Living in Peace with a Roommate

1. Learning to Live with Someone Who Isn't Family
2. Agree On Some Rules
3. Track Finances Using Technology
4. Learn Each Others' Schedules
5. Ditch the Snooze Button
6. Don't Leave Notes Everywhere
7. Don't Be a Stealer
8. Make a Chore Chart
9. Hang Out With Your Roomie

1. Learning to Live With Someone Who Isn't Family

So, you have just pulled through the various hassles associated with moving. Maybe you are moving to a new home or apartment with your family. Or, maybe you are moving away from home for the first time, and have decided to share your space, and financial responsibilities, with a roommate. In the best case scenario, you and your new living companion will become good friends instantly. In an ideal situation, you will also be able to consolidate all of your belongings, while still having enough room to breathe.

Unfortunately, best case scenarios are rare when living with a roommate. In a more realistic case, you and your roommate won’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. It is probably nothing personal; they are just adjusting to the new situation a little differently than you. You may find that communication suffers because both of you are afraid to confront the other, which could make for an uncomfortable and awkward situation.

Don’t let yourself fall victim to roommate wars! With Moving Authority, you can educate yourself on the how to create a livable atmosphere inside of your freshly-moved home. Don't let the stress of moving get to you, leading to a bad first impression either, stay positive! We’re going to get into the ways that you can make living together easier by splitting bills, deciding who does what chores, and communicate in a civil and productive way.

2. Agree on Some Rules

It does not really matter who your roommate is, whether it be a long-time friend or someone you have never met, you will have to establish and agree upon some basic rules. It is much easier to adjust to a new living situation if you both try to accommodate each other’s living style. Even if you have a small request, like not using your body wash, putting all of your requests out in the open will make things much less complicated.

3. Track Finances using Technology

If you or your roommate always play the “I don’t have any cash on me” card, then using technology may make it easier for you to get things paid. You can download an app on your smartphone that allows you to link your bank account and send payments. Check out Venmo, or similar apps. Not only can you pay larger bills this way, but you can also send your roommate $15 for the takeout you ordered together.

4. Learn Each Other’s Schedules

If your roommate goes to bed early at night, you probably shouldn’t stay up until 2 AM playing music and crunching on baked potato chips. And on the other side of that, if you know your roommate showers at 7 AM every morning, you probably shouldn’t take a long bath at 6:59 AM.

5. Ditch the Snooze Button

There is not a single thing worse than being woken up an hour before you have to, all because of the vibration coming from your roommate's alarm phone. If you are the one who lets your alarm go off over and over again, then consider putting your phone out of reach of your bed. If you have to get up to put it on snooze, you are less likely to want to go back to bed, letting your roommate sleep peacefully.

6. Don’t Leave Notes Everywhere

Consider what is worse: putting a dirty cup in the sink, or leaving a post-it on the cup that calls out your roommate’s error. Both are not good, but living with someone is about compromise over all else. If you want to develop a healthy relationship with your roommate, consider talking face-to-face instead of building a communication wall that you can’t get over later. If you are going to leave a note, it should only be positive, like “Great job cleaning today, place looks great”, or something similar that will make the energy in the place a whole lot higher. Maybe come up with a day to clean or rearrange your furniture in your house or apartment together. Changing your environment can be healthy for some. 

7. Don’t be a Stealer!

It might be convenient if you run out of cotton swabs and your roommate happens to have some sitting out for you to grab. But, don’t think that they are not noticing when you use their stuff. It is easy for a one-time thing to turn into you constantly draining your roommate of their toiletries, or eating all of their personal snacks.

8. Make a Chore Chart

Although this is not the best idea for every roommate combo, it has proven to be a very effective way for chores to get done without awkward interactions. You can Google some fun ways to make a physical chart, or just leave out a blank piece of paper with a box totally what has been done and who did it. Even if you have a chore chart, it doesn't have to be a binding contract. It could be fun for both you and your roommate to get your new home arranged and looking nice. You are more likely to take care of your home if you enjoy the way it looks 

9. Hang Out with Your Roomie

It is easy to forget that a roommate is a person, too, not just someone who takes up space and gives you money. They actually have interests and a personality. If you see that your living buddy is always watching movies on their laptop, you can set up a Netflix movie night in the living room, on an actual television. Get some snacks and drinks to make it fun. If you hang out with your roommate in non-formal ways, you may even become friends. And, it will be a lot easier to make organic conversation about less fun topics, like paying bills. If you both have moved to a new city, you are likely to both be overwhelmed with everything that's new, but it's better to experience this together rather than alone most people find.