7 ways to be a good roommate
Living with other people is fun and exciting! These are some tips so that your college/post college living situations can be smooth and easy. You can share these with your friends if you find them helpful and use these to find the right roommates for you!
Clean up after yourself
This is probably the biggest thing when living with someone else.
After using the pots/pans in the kitchen and making food, do yourself a favor and clean up right away. After a long day of classes, you might be totally exhausted and just want to make food. If the things you need to make food aren’t clean, that can be the thing that pushes you from having a long day to having a crummy day.
No one wants to come home to dishes sitting in the sink waiting to be cleaned. Come up with a plan with your roommates and make a deal so dirty dishes aren’t left for long periods of time.
The common areas you use in your apartment/dorm are just that, common areas. Don’t treat them the way you might treat your own personal room.
If you are going to do work out in those areas rather than your own room, don’t leave a mess behind for someone else to have to move around so they can do their own work. Living rooms in apartment units is a huge deal.
Someone might be doing their homework on the couch with all of their materials spread out everywhere but if those things get left behind and not cleaned up after the work is done, the other people in the apartment can’t use those areas.
Share the cost of communal items
If you and your roommates all use certain food items or other household items, either split the cost or rotate who buys it. My roommates and I all use milk, bread, toilet paper, hot cocoa mix, pasta sauce, and plenty of other things.
Since we don’t all have Venmo or PayPal, rotating who buys what is the easiest way to share the cost.
Also being respectful of what your roommates have bought is extremely important. If you don’t normally use something and are just going to borrow a slice of cheese from someone (or a similar equivalent for the item you might be using), that is normally fine to not pay for.
However, say your roommates have bought a drink for the fridge that they are ok with being a communal thing. If you are going to indulge in it heavily, like say drink most of it, definitely go out and get the next one.
Don’t go through a communal item that someone else has paid for without letting them get to use it even just once. That is SO important.
Send in payments on time
Make a list of when all your checks are due such as rent, utilities, etc. In some cases there is one person in charge of utilities so make sure you pay your chunk to that person so you aren’t behind on payments.
It is very important you don’t make the other person pay with money they might not have. Most of the time, rent is due at the beginning of each month. Maybe pay it early so you can be ahead and not have to worry about getting your rent in on the last day and then your roommates don't have to worry about late payments either.
Give each other space when it is needed
Whether it is about relationships, school work, whatever issue they might be going through, do not overstep boundaries.
Some of the things we go through are best left for us to deal with on our own first before going to someone else for help. Unless someone comes to you asking for advice or help, I recommend keeping to yourself.
Check in on each other
While you don’t want to overstep boundaries with your roommates, a simple “Hey, how are you doing?”, can go such a long way.
You might recognize that your roommate is not completely acting like themselves lately and just leaving the door open for them to come to you for help or just to talk, can help you both and build your relationship while not putting either of you in an uncomfortable position.
The small thing you need to keep in mind, no matter which side you are on, is that neither of you should be fully relying on the other to take care of your problems.
Plan fun roommate activities
Co-existing in an apartment or dorm together is fine, but actually knowing your roommate and having a decent level of friendship can make it so much more fun. Make plans to go out together every once in a while, plan a movie night, go thrifting, just go have fun and chances are, you’ll get a nice bonding experience out of it.
Be respectful of each other’s personal things
Overstepping boundaries can make someone feel really uncomfortable in their living situation. Leave each other’s food, personal items, and emotions alone unless they ask for help or you are asking to borrow something from them.
The big thing is to not go into each other’s rooms when they aren’t home. You can also all come to some sort of roommate agreement when you first move in together so you can feel comfortable sharing a home with each other.
The biggest thing to take away from this is that comfortable living situations don’t just come from the qualities of the apartment but also the people living in it.
Make sure you and your roommates are all on the same page as you decide who to live with and where you are going to be living. You don’t want to be stuck with someone you don’t feel comfortable living with for a whole year.