Living with other people's mess (and not losing your mind)

Negotiating tidying when you live with other people.

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Something that keeps coming up in our comment threads are questions and often frustrations about cohabiting with people who have differing ideas about how to take care of their things. A common refrain:

These systems sound great but what if it’s seemingly impossible to get my partner to follow any kind of system or pick up their things?

This is such a loaded topic. The struggles people face and the deep wounds they feel are palpable in the comments. It’s tempting to not address it at all because feelings run high, but I do think sharing can help people feel less alone at a minimum. And maybe some ideas will prove helpful.

I don’t have the cure-all (AT ALL), but I can share ho…