Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess

by Rachel Hoffman

You can beg for help, plead for buy-in, make threats, stomp around, throw things, or just generally despair of your situation, but the sad fact is that you can’t make someone care about the mess the same way that you care about the mess. If you live with loved ones, hopefully you can make them care about how the mess affects you, since they presumably already care about your feelings, but as far as changing habits goes, you’re better off focusing your energies inward. It’s important to realize that this is a personal journey, and getting upset or resentful about what other people are or aren’t doing can be a major setback in your own progress. You’ll start focusing more on what everyone else is or isn’t doing than on making changes within yourself, and that’s a surefire path to disappointment. It can be difficult to let go of this mindset, but your time is better spent working on your own habits; eventually, the people you live with just might come around. Until then, though, do this for you. Do it because you want somewhere nice to live, and because you deserve the satisfaction of being the one to make it that way.

Stacy.