In my adult life, I've had roommates more times than I can count and I've also heard all the tips for living with roommates from all of my friends. Most of the time I ignored their advice and wound up wanting to kill my roommates around the time that I moved out. But, I've learned the error of my ways and finally found the best 7 tips for living with roommates.
I'll admit, there were a couple times when my rent was a little bit late, and there were more than a few times when my roommates had to pay rent a little bit late and that isn't a problem. What makes that a problem is when you don't talk about your money issues until it's too late. For instance, if your roommate has paid rent late every month since you moved in a year ago, you should have had a talk; probably about 10 months ago. Talking about money before you both get bitter is one of the most important tips for living with roommates I can give you.
I am not even kidding when I tell you that I have a friend who moved in with somebody whose voice she hated. When I asked her why she would move in with someone that annoyed her so easily, she told me that she didn't know, and that she really regretted making that choice. If you're planning on moving in with someone, make sure that you know enough about them to know that they won't annoy you by just speaking.
Do you love to cook? That will be your household thing. Does your roommate love to decorate? Let them. Make sure that every person in the house has something that they like to do in the house and then let them do it. That's the best way to make sure that there are no resentments between you.
This is as much a tip for life as it is a tip for living with roommates. If the person that you live with is doing something to annoy you, let them know, don't bottle it up. If you do, one day you will explode and get into a much bigger fight than you would have if you just told your roommate how you felt from the beginning.
I cannot emphasize this enough; no one person should be doing everything in the house. Household responsibility should be split among everyone equally - like doing dishes and taking out the trash. If you have to, make a chore wheel. Because honestly, if one person is left to do all the cooking and the shopping that one person is going to start hating everyone else in the house really quickly. And, once the person that shops starts hating you, you'll never get that fancy peanut butter that you like ever again.
Before you sign a rental agreement with anyone else, make sure that everyone knows that by law, they have to adhere to that agreement. If anyone wants to break the lease halfway through make sure that they know they have to pay the rent until the other roommates find someone else to take over their spot. It's not fair for someone to leave and leave everyone else with more financial responsibility than they signed on for.
If you're moving in with new people and you have a certain way that you like things to be, tell them. For instance, if you don't want anyone in your bathroom, tell them. If you don't want anyone to use something that is yours without asking, tell them. You can't get annoyed with someone for pushing your buttons if you don't tell them what not to do.
Well ladies, these are my tips for living with roommates without wanting to kill them. What do you recommend doing to keep from killing your roommates? Let me know down below!