For those of you who are traditional college freshmen, you are likely experiencing your first taste of living on your own — well, maybe not all alone. Unless you or your parents have the means to pay for a single dorm room or one-room apartment, you likely have a roommate.
Having a roommate can be a great experience — or it can be a terrible one. Whether your roommate is a stranger randomly paired with you or your absolute best friend, there are always surprises when you live with someone other than your family for the first time. Conflicting sleep schedules, differing ideas of cleanliness, and other courtesy issues are just some of the many things that can cause frustrations in a new roommate situation.
To make living with a roommate as stress-free and positive as possible, follow these tips:
Get to Know Each Other
Unless you applied for campus housing with someone you know, many people’s first year in the dorms has them living with a stranger. It can be super difficult to live with someone who is a complete mystery, and the air can start to get a bit tense when you are living with someone and can’t quite judge how they are thinking or feeling. College is a time to meet new people and get to know new friends, so why not start with you roommate?
Plan a day or evening to dedicate to hanging out with your roommate. Order some take out, chat it up, and see what you have in common. This is a great time to find out about their personality, temperament, and some of their unique quirks so that there won’t be too many surprises over the course of the year.
Have Roommate Meetings
While “meetings” sounds a bit formal, setting aside some time to meet up with your roommate and check in every once in a while is important for keeping things running smoothly, especially as college schedules can get quite hectic. It’s especially vital when you first move in together to sit down and set some ground rules, expectations, and personal needs. These might include sleep and class schedules, quiet times for study, cleanliness, and prior notification of guests.
Subsequent meetings will be great for following up on issues, updating on life problems that might be affecting moods and organization, and politely airing grievances that may be causing hostility. These meetings are also great to just have a scheduled time to spend quality time with your roommate, whether just catching up on life or watching a movie/binge-watching a show together with some take-out food. It’s more fun when you can bond with your roommate rather than just tolerating them.
Find Ways to Organize
Dorm rooms and first-time apartments aren’t exactly known for their copious amounts of space. With more than one person living in these places, space fills up fast, and the presence of too much clutter can cause mental stress for many. It’s important to work together with your roommate to find creative ways to organize things in small spaces, or else you might start resenting each other for the lack of tidiness.
For example, many dorm rooms and small apartments lack closet space — if they have any at all — and the amount of clothes an average student has is typically more than these spaces can handle. When downsizing on clothes is not in the picture, you and your roommate can find innovative storage and organization methods for clothing when lacking closet space. These include adding free-standing shelves, utilizing the space under beds, and storing away out-of-season clothing.
When you and your roommate have got your space all organized and everything in its place, cleaning your dorm on a regular basis will be easier, as everything will have a designated spot. Add in the cleaning schedule that you discussed at your roommate meetings, and keeping your dorm room clean will be a breeze, even when classes and life get hectic.
Decorate!
One of the most exciting things about moving out of your parents house for the first time is getting more control over how you decorate your living space. This can be a great bonding activity for you and your roommate, but it could also be a source of contention — you may have very different aesthetic tastes. Any shared living spaces, whether that’s the living room or a whole dorm room, should be reflective of both of your personalities and should leave anyone feeling happy and comfortable.
Plan a time for you and your roommate to get together and plan how you want to decorate. There are so many things to decide on when decorating your dorm room, such as wall decor, bedspreads, touches from home, room accents, and many more. Take some time with your roommate to discuss likes and dislikes, and get a general feel for what you both are into. You are sure to make your living space an area that you both can enjoy and feel at home with.
Having a roommate for the first time can be difficult, but if you do your best to follow these tips, it can be a good experience. You may even become best friends! But in the case that you find yourself with an impossible roommate, despite your best efforts, you can rest assured that it’s only temporary, and you can start anew next year.
——————————————-
Mila Sanchez is a writer with a BA in English Linguistics. Her ambitions include traveling the world, studying languages, and taking pictures of her dog, Baymax. Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram!
