HOME AWAY FROM HOME:
TIPS FOR LIVING WITH NEW ROOMMATES
written by Olivia Wettengel
August 8, 2024
A new school year means new beginnings, which bring about many new chapters and ways of life you might not have experienced until now! College is an exciting, nerve-racking, constantly changing part of life that often takes a moment to get used to. But that’s what we’re here for! We know the ins & outs of college life and wrote this article just for you.
One of the hardest things about moving away from home and into a new place is learning to live with new roommates. If they’re strangers, you have to get to know them and make friends. If you’ve roomed with your friends, you’re challenged with assimilating your ways of living into one through compromise. Here is our guide to getting along with new roommates and making your home away from home genuinely feel like home.
First comes first: Do you know where you want to live, but don’t have anyone to live with? Do you have friends who still need a place to live this school year? When living at a Book & Ladder community, you can refer a friend and live together! Just apply to live at your preferred community, find the section titled “Roommates” and list your friends so the community can reach out to them. This way, you don’t have to worry about random roommates and you save your friend from having no place to live.
Find your future home here:
Once you’ve found a roommate, then you can worry about living with them. Here are our tips.
Make Time for Bonding
Once you’ve found a roommate, then you can worry about living with them. Here are our tips.
Bonding with your roommates is the key to getting to know them and making friends. Schedule a time in your week for your entire apartment to spend time together. Whether it be for 30 minutes or a whole weekend outing, this simple act will ensure that your relationship with your roommates blossoms.
- Host a PowerPoint night
- Go out for ice cream
- Cook & eat dinner together
- Have a picnic
- Go rollerskating
- Host a movie night
- Hold a bake-off competition
- Workout together (go to a pilates class, to the gym, on a run, etc.)
- Hold a study sesh (if you’re in some of the same classes)
- Go on a hike
- Host a game night
Communicate
As roommates, we sometimes think being quiet and independent is best for living with roommates. But communication is key to maintaining an apartment that is happy and well-functioning.
Soon after move-in, sit down with your roommates and discuss personal preferences and schedules. When does everyone like to go to bed? Set a quiet time for your apartment. When does everyone have class? See if you can walk to school together!
Discuss finances. Talk with your roommates to decide what’s best for you–if you will shop for groceries together or separately and how to split communal grocery items like trash bags, dish soap, and toilet paper. With items such as these,one way to split the cost is to make a schedule with rotations dictating who buys certain items and when. For example, if you need to buy trash bags once every two months and four people live in your apartment, Roommate 1 buys the trash bags in September, then in November, Roommate 2 buys them. Roommate 3 would buy trash bags in January, Roommate 4 in March, then repeat back to Roommate 1 in May, and so on.
Pro Tip #1: Make an apartment group chat with all your roommates so you can communicate about day-to-day needs, even while some are away!
Make a Cleaning Schedule
This item on your to-do list sits in the back of your mind and nags. You know you need to do it, but there are more important things to do, right? The item is–drumroll please…cleaning. To make this task easier for everyone involved, make a schedule that indicates who cleans which parts of the apartment and how often. Roommate 1 could volunteer to clean the bathroom every other week and dust all surfaces every month. Roommate 2 could clean the inside of all kitchen appliances (fridge, microwave, oven, etc.) every three months and vacuum the living room floor every week. Figure out what works for you and stick to it!
Pro Tip #2: Always clean up after you eat a meal.
Be courteous to your roommates and don’t leave them a mess in the kitchen, and they’ll do the same for you. 😊
Pro Tip#3: Switch your laundry promptly!
Don’t forget about your clothes in the dryer and leave your roommate with wet, musty clothes that have been waiting to be dried for hours. Set a timer for each cycle to remind yourself when to switch loads!
Decorate Your Apartment Together
On a more exciting note, decorating your apartment is always a fun activity that everyone looks forward to. Decide with your roommates on how you want the shared areas of your apartment to look, go shopping for decorations & split the cost, and adorn your living space together! This will unify your apartment and brighten up your space, making it a more enjoyable place to be.
Branch Outside of Your Apartment
Be sure to leave your apartment regularly to avoid feeling cooped up. Make friends with people in your classes, clubs, work, or intramurals. Spend time with friends other than your roommates to expand your social circles and, hate to say it, make sure you don’t get sick of your roommates. 😅
Pro Tip #4: Keep the ties you have with home.
Whether they be with family, friends, or other loved ones, be sure to call home regularly. This will especially help if you’re feeling homesick.
Make Your Own Room a Safe Haven
When you need quiet time, cozy up in your own private room or space. Make your space inviting, comfortable, and a place where you can relax from the business outside by decorating it with your favorite things, from plants to vinyl records to your childhood stuffed animal (let’s admit it, we all still sleep with our teddy bears 🤪). This is one of the best ways to reset and motivate for your sundry tasks as a busy college student.
Remember the Golden Rule
Treat your roommates like you want to be treated! Listen to your roommates’ concerns and desires; don’t just focus on your own thoughts. Remember–sharing (when possible) is caring! If you bake cookies, give some to your roommates. If a roommate ran out of laundry detergent, let them borrow some of yours. As you maintain a loving attitude towards your roommates, you will keep the peace in your home, and everyone will be happy. 😇
While there’s a myriad of other ideas you’ll probably come up with yourself as the semester continues, these are a few pointers we have found to be helpful as college roommates. Make sure your college experience is everything you hoped for by starting with your new home. Show your roommates you love them, and they’ll show it back, guaranteeing a successful college life, all year long.
Olivia Wettengel
Olivia is a current Journalism major at Brigham Young University. She has contributed to her school's various publications since high school, and currently works as a Marketing Intern at Book & Ladder, Inc. With a first-hand view of college life, Olivia brings experience and passion to the content she creates for The Open Book.
