A roommate is an essential
part of the college experience. Your roommate can be a good friend, a close
confidant or your worst enemy. Dealing with a messy roommate is anyone’s worse
nightmare, unless you are the messy roommate. Here are a few tips to get along
and live in harmony with your college roommate.
1. The contract
2. Passive
aggressive approach
This may seem severe, but it works for
many. If your roommate is filthy with little to no respect for you or the space
that you share, this approach may just do the trick. To execute this approach,
you should pile all the dirty, smelly items that belong to your roommate on
their side of the room. This shows that you mean business and you are not ready
to tolerate any dirt. This is a clear signal to your roommate that cannot be
ignored. This usually causes friction but always delivers results.
3. Friendly
approach
A friendly approach can help sort out the
messy situation without actually damaging the friendship. When applying this
approach, it is important that one is stern, firm yet polite. Because roommates
are typically friends, it is difficult for anything to be taken seriously.
However, when you are firm and present the issue with a level of seriousness
the results may be good. Who knows, you may even end up washing dishes together
while happily singing to your favorite tunes.
4. Penalty approach
When
all systems have failed, polite and drastic alike, sometimes it is easier to
just lay down the law. Enforcing repercussions for not cleaning can be a great
way to encourage your roommate to clean. A penalty fee for unwashed dishes or a
messy bathroom can save you a lot of trouble and is a fair system once
implemented.
5. Triple C approach
Cool,
Calm and Collected is a state of mind that helps many overcome difficult
situations and scenarios. Your ability to ignore the stench of dirty socks,
rotting fruit and an overflowing bin requires a lot of mind power but is
achievable especially if you want to avoid confrontation. However, it may not
last long because everyone has a breaking point. The question is when will you
reach yours?
Comments
Post a Comment