House full of eight messy roommates

Dear Amy: I have eight roommates, all living together in a large house. All of the roommates rent separately from a landlord; we are not friends sharing a house as friends (the rent is very cheap, and so is the landlord).

The things that have never been resolved are people taking out the trash and keeping the kitchen and front hallway floor clean. Dishes are left in the sink for days, weeks or over a month.

Sometimes one of the people will bring some cleaning help in for her specific needs, but that is not reliable regarding the house common areas.

It seems that some people just don’t care — and believe it or not, some people seem to be obstructing any resolution.

Amy, can you visit the house and gently persuade these scumbags to act like adults and do their part? — Grunged

Dear Grunged: Before I book my flight to intervene on your behalf, you need to understand that if I could inspire others to clean the house to my standard (through force or persuasion), I would not be up late vacuuming while my own family of seven slumbers peacefully.

You should certainly try to call a “house meeting” to address these issues. One logical solution would be for all of you to chip in to hire a cleaner (or “Hazmat” specialist) to come every other week and clean the common areas of the house. However, my instinct is that the individuals who care the least will continue to care the least, and therefore will refuse to either help or pay.

With nine people all renting cheaply and separately on individual leases, and without friendship ties between you (which would create some emotional leverage), your only advantage is the freedom to choose to move when your own lease runs out.