We’re all familiar with (and hopefully we all avoid) the classic “bad roommate” behaviors, like using your roommate’s stuff without permission or leaving gross stuff around the room. However, there are lots of small habits that may seem perfectly fine to you, but are secretly driving your roommate crazy. Keep reading to see if any of these apply to you:
1. Cooking smelly food. If you wouldn’t microwave fish in your office, why would you subject your roommate to that putrid smell? Seriously, at least ask or warn your roommate before you bring a stench into the room.
2. Loud breathing. This seems like a tiny annoyance, until you’re trying to study in a dorm room with someone who always seems to have a cold. If you’re prone to mouth-breathing, try to reign in the noise when your roommate is working.
3. Nudism. You shouldn’t have to leave the room just to change clothes, but be considerate about the amount of time your spending in the nude when your roommate is around. Or at least ask if your roommate is cool with it before going au naturale.
4. Waking them up. Did you know that your phone has a nifty little flashlight feature? This means that there’s literally no excuse to turn on the lights and wake your sleeping roommate when you come in at 3 a.m. Sleep is rare and valuable in college, so taking it away from someone is a d*ck move.
5. Not using headphones. You and your roommate could possibly maybe have the exact same preferences when it comes to music, but that is a rare case. Your Kanye-loving pal might grimace every time you blast T-Swift without asking.
6. Not doing your fair share. Okay, I’ve totally been guilty of this before. In a rough or busy season, it’s really easy to avoid chores like taking out the trash or wiping down the counter. But every time it’s your turn to do those things and you leave it to your roommate, an extra burden falls on them. Not cool.
7. Using them as your therapist. Your roommate is a real person, not a sounding board for all of your problems. If you two have cultivated a reciprocal relationship where you vent to each other, that’s okay. But if you come home every day and unload on them, you’re adding to their stress. Remember that your roommate has problems too.