Let’s face it: as much fun and trendy as it is to say “I hate adulting!! Cleaning? Budgeting? Grocery shopping? UGH!”, we’re in college and we need to grow up. We’re old enough to buy alcohol but some of us still struggle to do laundry. Four years of college may seem like a long time, but it’s really just a short transition period between childhood and living on your own. As a third year, I feel that it’s time to really start preparing for adult life. I definitely don’t have it all figured out, but I’m trying. This is the first installment of my new series, “Adulting”. Our first topic is relevant to college and many adults’ lives after graduation: How to be a Better Roommate.
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General Rule of Thumb: Be Considerate
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Before we get into the step by step guide of being a better roommate, let’s get through the basic underlying theme: consideration. Merriam-Webster defines the adjective “considerate” as “thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others.” A Sunday School teacher would probably explain it with the Golden Rule. I like to think that consideration is most accurately defined by saying “the world doesn’t revolve around you.” See, everyone likes to think that they’re thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others, but in my experience, most people are so wrapped up in their own lives that they forget that others even have rights and feelings. It’s not that there’s any malicious intent or blatantly not caring about others, it’s that people forget that their actions affect other people. This can put a damper on your interpersonal relationships, including your relationship with your roommates. When you share a living space with someone, you have to be considerate of their needs, as they should be with yours. If they have early classes, remember to reach for your headphones when listening to music at night instead of blasting it throughout your thin-walled house. If you both leave the house at the same time in the morning, allow equal time in the bathroom for each of you. With the stress of college, it can be easy to slip into your own world, but you can’t forget the people surrounding you. By just taking 30 seconds to think how your actions would affect your roommate(s), your housing situation will go from 2 to 5 stars in just a few interactions.
1. Ground Rules
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I was never a fan of the roommate contracts that our RA’s made everyone will out back in the days of dorm housing, but now I see their purpose. My First-Year roommate and I ended up being completely compatible when it came to rooming together, but not everyone in my hall had such luck. Most of us didn’t take those roommate contracts seriously, but things like, “Don’t bring a bunch of people over to our closet-sized room without asking” would have helped a lot of my hallmates. Why? Because inviting people over without asking your roommate, who is directly affected, is inconsiderate *clapping emoji*. Even now, when I live in a house with 5 other people, setting ground rules is helpful and is important for remembering others’ needs.
2. Dishes
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Letting your dishes pile up is not cute. I said it myself, I’m not perfect. I’ve done this plenty of times, but its still just plain ol’ inconsiderate to stink up the kitchen with your dirty dishes. Everyone has busy weeks, and letting dishes go by the wayside every now and then is understandable. But making this a habit is all around annoying, unthoughtful, and kind of gross for everyone living in the house.
3. Laundry
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This one should be easy, but often isn’t… take your laundry out of the dang machines! Not only are you preventing your roommates from doing their laundry, but when left for too long, your clothes will get wrinkled and moldy. Sometimes that moldy smell will linger in the washing machine, and then your roommates have to deal with it too. Similar to dishes, leaving your laundry in the machines is a hindrance to your roommates and can have smelly consequences.
P.S. Real adults do their own laundry… and fold it too. That has nothing to do with roommates, but the notion still stands.
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4. Music
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I live in a house of 6 band kids, so I shouldn’t be surprised that a house full of musicians is constantly full of music. That being said, it’s really frickin’ annoying when someone is blasting their music at really any time of the day, and especially at night. Nothing seems to cancel out the noise, whether it be fancy Air Pods, earplugs, or actual noise-canceling headphones. When playing music, it’s most considerate to keep it on a low volume or use headphones. Also, keep in mind that extremely loud music is pretty bad for your ears. But, if you really need to blast your music, think about waiting until no one else is home. Then you can cathartic scream to early 2000s Fall Out Boy.
5. Tidying
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Before you roll your eyes, no, I’m not suggesting you KonMari your entire house. There’s no need for a clothing mountain in order to be a good roommate. When I say tidying, I mean that, in common living spaces, you should be keeping your items neat. No one cares if your room is a total hellhole (of course, unless you’re actually sharing a room with someone), but don’t throw your jacket, shoes, and backpack on the floor of the living room and leave it there for days. More importantly, don’t leave food laying around… that’s gross and asking for roaches. Keeping your belongings together and not sprawled out in common areas not only is common courtesy to your roommates but also will make things easier to find. Why have angry roommates and not be able to find your Converse under the couch when you could have happy roommates and your Converse are on your shoe rack?
As I prefaced, the common theme in being a better roommate (and a better person in general) is being considerate of others. Don’t be the gross roommate that leaves out their dirty socks. Remember that putting your music on volume 1000 is not appropriate if your roommate is trying to write an essay. Overall, communication, caring, and awareness of your actions will not only make you a better roommate but are important facets of truly becoming the kind of grown-up you want to be.
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