My roommate is a slob. What should I do?

<p>First off, let me just say that I am by no means a neat-freak. My room at home most days is a cluttered mess (the kind of cluttered mess where you know where everything is, it's just kind of randomly tossed about. It's nothing like trash or food or anything like that). But in our dorm, the room is really small (10ft x 10ft) and I try pretty hard to not let it look like my room at home because it's shared space.</p>

<p>Now, under her desk are 6 pairs of shoes ranging from sweaty old tennis shoes to Ugg boats (even though it's 80 degrees), sandals, etc. and I really think they're starting to smell. I can't be sure, but whenever all of her shoes are tossed about on her side, the room starts to have a certain odor. (I have two pairs of shoes out now, slippers and a pair of regular shoes) She does laundry every two weeks to the point that for at least 3 days before she actually does laundry, dirty clothes start to migrate from her laundry bag to the floor. It got so bad that I was walking into the room the other day when the lights were off and I fell over her shoes and clothes in the middle of the floor.</p>

<p>But the worst part is her hair. I could deal with shoes and dirty laundry if I didn't find her hair everywhere. Seriously. The girl sheds like an animal for whatever reason. She'll brush her hair by the door and the dead hair started to collect under the door until it looked like it was growing a bloody tail! I've asked her more than once to please pick up the clumps of her hair that are all over the floor and she just responds that it's gross. We both know that it's her hair because my hair is a different colour and texture. I find it in my bag, my bed, my desk, my shoes. I've honestly never known a human being to lose this much hair everyday and not be the least bit concerned by it. </p>

<p>I'm just tired of being the one Swiffering the floors and buying air fresheners to get the smell of funk out. She knows I'm sick of it because she's told one of our friends she needs to get all the half-full cups of alcohol and junk out of our room because she knows I'm ****ed about it (I was. We're not supposed to have it--I don't care if she does, but not all over the place like that when she knows our RA will just pop in all of the time to sit and talk). Is there a different way I can go about getting her to understand that her mess is overwhelming in such a tiny, tiny room? She cleaned from top to bottom when her parents came a month ago (didn't lift a finger to get her stuff out of the floors when mine came, but, what can you do....) but that was about it.</p>

<p>“The girl sheds like an animal for whatever reason. She’ll brush her hair by the door and the dead hair started to collect under the door until it looked like it was growing a bloody tail!”</p>

<p>This part made me laugh like crazy, sorry.</p>

<p>Anyway, you definitely need to have a non-agressive talk with your roommate. If she won’t listen, then it’s time to bring the RA in. You shouldn’t have to live in filth the whole year (although if her mess is on her side of the room, then it should be less of an issue).</p>

<p>In almost every single roommate scenario, the answer is the same: Discuss things calmly with the roommate, and if things don’t start changing, take it to the RA. Same thing PRiNCESSMAHiNA said.</p>

<p>Talk to your RA. If that doesn’t work, do the following:</p>

<p>First, push her crap to her side of the room. Second, it’s not your job to clean up her hair, so personally I’d start just throwing it in her bed. When her stuff gets really messy and starts to impede on your space, throw it out. Maybe then she’ll get the message.</p>

<p>i have the same problem.</p>

<p>That’s the reason why I never shared a room with someone else. I’m a very neat person and like my apartment neat.</p>

<p>Well, as I see it there is a bright spot. She IS capable of cleaning up which is good, she just chooses not to (bad).
Your choices:

  1. Jump up and down and play parent. You will clean your room! (speaking as a parent, this never got me very far but you never know…)
  2. Try to ignore it. Seems like you’ve tried this but it’s getting old and not productive.
    (seems like you’ve been very patient actually).
  3. Enlist her aid in the 10-15 minute cleaning spree on a daily to weekly basis. Clean the room together for a max time of 15 minutes at a time. Clean along side of her for that little short amount of time if she’s willing to. Habits are made not born and she probably just never learned good cleaning habits (the maintenance ones). Don’t clean when she’s not there, wait to do it together (otherwise the cleaning fairy came). Try it for 2 weeks and see if there is improvement.</p>