Moving out of your parent’s house and living with someone could be tough. Many college students go through this phase where they have to live in a shared house with other students. Sometimes you could be lucky enough to live with your best friends but it will not always happen. Sometimes you will have to make an effort and turn those housemates into your friends so that you can live together in harmony. So here we are, with some of the best tips on how to be a good housemate and form healthy relationships with each other.
Tip #1: Communicate as much as you can
Some form of basic communication is required between housemates. For instance, you can decide on clearing schedules, and meal plans or assign different duties to each other from time to time. You can sit together for half an hour every week to decide these things. You must set some house rules and share what you expect from each other.
Sometimes when you have a busy schedule in college and you do not have time for basic household chores, you should be comfortable sharing your issues with your housemates. Not only this, try to know each other at a basic level, for instance, likes, dislikes, courses you are studying, your hometowns, and so on.
Tip #2: Boundaries are also important
You must have certain etiquette while living with a housemate. For instance, you must always knock before entering their room, if you need to use any of their utensils or appliances, you must take their permission first and so on. This way you can build a mutual understanding and respect for each other.
Being conscious of each other is the key to a healthy relationship with your roommate. For instance, you must make sure not to play loud music when they are studying in the next room or not talk loudly on the phone. You must put yourself in their shoes and think whether what you are doing would have annoyed you if someone did the same to you.
Tip #3: Share little things with each other
The key to a friendly relationship with your housemate is sharing things. For example, if you have experimented with a new recipe or made something for yourself, it is courteous to ask them too if they want some. You might as well straightaway offer them the food/drink. You can also sit together and chat with each other since both of you are away from your family and living out on your own in college can be a challenging experience at times. But when you know that you have a housemate who is no less than a friend, you feel a little better.
Tip #4: Be kind to yourself and them
One thing that you must understand and accept is that everyone is different. They have different habits, different choices, and different lifestyles. While you might have certain expectations from your housemate, you still need to be kind to them and let them be who they are. You can decorate your room, and add more plants to it but you cannot expect them to do the same. Some people might not like decorations.
Read about random acts of kindness that you can do for your housemate and let a healthy relationship blossom! You must keep an open mind about them as they might belong to a different ethnicity than you. They might have different beliefs or no beliefs at all.
Tip #5: Give them space
Everybody needs their own time. Some people like to relax or take a nap after college while others might like to meditate in the morning. You must take note of such times and make sure not to try and start any conversations then. For example, if your housemate has come home after college and you know that now they will go to their room and rest, it is definitely not the time to ask them to play a game of cards with you. Respect their schedule if you want them to respect yours.
A lot of housemates hang signs on their door knobs to tell each other what they are doing. For instance, if you are sleeping you can put a sign or when you are studying you can decide on another sign for that and hang that on your door knob. This way each of you will know that the other person is busy.
Things not to do when living with a housemate
Now that you know what you should do when living with a housemate, here is a quick checklist of things that you must not do.
- Don’t be oversensitive/overprotective: If your roommate makes plans without including you, it is okay. They might have other friends too!
- Do not gossip about your roommate: Since you live with them you might hear some conversations or you will know them better as a person. But that does not mean that you will leak their secrets.
- Don’t take their stuff without permission: Borrowing without asking is not a good habit.
- Do not make assumptions: Keep an open mind. Everyone has flaws and so do you.
- Don’t fight on minor issues: When you are living together with someone, differences are bound to happen. It is better to consider each other’s opinions.
Before we end this blog, here are some important questions that you must ask yourself before moving in with a roommate: Do you get along with them? What are your schedules? Will you both be able to maintain your schedules while living together? Do you think this person will pay their bills on time?
Having a housemate can be a blessing. You can save money on bills and at the same time have someone to talk to or be friends with. However, it can also turn out to be stressful if you do not consider the things that we just shared above. Hope our tips will help you out!
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