10 Fabulous Tips for Living with Roommates

For those of you who have lived with roommates before, you may well agree with me when I say that it can be a wonderful experience or an outright disaster.

 

To simply put it, having a roomie can be like having the friendly, fun sibling you never had, having someone to binge watch Netflix with, to hang with and even occasionally cook food for you, and vice versa. Sounds good right!

 

But, It’s no secret that roommates don’t always become BBFs and if you’re not careful, you may experience moments of awkwardness, tension or plain right discomfort with those you’re cohabitating with. Enough of the doom and gloom though, we have constructed 10 fabulous tips for living with roommates that will be sure to put your mind at ease.

 

1) Communication is key

 

Quite simply, we are not mind readers and unless someone voices out their concerns, it doesn’t take long to get on someone’s nerves, especially if you’re living together. Make that conscious effort to keep an open dialogue, grab a coffee and have a chat on a regular basis.

 

You’ll soon find out whether you have any annoying habits that you need to adapt and what you can do to keep your roomie happy.

 

 

2) Keepin’ it clean

 

 

Whether you’re naturally a clean freak or a laissez-faire slob, if you’re living with others you should make that extra effort to keep your home clean. No one likes coming home to a mess, it’s unhygienic and one of the main causes of arguments between roommates.

 

Do your bit towards cleaning the house each week and your roomie will most probably do the same. To make it easier, create a weekly chore chart for the both of you.

 

3) Get to know each other 

 

 

Most of you probably know that getting to know your roommates makes life much easier, yet it’s common for roommates to do otherwise. Break the ice and go out of your way to get to know your roommate as soon as you meet and you’ll start to wonder why you didn’t get to know them even earlier.

 

 

4) Don’t sweat the small stuff

 

 

If your roommate borrows some of your ingredients to cook or if they forget to turn off the lights once in a blue moon, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Instead, just turn off the lights  on your own. Remind them about it, if it does happen again. Your home should be a friendly, relaxed atmosphere away from the stresses of work or school.

 

 

5) Respect and embrace your differences

 

 

Every person on this planet is different, be it through their genes or upbringing. Embrace your roommates’ beliefs, personalities or hobbies. You might even start to learn a thing or two.

 

 

6) Live your own lives 

 

 

 

Just because you live with someone doesn’t mean you have to be joined at the hip. You’re allowed to have your own space and not do everything together. This in fact is healthy, even the best of friends are prone to argue if they spend too much time together. Don’t feel pressured to say yes to every invitation, if you want some me-time, just say ‘perhaps next time’.  

 

 

 

7) Go grocery shopping together

 

 

This can prevent you from breaking the bank, buying in bulk is one way to make your money go further. Not only this, but shopping together can be very enjoyable allowing you to plan meals together and introduce each other to new foods. 

 

 

 

8) Invest in a white board

 

 

iKeeping your home in order takes a lot of time and planning. Buy a white board to delegate housekeeping tasks to each of you. Make it clear when bills are due and remind your roomie of important events that are coming up.

 

 

 

9) Invest in some headphones

 

 

If you enjoy listening to your favourite band or watching reruns of Game of Thrones with the volume turned up, be conscious that your roomies may not have the same taste. Invest in some headphones and enjoy having the volume up to your heart’s content.

 

 

 

10) Give a heads up if you’re having guests stay over

 

 

Your roomie didn’t sign up to have awkward conversations over the breakfast table with someone they don’t know, neither did they sign up to being kept up all night.

 

So if you do plan on having a guest stay the night, give your roommate prior notice. Perhaps, they’ll choose this to be evening they go out or find their missing ear plugs. Either way, just a heads up is nice.

 

 

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So there you have it, 10 fabulous tips for living with roommates. We hope that this helps and you have a fun-filled, stress-free time living with your roomies. If you are still looking for a place to rent? Click here to start searching through our listings & rent with No Deposit!