I started taking photos of the kitchen sink before I left for work, and it fixed my roommate problem
Two years ago I just ate the mess and did the dishes myself, which meant about 40 minutes of cleanup on my only day off. Now I snap one quick photo of the sink and counter on my way out the door at 6am, no note, no fight, just the picture in our group chat. My roommate Marcus started cleaning up within a week because seeing his own pile of pans in a photo hit different than me nagging him. Has anyone else tried the photo thing, or do you have a better trick that does not turn into a whole argument?
Would this even work if your roommate never checks the group chat? That is the part I keep wondering about. The photo thing only lands if Marcus actually sees it and cares what the other people in the chat think of him. For some people that shame factor does nothing because they just mute the chat or scroll past. What worked for me was flipping it so the mess was in his space, not mine. I stopped stacking his dirty stuff in the sink and put it on his bed or right in front of his door. It took him two days to get it because he could not ignore it anymore. Your way is way less passive aggressive though, so if it is working for you I would just keep at it.