No 'me' in communal

I recently discovered the concept of the 'me bubble', whereby someone is entirely wrapped up in themselves. This seems to be increasingly common these days, as does a worrying failure to take responsibility for anything unless it is clearly and entirely yours (and sometimes not even then). 

I live in a flat in a beautiful 19th century building. It's a sturdy building, with a respectable history -in its time, it has been a hospital, theatre, library and even a fire station. When I tell local people where I live, they are intrigued. Everyone in this town knows my building. 

But after almost two years here, I still struggle with the state of the communal areas. The hallway is home, most days, to sweet wrappers and ground-in biscuits and crisps, even leaves and sticks. I pick these up as I walk up and down the stairs. 

The approach grieves me more, though. It has been smartly paved and the flowerbeds planted with the types of shrubs and grasses so in vogue today. Careful thought has been given to the colour of the plants and the lavender was a particularly welcome sight. 

Why then did I spend two hours today (far from the first such occasion) picking cigarette butts out of the woodchips, pulling bits of wrappers and plastic bags out of the plants and chiselling hardened chewing gum off the paving stones?

I know why I did it - because I don't want to have to walk through a giant ash tray every time I enter or leave my home, and because I knew, hope as I might, that no one else would bother. 

But what really pisses me off is that no one seems to grasp that this area belongs to us all. It makes all of our homes look like dumps. It is the first thing that all of our guests see. There is no me in communal - this is ours. Our responsibility and - if carefully maintained - our joy. Only one flat in this building has its own outdoor space, so this is the closest that the rest of us will get to a garden. 

People, make a mess inside your own four walls if it makes you happy, but this space is both mine and yours - keep it clean and beautiful, please!