Online Dating Tip #1: Clean Your F'ing Room

Pretty much everyone who's ever tried online dating has found themselves with a list - some longer than others - of dealbreakers that they apply to every profile they read. Some people list them in their profile (which is, for others, a dealbreaker in itself), others just keep it in the back of their mind, and use it to weed out certain types of people. Then again, some of us blog about it. That's probably a dealbreaker for others. It's a vicious cycle.

I digress.

Your photos are probably the most important part of your profile. They're the first thing anyone's going to look at, and you can tell a lot about what someone thinks of themself, and how they live their life by the photos they choose for their profile. Oh look, she travels a lot, but only to all-inclusive resorts. Seven pictures of herself in the mirror, all in the same outfit. She lives her life striking awkward poses in tiny dresses in nightclubs. You get the idea.

I'm always amused by the amount of photos that are uploaded where nobody is conscious of what's in the background. Two of the more famous examples:

OK, now these are extreme examples, but the point is valid. No matter how sexy and alluring you think you're being, your surroundings are un-doing all of your good work. Our blonde MILF on the right's room looks like a laundromat threw up on her floor to boot.

So, if you're going to take the time to strip down to your underpants and try 12 different self-pic angles in order to find the one that captures just how sexy Instagram can make you look, take the time to clean your room first. Just sayin'.

Good luck out there.