Living with roommates can produce some of the best memories you may ever have. Getting to meet a brand new person or living with friends you already knew can be comforting and incredibly fun! You always have someone to come home and rant to instead of living at home or living alone. Movie nights with your roommates can be the best and the exact thing you need to relax after a stressful week of classes. While living with roommates can be an amazing thing, it can also produce problems in your relationship if problems are not dealt with correctly. Below I will provide you with tips on how to deal with your roommates and keep your home a healthy and happy environment!
1. Set Ground Rules
Within the first week of moving in, you and your roommates should set rules for where you are living. Discuss things like the temperature, how early/late is too early/late to be loud, the use of kitchen supplies, cleaning, guests, etc. Do not hold back because once these ground rules are set, it is hard to talk to your roommates about an issue that might occur later in time. Express what’s on your mind the first time around and you will thank yourself later.
2. Respect Each Others Privacy
Knock on doors, ask if it’s okay for your friends to come over, see if it’s okay to move their clothes out of the dryer. Simply being courteous of your roommates, their privacy, and their belongings will help you avoid so many conflicts that are unnecessary.
3. If You’re Not Sure, Then Ask
If you feel like something you want to do or might have done wasn’t fair or appropriate, just ask! There is no shame in asking if your roommates are okay with something. Either they will be fine with it or you will learn from it and move on.
4. Compromise
In life, you can never get everything you want. This goes for living with roommates too. Whatever the problem, always talk it out to find the middle ground between you all so everyone is mostly satisfied. No one person should be overpowering the other roommates and you should all have a say in the matter.
5. COMMUNICATE!!!
As everyone always says, communication is key! If you don’t talk about what you’re feeling or what is going on then you will just continue to build that frustration and anger towards your roommate. Speak up and don’t wait too long to do so. You all will learn and grow from the experience, and that’s what this point in our lives is all about!
Remember collegiettes, remain kind and always speak your mind! Good luck with the first week of classes!
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