he didn’t even have a toothbrush in our bathroom. This prompted me to take mine to bed with me each night, fearful he’d decide to finally brush and use mine. I tried talking to him. This only got me alot of defensive excuses and promises to try harder. I came home one day and he announced he had cleaned. By cleaning, I guess he meant straightening up because although there were no dishes in the sink or dirty laundry in the bathroom, the floors still felt sticky and the bathroom mirror still had specks all over it. And to boot, I found several dirty dishes in his bedroom. At a certain point, I had to go buy more silverware and drinking glasses because he had taken to hiding dirty ones or just throwing them in the garbage, apparently allergic to washing them. Eventually, I gave up and because he was my friend, I tried to accept his piggish nature. I began leaving my own dirty clothes in the bathroom and short of being able to actually leave dirty dishes set out, I started eating only takeout and filling the garbage can with my containers. I stopped vaccuming and pestering him about the dog. I started keeping my bedroom door shut so that the mess would not overflow into my private clean space. At first it was fine. Everytime I would start to get angry about something he did (broke in through the kitchen window and left a mess of glass on the floor…etc.) I would quell the feelings and remind myself to let it go. But, eventually I got depressed from spending so much time in my bedroom with the door shut. I felt like I was paying half the rent for a tiny, clean bedroom, not a whole house. And having give in and contributed to the mess, I felt I had lost all authority on the matter. I announced, after three years that I would be moving out in two months. He was wounded, a bit, but got over it. These days, I live alone in a clean apartment while he also lives alone, but in hideous squalor. You can’t change people, especially those with exteme tendencies. You either have to grin and bear it, do the best you can, or just live alone from the getgo.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:43:49 +0000

What kind of moronic post is this? Don’t you think that if these people could afford to live without a roommate that they would have done that already? Not everyone can simply “go home to mom and dad” either. You obviously still live at home and have no clue! I happen to have been reading this article because I was trying to find some solutions to dealing with my own filthy roommates. I have only lived here 5 weeks and already I can’t take it anymore. They put on quite a clean and deceptive face when interviewing for a new roommate. The moving process itself is expensive (movers or helpers, truck, additional deposits, my own time, etc.) so the thought of moving again is added to the stress of the current living situation. Not everyone who has opted to have live with roommates does it because they think it might be fun or is even 18-22, most of us do it because that is what fits our current financial situation and for a variety of absolutely credible reasons. Think before you post and good luck to you.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:03:18 +0000

So I’ve read a lot of these so far, and my situation is no where near as bad as some of yours. My sympathy goes out to everyone who has to deal with any of this crap!

So here comes the frustration.

I moved in 3 months ago with my female roommate (I’m a guy). I was always under the impression that females were much more tidy than men. WRONG- especially after reading some of these horror stories!

Everything was going fine, until recently when I’ve begun noticing all the little things that just seem to add up.

She doesn’t put things away. Her dishes stay in the sink for at least a week with only water in them. Her pots and pans move from the stove to the sink and stay there. There are half full glasses of some brownish liquid that I can only guess is some soda that she never poured out. Her shoes are under the coffee table, her jackets on the couch, her makeup and hair supplies in the “guest” bathroom downstairs.

She also has a dog. Now, I have no problem with a roommate with pets. However, if that pet owner doesn’t do what they’ve got to do with said pet, it pisses me off. I came in under the stipulation that I had to be cool with her having a dog. No problem. Well, she only takes the 10 month old dog out to go “eliminate” for 5-10 minutes like twice or 3 times a day. Other than the occasional trip to the dog park, this is the only exercise the dog gets. So there is a hyper-active, bored, big puppy that sits in a cage all day with no attention until she gets home. She also doesn’t discipline the dog- but thats another story.

Anywho, as a result of this boredom/hyperactivity combination, the dog has a destructive chewing habit. As a luxury in the dog’s cage, she has placed a blanket. Well the dog has ripped the blanket to shreds, spreading the cotton stuffing all over her cage and the living room, and occasionally drags the ragged thing out to play with. THEN, my roommate proceeds to LEAVE THE CRAP ON THE FLOOR! And it isn’t just that blanket. The dog got bored in my roommate’s room (where the dog sleeps) and ripped up the sheets on her bed. Well, those sheets are now in the cage with the dog.

All the while, my roommate is under the assumption, “well, she was gonna do it anyway, why try and stop her…” AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Apart from knowing the error in this thought process, it kills me that she thinks that way to begin with!!

SO, since I’ve been here, I’ve vacuumed the living space several times, emptying several loads of dog fur, dust, and blanket shreds. I’ve dusted. I’ve done every single one of my dishes in a timely manner (either right as I get done using them, or as soon as I can get back to it- most always within the day), I’ve bought dish detergent, air fresheners (to get the dirty dog smell out), carpet fresheners, I buy ALL the paper towels, I’ve even thrown out some rotten veggies in the refrigerator that I doubt she even knew she had in there!

