How to deal with roommate that doesn't clean up after himself?

[SonicIce]

put up a sign in the kitchen "Clean up your own fucking mess" might solve the problem. you clean up after your self, he cleans up after himself. no more your turn/my turn crap

 

[Mike Gayner]

I'd rather have his rent than not have it.

I don't really care it he gets pissed and leaves at this point.

Heaven forbid an ATOTer actually TALKS to their room mate about these issues.

 

[Garet Jax]

This is why I prefer single room apartments. Hate that crap.

Here's an even better story:
I couldn't even get my younger brother to fix his habits back at home. And we're related by blood. It is very difficult.

You're an idiot assuming his habits are wrong and that you needed to fix them.

 

[DayLaPaul]

How long have you allowed this to go on without saying anything? Situations like this are best to nip in the bud as soon as they happen. If you've let it slide for a while now, it may seem strange to him that "all of a sudden" you're busting his chops for something he's been doing since he's moved in.

 

[gaidensensei]

You're an idiot assuming his habits are wrong and that you needed to fix them.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious. I really value an unknown stranger's arguments based on some previous events in my life. Honestly though, I modestly appreciate your concern.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Shit on his pillow.

 

[chorb]

I once put my old roommate's dirty dishes in his bed after he cooked then left for 3 days. He was not pleased, and it only made things better for about a week then he was back to his old ways.

 

[AreaCode707]

1. Talk to him about it with no ultimatums.
2. If it doesn't get better, set a schedule and get a tub for the kitchen counter to put his stuff in so it's evident that it's his.
3. If it doesn't get better set the tub of his stuff in his room (not on his bed; you're doing this as a "solution", not to be overtly annoying) whenever it piles up. His problem should be in his space, not common space.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Is he a(n) ATOT member?

You don't need the () around the 'n'. It's always going to be "an".

 

[TallBill]

Talking wont work. Killing him is the only answer.

 

[kalrith]

"Hey man, you left some things out so I put them on your bed."

I was going to post something like this. Talk to him first. Then when he leaves dirty dishes in the sink, just put them all on his bed.

My other thought was to get a lock on your door and keep all the pots and pans in there. Just wash and dry them when you're done and keep them in your room. If he wants to go out and buy his own pots that he'll leave dirty in the sink, then you can place those on his bed again.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Don't threaten him! I don't think that'll work and it will just create a bunch of resentment. Not worth losing a friend over some dishes!

I like the idea of making fun of him about being a slob. Take pictures like the other poster did, and post 'em on his facebook or something.

edit: In my last place, I left some boxes and text books in an upstairs vallet area after moving in, and my roommate just piled 'em on my desk. Completely fair game, and it worked. LOL.
edit2: Don't be a d-bag and put dirty dishes on his bed. Put them on his desk or something.

 

[Leros]

Leave a passive aggressive note on the fridge.

 

[Crusty]

Leave a passive aggressive note on the fridge.

I had a roommate who liked to turn off the stairwell lights(his room was downstairs and had no reason to go upstairs) whenever he walked past them. Wouldn't be a problem if the 3-way switch was wired properly and I could turn the lights on from above. He got to the point where he put a note on the switch that said something like "I'm a light switch, I like to be turned off".

I tried to explain to him WHY he shouldn't touch the switch below but he just didn't get it... so I just opened the bitch up and disconnected the bottom switch because I was tired of stumbling down the stairs in the dark.

 

[lupi]

give him surprise buttsecks.

 

[moshquerade]

give him surprise buttsecks.

this is why i read this board :thumbsup:

 

[nick1985]

Having lived with a guy who once ate almost an entire Christmas tin of ice cream my girlfriend at the time had received as a gift who, when confronted, said "good thing I didn't like it or I would have eaten the whole thing" I can say from experience you should actively seek to live on your own.

lol thats awesome


*edit*

Shit on his face while he sleeps.

 

[Kirby]

a violent choke fuck should resolve the matter

 

[SpatiallyAware]

FWIW it's just as easy for him to 'be clean' as it is for you to accept his nastiness.


I'm also a clean person (i.e. dirty dishes go in dishwasher, kitchen is rarely messy and never dirty, etc.) IMO I'm a normal clean human being, but it turns out like 75% of society is totally fine living in filth.


In all seriousness, there's no permanent solution. You might be able to get him to shape up for awhile but it'll eventually get worse again.

 

[fleabag]

charge him....

Say that you'll increase the cost of rent by $100 a month unless he starts to pitch in.. $100 should be good enough for you, right?

 

[fleabag]

How long have you allowed this to go on without saying anything? Situations like this are best to nip in the bud as soon as they happen. If you've let it slide for a while now, it may seem strange to him that "all of a sudden" you're busting his chops for something he's been doing since he's moved in.

True statement of the year...

 

[kalrith]

FWIW it's just as easy for him to 'be clean' as it is for you to accept his nastiness.

I really hate this line of thinking. Someone could say, "It's just as easy for you to ignore the neighbor's 5 subwoofers as it is for him to turn down his music."

Anyways, I'll stick to the OP's situation. It is disrespectful to use community items in a shared living establishment without returning them to the condition they were in before use. So, the OP's roommate is being disrespectful (doing what he should not be doing and is inexcusable), whereas the OP is wanting simple respect (which is totally understandable). IMO saying that the OP should just take this disrespect is wrong.

Of course, we're just hearing one side of the situation. If the OP is harrassing his roommate 2 seconds after he dirties a pot, then that would be disrespectful as well. However, if his roommate trashes the kitchen, the OP says nothing, and then has to clean up after him a few days later, then my original assessment stands.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I really hate this line of thinking. Someone could say, "It's just as easy for you to ignore the neighbor's 5 subwoofers as it is for him to turn down his music."

Anyways, I'll stick to the OP's situation. It is disrespectful to use community items in a shared living establishment without returning them to the condition they were in before use. So, the OP's roommate is being disrespectful (doing what he should not be doing and is inexcusable), whereas the OP is wanting simple respect (which is totally understandable). IMO saying that the OP should just take this disrespect is wrong.

Of course, we're just hearing one side of the situation. If the OP is harrassing his roommate 2 seconds after he dirties a pot, then that would be disrespectful as well. However, if his roommate trashes the kitchen, the OP says nothing, and then has to clean up after him a few days later, then my original assessment stands.

The huge monumental difference is that they're roommates, not neighbors.


The bottom line is that the messy person will annoy the clean person. Even if you get them to clean up after themselves half the time you'll still be annoyed the other half.


As a 'clean roommate' I can tell you that you don't have very good probability of fixing this.

I mean, using your logic maybe the OP should stop cleaning up the mess and "leave it as he found it" and stop being so damn disrespectful?

 

[zinfamous]

every time he lives a dirty dish in the sink for too long, just take it to his bed. Leave it there.

 

[gaidensensei]

One time when someone related to me came to visit for a month, I hid most of the cooking utensils under my bed (clean of course) just so I wouldn't have to deal with them. They got the message I think, but there was no word exchange about it .