Living at home with your family is great for the first part of your life. You can get away with so much stuff that you would not have been able to get away with if you lived on your own with your college roommates. When you are living on your own you appreciate your home, and when you are living at home you appreciate college, but you learn to adapt with time.
Once you have moved out of the dorms and into your own apartment or house, you and your roommates begin to experience things that people our age are also experiencing across the nation. We have all had that one roommate that, at some point in time, gets under our skin or does things that make us want to cut all their hair off in their sleep. We have all been guilty of doing things that others find annoying -- from leaving laundry in the dryer to eating your roommate's food. Here are a few rules we should all follow in order to make our living environments a little less dramatic and a little more peaceful.
Help maintain a clean environment. Help out every once in a while. Don't be that one roommate that never helps clean the apartment or never takes the trash out when it's growing and growing in height.
Refill the Brita. Never leave the Brita empty. It's probably one of the most annoying things you can do. If it is only a fourth full after getting water, you better refill it and let that water filter.
Clean up after yourself. Making dinner? Make sure you clean the stove and clean any crumbs you may have left on the counters.
Don't eat food that is not yours. Nobody likes coming home to find their favorite juice gone or their favorite snacks half eaten. Always ask before eating or drinking anything that you did not pay for, especially if it's alcohol!
Wash your dishes. I hate washing my own dishes and I hate washing other people's dishes even more. Once you are done with a dish, wash it and let it dry. Letting a dish run under hot water, or using a sponge with no soap, does not classify that dish as a clean one.
Empty the dish washer. If the dish washer is full, don't try to add more dishes to it; clear it out and put the dishes away. It will only take you three minutes, I promise.
Pay your bills on time. If rent or a bill is under someone else's name, pay your share on time! Don't let it be your fault that there is no electricity or water running through your apartment.
Be considerate of your resources. Electricity and water are luxuries we have. Money is something we enjoy. What better way to save money than by being conservative with your resources? Don't leave your light, TV, or fan on if you are not home. Don't be the reason everyone else has to pay more.
Take your laundry out of the dryer or washer. Don't get upset when you find your clothes on top of the dryer or on the couch in the living room. Keep track of your laundry.
If it can explode, don't put it in the freezer. Canned sodas and energy drinks will explode in the freezer and if you won't clean it up, don't put it in the freezer!
I have definitely been guilty of some of these things. If we all worked together in making our living environment better, we would all get a long so much better. There would not be any tension between roommates and we would all be happier and peaceful. Next time you leave your dishes, or drink your roommates beer, ask yourself, "Do I really want a passive aggressive note left on the door? Do I want another argument?"
