Cleaning rota in a house share

MoonshineMonty

I feel like I'm doing most of the work in my houseshare. Me and another housemate does most of the work. I'm in a houseshare with three more, so four in total.

The bins are a big issue for me, we all use the bins. But not everyone is taking them out. I took out the bins two weeks ago, the recycling bin was again overflowing last weekend but last weekend I gave up with it. I'm just too tired, while someone else takes it easy. The bathroom bin isn't being taken out either and it's overflowing, someone left a used condom in the open bin and I'm not cleaning up after someone's sex session.

The recycling bin was eventually taken out during the week and by the other person who does things. But what do I do here, do I wait for two more empty bins before I do it again but it feels like I'm just passing it on to the other housemate that does things. We don't have a cleaning rota in the house but it would certainly help with who's doing what and when.

Do I say something and how do I set a cleaning rota up?

punisher5112

Simple move out.

I couldn't live with others.

uck51js9zml2yt

Talk to the other housemate who cleans and agree a plan. Then tell the rest of them .
Who was in first? What happened before you came along?

MoonshineMonty

punisher5112 wrote: »

Simple move out.

I couldn't live with others.

It's not that simple. I could move out but I'd still be sharing with others.

MoonshineMonty

Kayden Shapely Quarrel wrote: »

Talk to the other housemate who cleans and agree a plan. Then tell the rest of them .
Who was in first? What happened before you came along?

We never had a cleaning rota, we all did our bit. Myself and other housemate that does things are here the longest.

MoonshineMonty

Any ideas on how to set one up?

Lumen

First rule of chores: everyone thinks they do more than they actually do. It's a basic psychological bias.

So unless everyone feels a little hard done by, it's not working right.

Wheety

punisher5112 wrote: »

Simple move out.

I couldn't live with others.

Yeah should be easy to rent a place on their own. :rolleyes:

ted1

Just get a house cleaner. An extra 20 each a month

Lumen

punisher5112 wrote: »

Simple move out.

I couldn't live with others.

How did you cope for the first 18 years or so? Will you be forever alone? That seems a bit bleak.

Living alone is not a natural state of affairs for a human. Look what it did for Obi Wan, he committed suicide-by-Vader at almost the first opportunity.

average_runner

ted1 wrote: »

Just get a house cleaner. An extra 20 each a month

Best thing we ever did. Life too short to clean.

Samuel T. Cogley

Stop doing anything first. You need it to get mad bad before the other dirty sods realise. It's the tactic I have to use with the wife TBH.

punisher5112

Lumen wrote: »

How did you cope for the first 18 years or so? Will you be forever alone? That seems a bit bleak.

Living alone is not a natural state of affairs for a human. Look what it did for Obi Wan, he committed suicide-by-Vader at almost the first opportunity.

I don't live alone....

I don't have time to be at home while out punishing others....

RasTa

Good luck implementing that. I'd rip it off the wall first chance

punisher5112

Wheety wrote: »

Yeah should be easy to rent a place on their own. :rolleyes:

Of course, plenty of space to put up a box.

splinter65

People are pigs. How do you split the bills in the house?
I’d keep cleaning and then act surprised when someone asks me for my contribution to the electric bill.
“ your hardly going to ask me to pay when I’m the in house maid?!?”

Ghekko

Call a house meeting and tell them you are not their cleaner. Do they clean up after cooking, eating etc? If so and the bins are the only thing you are sorting, then tell them it's not just your job and they all need to empty bins as soon as they are full. As for used condoms - tell them to have a bit of respect and to at least wrap them up. That is just gross. Suggest getting a bin for each bedroom instead of dumping them in the bathroom bin. A cleaner is probably the best idea. At least the place would get a good wipe down and hoover once a week.

MayBee

Cal a house meeting as was said previously, but don’t go in all guns blazing, just say lads we’re all a bit slack with the cleaning etc, (even though your not) and agree a night/ day that ye all clean, and if someone isn’t around that night, clearly say it has to be done either the night before or after, divide the jobs and only do what you’re responsible for and you can then go after what’s not being done, as in John you need to take out the bins, or Mary you need to clean the bathroom, I wish you luck , houseshares are torture !

MoonshineMonty

It's been going on for the past two years with different housemates. Guess we had such an easy attitude in the house that people took advantage of it. It's been going on for far too long and cannot continue being the house cleaner. I'm burnt out with work and don't need extra work piled up on top of me at home. The food waste bin gets full up the most and needs taking out at least three times a week. I'm tired that other people are taking it easy.

Wake_Up_Donnie

MoonshineMonty wrote: »

I'm burnt out with work and don't need extra work piled up on top of me at home. The food waste bin gets full up the most and needs taking out at least three times a week. I'm tired that other people are taking it easy.

I feel your pain Monty. I used to do the bulk of the cleaning in my houseshare. I recently stopped and now I just do the bare minimum necessary. If you can convince people to adhere to a rota, that's great but it never worked for me.

If your food waste bin needs emptying 3 times a week, you need to get a bigger bin. I'm living with 7 other people, we use a 60l compost bin and it only needs to be emptied once a week. Sometimes we could get 2 weeks out of it but I empty it anyway as it would be too heavy otherwise. The general waste and recycling bins should also be this size. With 4 people in the house, they should only need emptying once a week. Bins might look full but you can usually squish them down with your hands. With 8 people in my house, recycling bin gets emptied twice a week and general waste once a week. I concur with someone else's recommendation of getting bins in each bedroom (if not already present), this should mean that kitchen/bathroom bins don't fill up as quickly.

I completely understand how frustrating it is to come home to a dirty house after a long day at work. Unfortunately, some people are quite happy to live in filth I empty kitchen bins once a week (if necessary, usually is) as I'm emptying bins from my own room anyway and I don't want to encourage rodents/insects etc. If kitchen bins get full during the week, I ignore them and let someone else do it. Once a week is enough to be emptying bins, imo.

If you're also putting other people's dirty ware in the dishwasher/washing it, just buy your own cutlery/plates. That way, there will always be clean ware when you need it. I used to give a thorough clean to common areas/kitchen but I don't bother anymore because there was no thanks for it. You have to learn to accept a certain amount of dirt unfortunately, unless you're lucky enough to live with clean people. I just do the bare minimum to retain my sanity. I can't advise re bathroom as I'm extremely lucky to have an ensuite.

splinter65 wrote: »

People are pigs. How do you split the bills in the house?
I’d keep cleaning and then act surprised when someone asks me for my contribution to the electric bill.
“ your hardly going to ask me to pay when I’m the in house maid?!?”

Really like this suggestion. You might end up saving money :P

Best of luck going forward. I hope ye can work something out