The best way to send a single girl running

A dirty apartment will send this and many other single girls running. Fast.

I had to catch myself the other day. I almost told a friend "I'll meet you for a drink as soon as you clean your apartment." But I stopped myself because I refuse to sound anything remotely like my mother. He moved into this place about a month ago. Well, sort of. Then he broke up with his girlfriend the night before. But no excuses. As you can see in the pic, he needed to hear it from someone.

I'm not talking a little dust and clutter. This is nowhere near OCD. I'm talking about when there's so much stuff thrown around you can't see the floor. When you can't tell where the kitchen sink stops and starts.

One guy invited a friend and me over to see his apartment. It's a great place. Good floor plan and big. Nice view. Two balconies. Probably pretty pricey. He had nice furniture and art, but it was just a wreck. Piles of stuff around the floor. A door off its hinges and leaning against a wall. Crap everywhere. If someone can afford the nice place, they can afford a housekeeper. Or at least a few minutes a day of attention on the place.

It all starts in the kitchen -- especially the fridge. Even if the counter tops are straight and the sink empty, food from six months ago smeared across the refrigerator shelves is disgusting.

Then there's the bathroom. People, toilets are white. They should be white all the time. If not, squirt some of that blue or green gunk in that takes off all of the crud. I've seen a couple of single guy - and girl - bathrooms that look like they've never been cleaned. Sixty seconds with a toilet brush hasn't killed anyone I know of yet. I'm a master at hovering over a toilet I don't want to touch, but sometimes what might jump out and bite is way too frightening. A girl just can hold it all night. A clean toilet might keep that single girl from running out the door before she makes it to the bedroom.

The one with the most huge ick factor is sheets. First, have them. Yes, I've seen a bed recently with a bare mattress that had been slept on. And this one happened to be a girl's apartment. Second, sheets should not be crunchy or have spots on them. Anywhere. Any of these is guaranteed among the fastest ways to kill a moment.

We have a happy ending to the mess in the pic. He woke up yesterday morning and decided to clean. And he did most of the day. I saw a transformed place. A home. Maybe the next single girl he invites in might stay.

And now, I'm going to do a little cleaning.

Love to the single girls,

Addison