I’ll never forget the day my daughter, Abigail, called me. The poor girl’s voice was trembling with frustration.

“Mom, it’s a nightmare. All of this is just a nightmare!” she exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, suddenly giving in to the mom-instinct. “Tell me everything, and speak slowly, honey.”

“My roommates!” she cried. “Their boyfriends are beyond ridiculous. Do you want to know what they did yesterday? Their boyfriends stopped my laundry load, took out all my clothes, dumped the wet mess on the floor, and began their own load of laundry!”

“What?” I exclaimed, my anger rising.

“And there’s more, of course,” she said. “They eat our food and leave dirty dishes everywhere. And you know how cold it’s been recently? Well, guess who has been having cold showers! They always use up all the hot water. And to top it all off, they stopped contributing to the shared snack fund.”

“Oh, darling,” I said, trying to soothe her. “I’m so sorry, but we’ll figure this out.”

My daughter sighed deeply before mumbling her goodbyes.

I knew that we had to be smart in this situation. There were many ways that Abby’s roommates, Ella and Danielle, could make her life even worse.

But when I found out that two of the girls felt the same way about the boyfriends, it just became easier to navigate the horrible situation.

“Please, Mrs. Landon,” Ella said. “Just help us deal with this because we can’t live anymore.”

Knowing that three of the five roommates were on the same page, I knew that we just needed to handle Tess and Rachel, the two girls who had brought these boys into my daughter’s life.

Confronting these girls would likely lead to more drama and a toxic environment for Abby and her friends to deal with. But we had to try. I knew that there was no other option.

Luckily, the lease on Abby’s shared home was nearing its end as the university year was coming to an end, too. Rachel and Tess decided that they would celebrate the end by going on a camping trip with their boyfriends.

“This is it, Mom,” Abby said. “This is the moment that we can do whatever we need to do. They’re leaving on Friday and should only be back by Sunday evening.”

While they were away, Abby, Danielle, Ella, and I got to work.

“Right, girls,” I said, when I met them at a diner earlier in the week. “We’re going to teach your roommates and their boyfriends a lesson. You cannot expect to live in such conditions, and I’m going to put an end to it.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Landon,” Ella said. “When I spoke to my parents about the situation, they just told me to handle it the best way I could. That didn’t help at all.”

“And my parents told me to say absolutely nothing!” Danielle chimed in. “They said that it would get better in time.”

“No, I’m here now and I’m listening to all three of you,” I said as our milkshakes arrived. “We will make this right. I promise you.”

When the couples were away, we moved all their stuff out. Everything from their living room furniture, dishes, silverware, cookware, plastic containers, baking supplies, and more.

“Unfortunately, the shower curtain belongs to Tess,” Abby said, as she removed it. “So that has to go, too.”

“And the newest looking broom and dustpan,” Danielle chimed in. “They’re still new because Tess barely used them.”

“Good,” I said, encouraging their behavior. “Whatever needs to go, throw it into boxes.”

“Mom, they both haven’t contributed to any shared household supplies in months,” Abby said. “You know, all the detergents and loo paper and whatever.”

So, we decided that since Rachel and Tess hadn’t contributed, then they had absolutely no claim to the supplies.

“I have a cupboard in the garage that locks,” I said. “It can work well in a bathroom or even a scullery. I’m going to bring it over and we’re going to use that, okay?”

I went back home and switched cars with my husband, taking the van so that I could take the cupboard back for the girls.

We packed up all the toilet paper, paper towels, dishwashing detergents, and laundry detergent too.

“When you need these things,” I said, packing away the washing powder. “You can unlock it and use it on your time.”

Abby told me that when the couples returned, they were beyond shocked.

“You should have seen their faces,” she exclaimed gleefully.

It turns out that when they saw everything gone, they were losing their minds. And to make matters even worse (or better for us), Rachel, Tess, and their boyfriends had gotten food poisoning on their trip and were feeling particularly miserable.

“I’m going to forward all their text messages to you, Mom,” Abby said, cackling on the other end.

Moments later, my phone buzzed with scathing texts.

How could you do that to us? We come back from a trip, sick and exhausted, only to find that everything is gone?

Where are our belongings?

You put your belongings in the backyard?! How could you?

And you guys took all the shared household items, too! The toilet paper?! We have food poisoning!

I laughed to myself as my daughter forwarded these messages to me.

Their anger and confusion were palpable through their messages. And they demanded to know why they hadn’t been warned.

My daughter, now calm and collected because she was in control of the situation, calmly replied:

You were camping. You probably just didn’t have the signal to receive our messages. Sorry, not sorry.

In the days that followed, Tess and Rachel seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. Without Abigail, Ella, and Danielle, they truly had nothing in the house.

Every single item that they had helped themselves to was essential for their daily lifestyles.

Eventually, the freeloaders had no choice but to pack up their minimal belongings and move out even earlier than planned.

“Mom, you’d never believe it,” Abby said to me when we met for coffee.

“What, darling?” I asked.

“The girls moved in with their boyfriends!” she said, browsing the menu.

“No way!” I exclaimed, wondering how those four were going to survive by themselves.

“Yes! Dani bumped into Tess at the grocery store the other day and saw the four of them attempting to shop. She said that Rachel and Tess looked exhausted and beyond irritated.”

“Serves them right,” I said, adding a spoonful of sugar into my coffee. “They needed to get a taste of their own medicine. Those boys are probably running a riot in their own home. And those girls are finally opening their eyes to the reality of the situation.”

“I just wanted them out of our lives, Mom,” Abby said. “It was about time.”

“And what about renewing the lease?” I asked. Abby still had two semesters before graduation.

“We’re going to do it,” she said, digging into her slice of cake. “Dani’s twin cousins are taking the other two rooms, and I’ve met them, so I know that we’ll all be a good fit!”

Our plan worked perfectly, teaching Rachel and Tess a harsh lesson about respect and contribution. It was a delicious moment of revenge, putting them back in their place.

But most importantly, the girls could finally take their home back and enjoy it in peace, free from the entitled and disrespectful roommates who had made their lives miserable.