My housemates leave dirty dishes lying around for days. How

Sometimes anger only goes away once we let it boil, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. Start by exploring private and fun ways to release your frustration

My relationship with my two housemates is becoming fractious. We’ve lived together for two years and I consider them both friends. I pay more rent due to having a higher income (we wouldn’t afford this flat otherwise).

The issue is they don’t clean up after themselves. They will cook dinner and leave the dishes for days, and it drives me mad. I’ve raised this issue multiple times over the years and it always goes the same way: everyone agrees to make more of an effort, the kitchen is clean for a week, and then the dishes pile up again. I feel as though I’ve tried everything, from initiating a friendly discussion about household labour division to simply sending messages along the lines of: “Please can you wash your dishes today.”