So, a little while ago we talked about finding your perfect roommate, and we can pretty much all agree, roommates are great! But since even the best roommates can have their problems (Monica and Rachel had their issues sometimes), you need to be able to handle them effectively so your living situation doesn’t become awkward.

A huge part of having a successful living situation with a roommate is not being passive. If you and your roommate(s) are passive with each other about any issue, there’s no real communication going on and it typically doesn’t end well. If your roommate did something that may have bothered you, like maybe they didn’t take out the trash, don’t just leave them a note asking them to do it next time; talk to them and tell them about the issue! You’re all adults, so you should all be able to communicate like adults.

Sometimes roommates have issues because the housework isn’t being done by everyone and the responsibility falls on one person. Maybe you can make a list of the different duties that need to be done on a weekly basis, and each person can pick a task that’ll become their weekly responsibility. This is better than one person doing all the work themselves, or having someone delegate chores to the household; since you all have your own tasks, it’s not difficult to keep track of what’s been done.

From personal experience, another issue that may come up when you live with other people is refrigerator/kitchen space. Since this will most likely be the only communal area where everyone wants space, you need to be efficient. If you and your roommates all buy basic things like bread, milk, eggs, etc., you can either take turns buying them or simply split the cost. This way, you won’t have five gallons of milk, or three loaves of bread taking up tons of space. Same goes for cleaning supplies! You and your roommates can take turns buying things like trash bags and sponges, it’ll save space and money.

Hilarious! But not the right way to go.