‘I don’t appreciate the passive-aggression’: Hypocritical roommate spars with tenants over dirty dishes and petty sticky notes

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 10, 2024 2:00 PM EST

Sure, passive-aggressive behavior is not the ideal way to handle an awkward roommate situation, but sometimes, it's the most effective way to make your point heard. If the person with whom you share space has unrealistic expectations of you, you are bound to upset them. Now, if they themselves cannot meet their own expectations if the roles were reversed, then it's about time to give that person a taste of their own medicine. 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/pettyrevenge subreddit by u/Oompa_x_Lumpia, who may not have gotten any points from their problematic roommate but who certainly gets points in our book here at FAIL Blog. Keep scrolling below for the full play-by-play, and remember that if you have strict instructions for your roommates, be sure to practice what you preach. Otherwise, you might end up in a similar situation. For more content like this, feel free to take a look at this story about an art student's petty revenge. 

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  • 01
    "Giving back my roommate's energy"
    via Nathan Dumlao
  • 02
    r/pettyrevenge. Posted by u/Oompa_x_Lumpia 15 hours ago Giving back my roommate's energy A few years ago, I rented a house with two other women. We were all in our mid-20s, working full time, and with various social obligations. We kept the house tidy, though sometimes a dish or two was left in the sink for later if we were running late.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 03
    Nell (all fake names in this post) called a roommate meeting, and said we should all wash our dishes when we're done using this. No problem, right? That's what we mostly did, except for the rare occasion when somebody was running late. We were extra conscientious about it afterward, however.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 04
    A few weeks later, I came home one afternoon to my other roommate, Petra, standing in the kitchen and looking annoyed.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 05
    Above the sink was a post-it note reading, "Per our previous conversation, please don't leave dirty dishes in the sink." In the sink was a coffee cup, small plate, and spoon. Petra had missed her alarm, and I guess Nell came home during her lunch break, saw the mess, and left a note.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 06
    But here's the thing: this was the first time Petra or I had left anything in the sink since that conversation. Nell, however, regularly left her dishes in the sink until the next day.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 07
    The next night, Petra and I come home after Nell was asleep. She left a cup in the sink. Petra ran to her room, grabbed a pile of sticky notes, and wrote, "Per our previous conversation, please don't leave dirty dishes in the sink."
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 08
    I asked if I could leave a note, and it spiraled from there. Between the two of us, we left every step for washing a dish: a note on the soap ("Soap is your friend!"), by the sponge ("Use me to scrub away dirt!"), the faucet ("You're almost there! Rinse here!"), and the towel ("Last step! Dry, then put away!")
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 09
    I was the first to leave the next morning. Upon returning home, the sink was empty, and a single post-it remained: "I don't appreciate the passive-aggression."
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 10
    Grouchy-Ad4338 - 15 hr. ago Really? I mean what was that when Nell left a note. My my she seemed to have virtually no self realization! Great job OP and Petra. You rubbed this point in well. Or should I say that you soaped it in? 848 Reply Share
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 11
    stinstin555 15 hr. ago I would have left a note on the dish soap that said... Nell, if you cannot take it... don't dish it out. 360 Reply Share
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 12
    BeautifulPhantom1 15 hr. ago LOL since she used a post-it herself, if it had been saved, could have used her own note as well. The extra notes were hilarious! 159 Reply Share
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 13
    JoKing1230 15 hr. ago Leave a note 'i don't appreciate your hypocrisy'. (This advice is not intended to make your relationship with them better.) 147 Reply Share
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 14
    DynkoFromTheNorth - 13 hr. ago You should've added a last sticky note to hers: Please keep using sticky note as the primary way to voice your grievances!
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 15
    LibraryMouse4321. 11 hr. ago Could have woke her up to take care of her dishes. Then there wouldn't have been any "passive" to the aggression.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia
  • 16
    Oompa_x_Lumpia OP. 10 hr. ago I'm a little sorry I didn't think of this, especially since I left at 7 a.m. every morning.
    via u/Oompa_x_Lumpia

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neighbors petty-revenge-reddit bad roommates tenant petty revenge petty reddit thread Reddit roommates funny apartment
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