Marvin’s Room(mate)

Whether you’re living on campus or you’re a young adult trying to save a few bucks, you will find yourself living with a roommate, housemates, or suitemates. While this might make your wallet happy, it can also cause some unnecessary drama in your busy, hectic life. I think most people will find themselves hitting a few bumps down in the road with their roommates so hopefully these tips can help you avoid that!

1. Don’t Be Fools–Establish Some Rules

If you’re rooming with a random or if you’re rooming with someone you’re super close with, you HAVE to establish a few ground rules.

Listen, I know discussing and laying down rules might seem very intimidating at first but the sooner you do it the better it is for everyone in the living space. When I first moved in with my roommate I just had to approach her and start discussing the different things or chores we had to take care of in our dorm room. We also went over things we wouldn’t be comfortable with. Once we got the conversation going it wasn’t so bad after all! We both came to the conclusion we wanted to keep our room as clean as possible at all times.

So if you’re living with new people just approach your roommate/housemate in a friendly way and you won’t have any problems. At the end of the day all you have are good intentions and you’re just making sure everyone is on the same page.

2. Roomies NOT homies 

Sometimes you’ll either live alone in a single or have a roommate or housemates. Even if you’re not best buds with your roommates/housemates, it is essential to remain on good terms with them at all times because if not that can actually be HELL.

Just remember to always be respectful and avoid petty conflicts. I guarantee you, this will go a long way.

3. Address Conflicts 

I’m a very straight froward person who will tell you what is bothering me or what is annoying me, whereas my roommie is the total opposite. Don’t get me wrong I love her and I respect her very much. But she will literally rather completely ignore you or try avoiding you instead of telling you what the problem is.

Quick story! We got into a little fuss and basically she avoided me the entire week. So I got fed up and when we both woke up I (gently) threw a pillow at her and asked what was wrong because was done playing the guessing game with her. Eventually we sat down and talked about what exactly was bothering her. We also concluded that we MUST talk about different things that might be bothering us instead of ignoring it and having to deal with awkward silence between the both of us.

So if any little thing is starting to bother you talk to your roommate!! Just don’t be defensive or uptight because they might take it the wrong way. Speak up before it gets out of hand!

4. Don’t Be Cruel With the Golden Rule 

Everyone is pretty familiar with the Golden Rule...treating others as one’s self would wish to be treated.

So basically don’t be a bitch and most importantly, be respectful. For example, if you have an exam the next day, you definitely wouldn’t want your roomie to have people over until 3am. If you wouldn’t want that then don’t do the same to them.

Be mindful of their schedules and respect the things they need to do and this whole rooming thing will work out perfectly fine.

Best of luck with your roomies!