Most recently too- and I think this is what set me off- is that I use a George Foreman Grill on an extremely regular basis. And you HAVE to have the grease traps at the bottom to use it- I’m virtually positive you’ve seen it. But as I was going to use it tonight, the trap that was sitting under it was gone. Now, I usually put some paper towels in the trap to soak up the grease, and leave it for a while- all in all it makes for easier clean up. I started to look for it, and couldn’t find it anywhere- in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, utilities room, under furniture, on top of cabinets, EVEN IN THE TRASH- INSIDE AND OUT! Where in the hell could it have gone? Because its not in MY room?

And as a courtesy, if something happens and its my fault- I ALWAYS leave a note saying what happened, only if I know that I won’t be able to say something about it to her immediately. So, where’s my missing grease trap?

My parents were worried that I would be a terrible roommate when I was out on my own, simply because I used to have a lackadaisical attitude about cleaning and leaving things out. Well, I never imagined I would be the clean one!

All that said, she does do a few things around, and the place is a really sweet deal for me. She does wheel the trash out when it needs to be (and brings it back in a few times), the house was fully furnished when I got here, plus utilities are included, and every now and then she’ll do some dishes.

-BUT-

Here is my main problem: Since my name isn’t on the lease (I’m paying monthly to her), I feel that I can’t say anything about her habits or her dog, A: because I take care of my stuff and keep it out of her way, and B: because she could just get mad and say “Bye, you’re out!”

HELP A GUY OUT!!! Is this unreasonable to deal with?

If you’ve stuck with it this far- you have the virtue of patience. Thanks for reading!

-B

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:38:42 +0000

i am also a girl living in a house with guys (just 2 though). i dont think i’ve ever met a pair of lazier human beings in my entire life, to be completely serious. i live in a 2 story house, the guys’ bedrooms are downstairs, as well as an additional living room. my friend and i live in the 2 rooms upstairs, where the main living room and kitchen are located. although they basically have their own living space downstairs, the feel the need to litter the upstairs with their garbage, dirty laundry, dishes, etc. neither of them has put a single dish in the dishwasher, and god forbid hand wash any pots or pans in the 5 months we’ve lived here. i’ve gotten so sick of it that i’ve let their dishes pile up for weeks, to the point of having no clean dishes in the house and eating off of paper plates, but eventually i am forced to cave and do the dishes. my other roommate and i have brought the dishes issue up with both of them, and still nothing has changed. their groceries (sometimes even fridge/freezer groceries) sit on the dining room table and kitchen counters until they are eaten or rotten….and when they go bad they aren’t actually thrown away until at least a week afterwards, usually. they rarely take out the garbage, and on those rare occasions they simply throw it out the back door, not bothering to walk the extra 15 feet to the garbage can in the alley. our electricity bill for the past month was a staggering $320, most likely due to their inability to EVER turn anything off. i constantly come home to every single light in the house on, both tvs on, and the heater cranked up to 75 or 80…all while both lazyasses are not home. i’ve ventured downstairs to find half eaten mcdonalds cheesburgers sitting on the back of the toilet, cartons of half drank, days old milk on the coffee table, pizza boxes piled high, and a floor littered with beer cans, uneaten meals, and yes, even dog shit. i’ve brought their disguisting habits up with them numerous times, and each time i’m the one thats the bitch for saying something. i know what you mean, its never ending and im about to lose my sanity because of it.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:45:30 +0000

Yes, my roommate is awful as well. I’m actually really amused to read this advice column because it’s so hideously like my roommate.

She’s disgustingly messy, mold grows on her dishes, there are impossibly huge piles of clothes all over her side, she showers maybe twice in a month. She also uses my can opener and puts it back without washing it. (She also steals my toilet paper, toothpaste and paper supplies.) And in the beginning before I knew of her terrible habits, she assured me that she wasn’t a messy person.

bullshit. I hate college dorms…and I’m stuck for another semester with this terror.

I’m also extremely bothered by the fact that I’m really tired…and busy writing a paper..and she’s right next to me making out with her retarded boyfriend while he’s strumming endlessly on her ukulele. (God help me please.) I’m praying so hard that he’ll just go the **** away. I can’t stand my filthy roommate as it is. Her boyfriend is making this unbearable.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:05:35 +0000

Well why don`t you just get your own appt, and live on your own so you won`t have to put up with her. Obvisously if you got a roomate you must of been aware that that is part of sharing.. does she or anybody has to put up with any of your annoying habit?? I am sure you are not a perfect kid or person are you???? So fix it quick get your own place or go back to live with mom until you can figure out who you can live with.. good luck.