It can be stressful moving from the life of a high school senior at home to suddenly living far away and being forced into cohabitation with a complete stranger. However, by following a few simple tips, this transition of having a college roommate can be made much simpler.
In this post:
1. Establish Boundaries
Don’t wait for one of your personal pet peeves to be broken before trying to set boundaries. Sit down with your roommate and figure out what each other needs in a roommate. At the very least, you both should establish rules about sharing food, borrowing items, personal boundaries, noise pollution (TV, music, etc.), and a cleaning routine for all common areas (bathroom, kitchen, etc.).
Sure, some relationships flourish despite never having this conversation that can seem confrontational, but more feelings are hurt from unspoken bruises and conflict avoidance. Take the bull by the horns, stand your ground, and start things off on the right foot.
2. Coordinate Bringing Items
No dorm room or apartment needs two of everything. Two sets of dishes, two mini-fridges, two couches…not only will your living space start to seem intensely cluttered, but the added expense is something that no college student at which no college student can scoff. Before moving in together, exchange e-mails, phone calls, or Facebook messages to determine who is going to bring what and how many of each item you will need.
Also, if you are so inclined, this is a time when you can discuss dorm room decorating preferences (plastic v. wood, colors, blinds v. curtains, etc.). By planning early, you can get to college with what you need, and not a lot of stuff that you’ll never use.
As a quick addendum to this tip, when talking to your new college roommate, take stock of what you truly use as opposed to what you’re used to having. If you can live without it, you probably won’t ever use it or even miss it. Save the time, save the money, save the labor of moving it and leave it home.
3. Do Your Part
Although you may be used to having your own space, a dorm room or new apartment doesn’t come stocked with a mother or a maid service. No one likes to live with a slob, so do your part! Clean up after yourself. Do your own dishes. Put away things after you use them. These things may sound like common sense, but many roommate arguments have boiled over into full-on fights because people neglect these things. It’s easy to do; you run out of time, you promise yourself that you’ll do it later, and later just keeps getting later and later. Bite the bullet and do your part when it needs to be done.
4. Roommates, Not Best Friends
One last tip: When it comes to sharing a living space, even if you happen to be living with your best friend when you’re living together, you’re not best friends; you’re roommates.
Respect each other’s space. Respect each other’s privacy. Even though you may get along fantastically, don’t assume that you have free reign over someone else’s space or belongings just because you happen to share it with them. Everyone needs some privacy in their lives, and the people living with them need to respect that. What you put out to your college roommate will come back to you. So, be a good roomie!
