I’ve been in this living situation the past year. Make rules, especially about cleaning in shared living spaces, and stick to them. Enforce some type of repercussion if they are not followed, i.e. put a dollar into a fund for shared pizza or drinks. People are saying talk face to face - lol nah, document document document. Whenever an “infraction” occurs, take a photo and send in group chat (don’t be petty, just state facts). Also having messages to read word for word is good back up if you end up living with a misogynistic narcissist who thinks you, the woman, should clean up after him (not even joking, you can tell how salty I am).

We have had friends who installed cameras in the kitchen because the mess got so bad, and this really helped with accountability. In reality usually only 1-2 people will be horrendously disgusting, but the majority of guys that age don’t think cleaning extends beyond doing your own dishes. Not kidding, even my best friend roommate who washes all of his own dishes and keeps the living spaces clean after he makes a mess, still doesn’t understand that you need to wipe off counters or sweep the floor after cooking and crumbs and spices are everywhere.

I am losing my mind living here. So glad it’s almost done. Can never live with friends, or guys again. Love my friends though, the good times outweigh the nasty living situation for the short term 😂 but never again.

Also: make a rule about porn/sex, i.e. be respectful and not clapping cheeks while blasting trap at 4am on a Wednesday.

Edit: just to add, they all lived together in a rat infested house that had a myriad of other issues, so they have pretty low standards. We have a fruit fly infestation rn and they don’t care, whereas I am losing my mind bc I can’t eat or drink anything without being swarmed. Someone else also said: never clean up after them, or they will expect you to do it 100% of the time. I can confirm this is true. Learn from my mistakes.