LITTLE ROCK — DEAR READERS: Hints for college students are always popular and well-received. I asked for hints on dealing with messy roommates. It seems the major problem is with roommates not keeping dishes washed. Here are only a few of the comments:
“When my son was in school, he shared a room with three boys. The common area contained a small kitchenette. Since my son was a good cook, he offered to cook for the other guys if they would do the cleanup. This arrangement worked for a few days, until the other boys started letting dishes pile up. My son started washing only his dishes and putting the others into a garbage bag, which he tied up and placed under the sink. The next time he cooked and only he had clean dishes, his buddies learned in a hurry to do their part.”
- Karen in Virginia
“I started tossing my roommates’ belongings into their rooms and letting them pile up there. Once they couldn’t walk into their own space, they started cleaning up.”
- A Texas Reader
“My husband, while living with five other young men, had an issue with one roommate who never washed his dirty dishes. After a time, my husband finally took a whole sinkful of this boy’s dirty dishes and put them all on his bed! After that, he was much better about cleaning up after himself - and the others in the apartment were so grateful that they never told the slob which of them had done the ‘dirty’ deed.”
- Meredith in Colorado
“I would say communication is key in any roommate situation. Having dealt with a plethora of different roommates myself, I can assure you that a simple, well-timed statement will make all the difference when dealing with messy roommates.”
- A Reader, via e-mail
“If you have space in a closet or behind the couch for a fair-size plastic basket, place all of the items left out in the basket. When your roommates need these items, they can get them out of the basket.”
- Barbara in Texas
DEAR HELOISE: Using dusters daily and cleaning curtains briskly can help them retain their shape longer and delay having to dry-clean them. Fostering a homeless pet who sought refuge curled behind curtains taught me this cleaning ritual. Sometimes, a lint roller is whisked on the floor to pick up shed fur.
- Margarette in Texas
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio,Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail Heloise@Heloise.com
Style, Pages 32 on 12/11/2012