What to do when your roomates wont clean up after themselves

I once lived in an apartment with three other guys; one was very tidy, but the other two seemed unable to understand even the most basic aspects of cleanliness. One day, disgusted by the pile of dirty dishes fermenting in the sink, I decided to solve the problem once and for all. I took the dishes and divided them up between the two roommates beds. I didn't just throw them under the covers, but neatly arranged them and tucked them in. Not another word was said about the dishes and there was never another problem with neatness...

But I wouldn't recommend this for everyone. A few years later, I had a large house with up to five roommates and we had to figure out a equitable way to divide the responsibilities of keeping the house clean. At first, we hoped that everyone would do their share of the work, but soon realized that this system was not going to work. I decided to create a basic spreadsheet of necessary tasks and make each roommate responsible for an equal number of tasks. We found that the simple act of assigning responsibility for each task all but ensured that the chores were complete.

It is very important that decisions like this are undertaken as a group, not as one person dictating responsibilites to the rest of the roommates. Call a house meeting, outline the problem, propose a solution, be open to other suggestions, and implement a reasonable system that holds people accountable for the upkeep of your living area.