As with everything in life, having a roommate has its pros and cons. Having someone to split the bills with is excellent, but it does not come without its share of potential problems. If you have a roommate that you want to get along with, try using some of these lifehacks.
Chore Chart
You may remember this from elementary school, but a chore chart is a great way to keep everyone on track with household chores. Many roommates’ arguments stemmed from one person feeling that he or she is doing more around the house than their roommate. You can use a chore chart to help avoid conflicts about who does more around the house and who is supposed to do what. To make this more fun, you can even make a game out of it by splitting up everything that needs to be done on a wheel and adding a spinner. Scheduling your chores regularly with this chore chart will help keep your apartment clean and manage the amount of work it takes.
Bathroom Organization
Sharing a bathroom with your roommate might be one of the most challenging things to do. Given the relatively small size of apartment bathrooms, organization is a must. To help stay organized in the bathroom, you can install a second shower rod to hang shower caddies in and keep your things separate from your roommate’s things. You can also use an over the door organizer to keep things organized when you run out of drawer and cabinet space. You and your roommate can also separate space in the bathroom for each of your individual items. This will make it easier to clean the things you have made messy and hold your roommate accountable for cleaning the things they have made Bessie.
Kitchen Use
The kitchen, just like the bathroom, is one space in your apartment that you and your roommate are likely to be in at the same time for a significant amount of time. The kitchen is also one part of your apartment that tends to get incredibly dirty and disorganized quickly. You and your roommate should divide up kitchen chores, and each takes responsibility for the things in the kitchen that you make dirty. You might find it helpful to have a dishwasher magnet to note the dishes in there being clean or dirty, and you can also get a notepad to put on the fridge to leave each other little reminders.
Paying the Bills
Paying bills is another thing that roommates often will get into arguments over. You and your roommates should keep a detailed record of who pays for what bills and when those bills get paid. You and all of your roommates likely have a smartphone so you can use apps like Venmo or PayPal to help split the costs of bills. You can make a shareable spreadsheet on Google drive for you and your roommates, so everyone can see what bills are due when and who’s responsible for paying what.
