25 RULES To Follow When Living With ROOMMATES

At some point in our lives, it's likely we will live with other adults in a roommate type situation. This is actually a really good thing, as roommates help you grow as a person and living with others reveals a lot about ourselves. However, things can also get frustrating at times as everyone comes in with different expectations. The very best advice is to not take things personally, and have frequent and open communication. After that, here are 25 Rules To Follow When Living With Roommates.

25 Rules To Follow When Living With Roommates | List25

Talk about who takes showers when, and be considerate with the hot water.
The sounds of, ahem, adult intimacy, are only enjoyable for those directly involved.
Don't borrow things without asking. Ever.
Refill the toilet paper roll when it's out.
Don't gossip or talk trash about your roommate.
Do not expect your roommates to either join you, or vanish, when you have friends over.
Don't get your feelings hurt if your roommate doesn't want to be your BFF.
Take turns taking out the trash.
Everyone takes care of their own pets.
Send a postcard (or bring home a small present!) when you go on vacation.
Observe quiet hours.
If you have a filtering water pitcher, such as a Britta, REFILL IT WHEN YOU POUR YOURSELF A GLASS.
Figure out what to do if someone forgets their keys and gets locked out.
Consider drafting a roommate agreement that all parties sign the day you move in, that clearly states some the "rules" everyone one agrees on.
Does cooking mean you do the dishes yourself, or if you cook and your roommate partakes does that mean they automatically must do the dishes?
What are the consequences of not doing your chores, aside from living in a dirty house and putting more work onto your roommates?
Don't smoke in the house.
Feel free to splurge on a maid service if you're both in agreement on it, and include it with your monthly bills.
Agree to thermostat temps, put it in writing, and if you must, tape it to the wall beside the thermostat.
Your significant other spending the night now and then is one thing.
A dead plant is not a decorative plant and should be removed post haste.
If you live in a dorm, you and your roommate both need to study.
When it comes to decorating a communal space such as the living room or kitchen, remember those spaces are SHARED and should reflect everyone living in the house, not just one person.
Discuss if there's communal food and what the rules are.
Set expectations!

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[fleskhjertafan]

Roomates are either your best friends or you hate them there is no in between

[TheSailorTenjou]

I have a horror story. I was living with 3 other roommates, two of them were a couple living together. The routine was like this: one or the other would heavily drink (NOT in their opinion, they were just "relaxing"), then make the loudest noises until late at night. This was the lite version. The heavier routine was like this: they would drink, loudly fight with each other, even hitting each other, insults and smacks flying around. And that was NORMAL for them. The whole time I lived there I did not have a good nights sleep, also because sometimes they would make loud noise early in the morning, I never could guess when it would end OR start. And they would try to convince that I would never find better accommodations than in their house! Yeah, right!!!

[tungstenwhizard]

Now this is a kind of stupid question. I'm a high school senior with the ambition of transferring from community college to a higher education. Since I won't likely live in school dorms, I've been considering living in an apartment. My mom says that I will likely need a roommate (*eye-roll* IDK why, I'm much more responsible by myself). I'm a pretty individualistic person - I'll make my own food, do my own clothes, clean up after myself, etc... I wouldn't mind a roommate who is equally responsible and respectful (though I know that won't always be the case.)
*Now to my stupid question* - do you make food for each other? For breakfast, do you make food only for yourself or for your roomate as well? Do you prepare a meal and lay it out for both of you? That's one thing I've been thinking a little worriedly about. As I mentioned, I'm individualistic, but that comes from my social anxiety and introversion. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY I will become close friends with my RM, (or will be beforehand), but in the case I don't, I'm kind of dreading those awkward table moments where you're eating and you don't know what to say and you die from awkwardness.I mean, I can't control everything and I certainly can't control someone else (heavens no).

*TL:DR* - Do you make yourself food or food for both of you?

[Shay-]

I think sitting in the living room, laying all in the living room floor all day being loud ( when u have a damn room with bathroom in it), eating other peoples ish after being asked NOT to is soooo irritating 😠

[melanie]

I've had both good and bad roommates. my last experience was good. he did his thing I did mine. there were a few disagreements but overall it was positive. I think being roommates with the opposite sex can help.

[eileen]

There are thermal detection heaters for reasonable prices that will keep the room at a certain temp and turn on and off accordingly. I'd say just use that for your bedrooms and keep the main living area at a reasonable temperature. I don't use the heaters in my apartment as they are a huge fire hazard.

[bgunbunny]

#17 #DankForPresident
#05 Thank you for reminding me to water my miniature palm tree. :-)

[sifugurusensei]

All roommates gives me nightmares in the end. Loud music is my pet peeve. I have social anxiety so I have a hard time asking people not to do something

[spookykid]

Don't fuck with your roommate if he's almost foot taller than you

[edvaira]

I married my first roommate and she's still driving me nuts 28 years later

[tylerk]

Be careful moving into in with your best friend. Sometimes things can turn real sour real fast. 🤮

[tigerexo]

Actually, there's only ONE RULE:
BE CONSIDERATE!

[Juxtavarious]

What kind of clingy-ass roommate needs gifts when you come home? If we're not dating, don't expect that kind of interaction...

[Rowangamer]

I have a tip, if you don't want roommates driving your car, get a manual.

[houssembenabdallah]

except the money reason ... living alone is the best choice !!

[terrywohlgemuth]

I hate roommates. Never had a good one. For that matter I hate neighbors too. I generally don't like people.

[carolschneider]

I have an amazing roommate. All she wants is food, fresh water and a clean litter box. Allie would love Memes.

[telletubbie]

My roommate was the worst. Never did the dishes, never replaced any food, always left his clothes around, always had 2-3 people over, girlfriend was basically living here(like 5 days a week), never willing to listen to any valid criticism but when he had any problem, the world had to be put on hold to hear his rant, and worst of all? Always late on rent and ALWAYS trying to cut it lower.
Needless to say one of us had to go.

[daniil_berezhnov]

Is hot water limit a thing in the USA? In most countries you just use however much you want as long as you pay for it.

[sivonni]

I had a roommate that I had to teach everything to since her mother had always done everything for her, including making her bed. She had terrible friends who let her drink underage (if she gave them the money for the alcohol) and then left her passed out drunk and stole her cigarettes. She was also a prodigy and learned how to play the piano in a week. She'd play the same song over and over and over and...Eventually I bought her a pair of nice headphones to plug into her keyboard and we were both happier.

Another roommate was literally hauled away in a straight jacket. She'd stopped taking her medication cause she'd felt better and was hallucinating and screaming. We didn't even know about the meds or her mental health issues.

My least annoying roommate used to come home drunk every Friday and Saturday about 2 or 3 am to change clothes while laughing hysterically. I'd slam cabinets and doors in retaliation when she was hung over the next day. We never interacted otherwise because everything in the world seemed to piss her off no matter what I tried. She seemed to like me better after I started slamming the doors.

Another roommate was sexually assaulted while camping and I had to talk her into reporting it. I was called out of class more than once to come pick her up after she had panic attacks and had to sit up late with her, telling stories until she felt safe enough to sleep. I had to leave a few months later but kept in touch and flew back for her birthday, apparently the first one anyone ever threw for her at age 20. She named her first child after me. I'm not kidding.

All of these roommates were assigned to me and the only complaint any of them ever made about/to me was that I did the chores before they could get to them (can't stand dirty dishes in the sink) and that I watched too much tv sometimes. Oh, and I take really long showers.

I'm still friends with most of them even though I'd never have chosen them as friends had we met otherwise.