How do I motivate housemates to keep the house clean?

Question

I live in a house share in the UK - 5 people, each with a bedroom that is their responsibility, but with communal living areas. We have sort of cleaning rota, but it frequently falls behind target and the house ends up looking like a tip.

Answer 1

A chore list might be the answer. Set it up so everyone who lives there has one thing to clean everyday. I have 7 kids and it works well in our house.

Answer 2

i know how you feel. it is hard to motivate others to keep the house clean.
The best idea would be to change the flat and live with people you know or few people only max 3- it is easier to communicate.
It is good to draw a rota but as you said- nobody is following.
never clean anything after them- they will use you and get use to the fact that at the end of the day you will do it.
Try to remind them about their duties , confront them and if they blank you and still do not clean- talk to the landlord.
It is not hygienic to live in a dirty house especially kitchen or bathroom.
Most of the kitchen utensils may break down if not cleaned.

Answer 3

Have a day everyone can agree on during the week that it's THEIR responsibility to keep the common area clean on that day... That means washing dishes, dusting, vacuum, etc.. It would help if everyone would put their own personal belongings away- On my day anyone's stuff that was left out was put into a basket on the porch.. After a while they started to get the point... Or pick a day during the week where everyone is home and do a mass weekly cleaning.. Anyone that tries to skip out gets their belongings thrown away.. Or pays an extra "fee" to get out of it... good luck

Answer 4

Hi there!

Irregardless if you're the the host or not, try creating or participating in a climate in which everyone will willingly perform their tasks and accept their share of responsibility for things around the house.

Organize a meeting if possible to gather issues together and play with it with fun like spinning a russian rollet for the one or two to clean up the bathroom or as a reward raffle for the one to iron the clothes. Practice putting up bulletin boards to emphasize this practice.

Teach by example. It will influence house-mates to act in a way that will lead to accomplishing the goals and objectives. If somebody's not doing it do it your self showing it to him or her or better yet convince every one to participate on that one specific job to hit the one's uncooperative. Worse, a frank, nice and honest talk will do also but in PRIVATE. There's no worse way to create an enemy than by humiliating a person in front of the others.

Remember, if its practice inside the house it will become a culture. Cheers!

Answer 5

These are just things that have worked for me (the son of a MAJOR pack-rat/clutter queen). Use them if you like 1:CLEAN AS YOU GO. If you spill something - mop it u p right away. Never leave a room empty handed. there is always something out of place - take it back to its rightful home before it gets too comfortable there & invites its friends to join it . If you take something out, use it, clean it & put it back where it belongs. 2: FIND A HOME FOR EVERYTHING. and i don't mean just stash them out of sight. find a logical sensible place for everything to reside when not in use & make sure its there when ever it is inactive. 3: GET RID OF THINGS YOU DON'T NEED. Clutter is caused by having too many things & not enough places to put them. If you haven't used something in the last X months do you really need to keep it around? If the answer is no - GET RID OF IT. If the answer is YES, put it where it belongs. By making the above habits you will cut down on the need for a massive clean and your place will seem to take care of itself. I forgot the most important one: ****CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK**** Does your place need to be photographer-ready at all times? Are your friends that likely to drop in unannounced and critique your housekeeping skills? Set realistic expectations for yourself and your spouse and get comfortable with them and dont stress out about it... this will make life a lot easier for you and the spouse and allow you time to enjoy life a bit more. Cheers.

Answer 6

That testimony reminds me of my refrigerator, it takes me an hour to remove the glass shelving, scrape the stuck syrupy food off ( jams, jellies, sauces, and syrups ) and sanitize. Then as it is safe to put back in use, the next one to put their unfinished meal back to eat at a later time, will spill some out of the dish, or go on to other than left-overs, and forget it altogether. So rather than clean and pick up, they will like kids with toys, drop their paraphernalia where they stand, and pick up something else.

Answer 7

The best solution is for you to take care of the cleaning - at a cost. They should pay you a set amount per week, and you are likely to be happy cleaning your own home without feeling the others are getting away unfairly.

Answer 8

If it is Susans turn write her name in the dust and the date. If stuff is laying around grab a trash bag and throw it all in the bag together and stuff in the hall closet till they miss it. Dishes, should be done with a no dish left behind attitude--takes 3 seconds to wash recently used plate and silverware. Or throw a fit and just stand in the floor and scream until someone wonders why--just thoughts. ;0)

Answer 9

Well, for the rota to work, once a week, as a reward, one of you cooks for everyone, and the person who hasn't made an effort won't get anything (peer pressure?). Needen't be big, curry + rice, or spag' bol', but it did work for me and a house full of guys...

Answer 10

offer them a reward to get at the end of a long term say a year if they complete it , have them either sign a written contract or swear to God on a bible to do so, either way you will find out just how committed to keeping their part clean they are and then you can decide to replace them with another roommate.