Hi, guys! I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned, going from never sharing a room, to sharing a room & a tiny apartment with other people.
You don’t have to be best friends with your roommates. Obviously, it’s good to be friendly with them but you don’t have to do everything together. Honestly, I found it better to have my own friends in college as well as being friends with my housemates as this way, I wouldn’t get sick of spending too much time with them.
Have some boundaries. And, have them from early on. This is so so important, especially if you’re sharing a room, as it’s important you both know how each other feel about having friends in the room, etc.
Speak up if you don’t like/are not comfortable with something! It’s your space too and if you feel something’s not right, tell your housemates in a respectful manner & try come to a different arrangement. You’re going to have to live with these people for the college year so by speaking up you’ll get any problems you have solved.
Clean up after yourself!! It seems pretty obvious but after this past year, I feel like a reminder wouldn’t go amiss. If your accommodation has a kitchen, clean up everything you use when you’re done/as you go so the next person doesn’t have to clean it to use it.
Also if you share a kitchen space or fridge, get yourself some lunchboxes!! These are a lifesaver, especially if you have a lot of fresh food! I had to share a tiny fridge with 4 others so it was very crammed and sometimes stuff was left there for a long time or was spilt and not properly cleaned up but having my food stored in lunchboxes saved it so I definitely recommend them.
On the topic of fridges, if you have space in your room, get yourself a mini-fridge. If you know you’re going to be sharing a small fridge with others it might be worth investing in your own mini one that you can use for snacks/drinks, especially if your roommates like to help themselves to your snacks!
Have a house-fund. If each of you chip in a small amount each week, it can be used for things you all use such as toilet roll, cleaning products or basic cooking supplies you all use. It will save one person from having to buy it all the time & spend their money on something everyone uses.
Make a cleaning schedule. Obviously, after you cook/after you make a mess, you should clean it up but there are other tasks that are going to have to be done on a weekly/monthly basis such as hoovering or cleaning the bathroom/kitchen/communal area. If you all have a rota for cleaning, these tasks will be shared equally & make everything easier.
Set yourself a budget for your food shopping. Before you go make a meal plan for yourself & then write a list of all the ingredients and items you need to restock. Only buy what you know!! I have a guide to saving money in college that offers some more tips on this!
If you can, get most of your study/work done in college/ in the library. Housemates can be the biggest distraction when trying to do work, even if they don’t mean to be. I always preferred getting all my work done in the library and then coming back to make food, watch Netflix & sleep.
You don’t have to go out if you don’t want to. It can be hard to say no if all your housemates are going/asking you to. Instead of going out, you could arrange to do something else like have a Netflix night or go to the movies some other time. If you do decide to go out, make sure you stay safe & have fun!
If your room has windows, open them! Fresh air makes such a difference to a room & can help with damp which I know a lot of student accommodation buildings can suffer from! Also if you do have damp, invest in a dehumidifier, it makes such a difference!
Change your bed sheets, please.
Bring things from home such as photos. They really help if you get homesick & also work as a nice reminder to keep in contact with your parents/friends from home.
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