Most college students have lived with one. Some college students are one. All college students know one.
The mysterious culprit, the ubiquitous messy roommate, dreadfully complicates a student’s otherwise enjoyable housing situation when dirty dishes and excessive garbage flood living rooms and kitchens. The daily stress and demanding lifestyles that college students live make tidiness a chore easily suspended.
Many students enter college void of deep-cleaning skills. Generally, students probably cleaned their rooms, did the dishes at times, possibly vacuumed, but they did not get fully exposed to the degree of disorder that easily can accumulate without a parent’s delegated chores.
But many students do not succumb to scruffiness, making it quite difficult when a roommate does. These typical scenes are universal to college households: pretty clean Roommate #1 enters his residence only to find a sink full of dishes with hardened residue of condiments and food scrapings. Roommate #2 had promised to clean them earlier that day.
Or Roommate #1 cannot enjoy the luxury of using the bathtub because his feet standing in the mildewed tub during a shower already irks him enough. These situations, perhaps slightly varied, resonate with roommates who simply want to avoid living in filthy conditions, yet must deal with another roommate’s conflicting priorities.
People do not enjoy living in filth, not even filthy people. Laziness and lack of time perpetuates mess and also stems from a disorganized lifestyle. College demands organization and time management, and students who live in clean, orderly settings probably stress less and save themselves time. It seems reasonable to believe that a clear desk and apartment facilitates a clear head. However, it is easy to fall quickly into the habit of becoming lax about consistent cleaning. After cooking a meal, students face the predicament of either overlooking their satiety and the urge to want to digest in front of the TV, or to head to the kitchen immediately after eating. Doing the dishes in the future, at a more opportune time, seems more appealing than actually dealing with the dirty work. And this is how the messiness cycle perpetuates.
Messiness issues are avoidable, but it requires effort. If everyone picks up after himself immediately, no mess will accumulate to begin with. The buildup of trash, dishes and mildew fuels postponement of the task.
The challenge of sharing a living space with someone who partakes in a more disorganized lifestyle certainly tests and can potentially ruin relationships between friends and partners, so communication is key. The Internet blog “Oh My Apartment” created by the company Apartment Ratings is dedicated to assisting renters with common troubles and discussing positive strategies for dealing with mess.
“Oh My Apartment” warns to not directly tell a roommate, “his or her habits are disgusting.” Instead, disturbed roommates need to use honesty and say what the problems are, rather than blame whoever creates the mess.
The blog also advises, “proposing a solution rather than merely pointing out the problem.”
Messy roommates just need some help realizing that their habits are gross and unappealing. Messiness generates unnecessary problems in a household and may even deter people from wanting to hang out and relax; a cluttered house is uncomfortable. So, by communicating openly, all parties under the same roof can work together and prevent the problem.
Lindsay Funston is a student at the University.