My brother is in college and last year lived with three other guys, all on the baseball team. His direct roommate, the one who's bed was 2 feet from his - was a bit of a slob. All boys in college are slobs, but particularly those who are going to a high ranking university and waking up a 5am to work out and not getting home until after 10pm batting practice.

They would often get fairly healthy take out on their way home, or leftovers the mother's would bring all the boys on the team. Because of this, the space between the roommates bed and the wall was littered with empty, or almost empty, styrofoam containers and empty cups. The room in general was messy - cups, take out containers, empty water bottles or cups, a never ending pile of clothes, etc. I remember accidentally discovering a sea of empty vodka bottles under a pile of winter clothes in the closet.

My brother's girlfriend and my brother's roommate's girlfriend were quite close and so for the roommates birthday they decided to clean the room for them. My brother lent her the key and they got down and dirty cleaning the place. She laughed that it was rancid and getting to science-experiment status. But they cleaned it all out, vacuumed, and when the guys returned to the dorm that evening, it was just about the best birthday any college boy could have ever asked for.

I've never met a guy who likes to live in a dirty or messy place - just that they have better things to do than clean. Having a girlfriend can certainly give them the inspiration they need to actually clean up. I've found that once it gets to a certain point, it's easier to add to the mess than to undertake such a huge operation. I'm certainly glad that my boyfriend and I are on the same page regarding tidiness and cleanliness.