Tips For Living With Roommates

We like to make living with roommates as comfortable as we can at RPM Living communities by providing convenient payment platforms, attentive resident service, and well-maintained amenities inside your apartment and out. Still, living with others isn’t always easy, and if you have roommates, it’s important to be thoughtful, respectful, and communicative in order to create a home that everyone enjoys living in. These five tips can help you develop excellent roommate relationships and a pleasant living environment.

Set Ground Rules and Stick To Them

Every group of roommates should have some kind of roommate agreement, whether it’s written down or just discussed in person. There are lots of logistics when it comes to sharing a home and failing to set expectations, boundaries, and responsibilities is bound to result in some discomfort. Take some time when you first move in with someone to discuss how you’ll handle things like cleaning the apartment, cooking meals, running the dishwasher, inviting people over, stocking the fridge/pantry, and so on. Once you’ve set these ground rules, stick to them. If you find any of them no longer suits you, have an explicit conversation with your roommates to discuss potential changes before you abandon any rules you had initially agreed upon.

Respect Others’ Privacy

You may be living in the same apartment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maintain privacy! Make sure you don’t enter your roommates’ bedrooms or bathrooms unless invited. Be mindful of your roommates’ needs to sleep and spend time alone and make sure you’re not compromising their ability to do so. Even if you’re best friends with your roommates, we all need a little privacy in our lives; in fact, bear in mind that your roommate(s) may need more privacy than you do, especially if they identify as an introvert.

Always Clean Up After Yourself

You should be explicit about how you and your roommates will handle cleaning, but in general, it’s always kinder to clean up after yourself. Put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher and never hoard them in your room or leave them in a place that your roommates will need to use like the living room or sink. Throw away trash promptly instead of leaving it around. Never leave clothes lying around outside of your bedroom, especially dirty ones. Your private bedroom can be as messy as you like (within reason), but shared spaces should always be kept in a state that all can enjoy.

Practice Good Communication

There will inevitably be times when you and your roommate(s) clash, make mistakes, or fail to live up to your responsibilities to each other. As long as you have the ability to communicate effectively with each other, these situations don’t have to create major conflict. Make sure to be honest and respectful to each other while holding each other accountable. Share your feelings and ask nicely for behavior to change. If you’re the one at fault, be open to constructive criticism and apologize, then promise to do better and make good on that promise. Remember, you all want the same thing when it comes down to it: a good place to live. Create an environment where you and your roommates can continuously get better at meeting that goal.

Live and Let Live

You and your roommates all want to live life to the fullest and you all have an equal right to do so. So chase your bliss, but make sure doing so never impedes upon your roommate’s ability to do so as well. Don’t blast music loud enough for your whole apartment to hear, don’t monopolize access to in-home amenities like the TV or kitchen, and avoid interrupting your roommates when they’re hard at work or taking time to recharge.

That’s it for our roommate tips! If you found this post useful or interesting, we encourage you to share it with your friends and colleagues! If you want to find your ideal home at one of our RPM communities across the US, check out our Communities page.