How can you live with a roommate and be at peace? This is one question we may soon be asking. Especially with restrictions due to COVID-19 gradually easing up, it is only a matter of time before schools resume.For freshers, you probably have never shared kitchen space or any space with a roommate before. If you are going to a public tertiary institution and plan to stay on campus, then you are definitely going to live in a room with a roommate,and also share kitchen space, among other things.
There are various things to know and consider when sharing space with a roommate or roommates.
It is important to know that they have never lived with you before just as you have never lived with them before, so you need to learn to be patient. A roommateis not a member of your family who already knows everything or almost everything about you.
Different strokes for different folks; what works for you may not necessarily work for your roommate, so you need to be careful not to impose your views on them.
So, there are some ground rules, you need to follow to successfully live and share space with your roommates without wanting to kill them.
Agree to some house rules
Like I said before, different strokes for different folks, so, you need to figure out what works for all of you.
Your roommatemay have a very high standard of cleanliness. I had a roommate who preferred to get down with a hand brush and scrub the toilet and bathroom floor with her bare hands and I had another one who preferred to use a hard bathing sponge, and then, there is me, I prefer to use a broom or something that does not require me having to bend down and scrub too vigorously.
We eventually figured it out and each person just did what worked for them.
You need to work out how items are placed, who gets where in the kitchen and what position your stuff stays on the shelf.
Should dishes be washed immediately after cooking or can you load up the sink and let dirty dishes stay till the next day?
For me, we had an unspoken rule which was that every dish and pot used for cooking must not be left in the sink; everywhere must be cleaned up immediately after use for the roommate.
Our kitchen was not really big so we worked out how many people get to stay and cook in the kitchen at the same time to avoid discomfort.