When you start living with other people (and without parents around) your ideas about cleaning will quickly change (or at least they did for me). Small things that I used to do all the time like leaving dishes in the sink suddenly irritate me so much that I begin to sound like my mother. This is good! It just means you’re starting to take more responsibility and care more about the space around you.
When living with other people its important to set some sort of rules or expectations so that you’re all on the same page. If not, certain people may start doing most of the housework and slowly get bitter towards the others over time. Living alone for the first time is also an important time to start learning how to actually live life as an adult and take some responsibility around the house – after all, know one will do it for you.
My advice? Sit down with your roommates and have a conversation about things that are important to you. For me, it drives me crazy when people leave cutting boards in the sink because it makes them warp, or when they make a meal and don’t clean up after themselves. Most of the time, if everyone knows what things are important to everyone else, they’ll make more of an effort.
I also suggest having a group deep clean anywhere from once a week to once every two weeks. Pull out the vacuum, spray down the counters, put everything where it belongs and give the bathroom(s) a good cleaning. Keeping shared spaces clean makes for a much happier environment and a lot less tension between housemates.
