If you dorm at college, you will experience living with suite-mates. You don’t have to be best friends with your suite-mates. Heck, you don’t even have to be friends with them. The only time you'll really see them is in the bathroom. These are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with your suite-mates and the bathroom problems that may occur.
Keep your space clean. The bathroom is a shared space. There are usually two sinks. The one closer to you is your sink. It’s your duty to keep your half of the sink space clean for room inspections and for hygienic purposes. Don’t have your shampoo and toothpaste all over the wrong sink. You shouldn’t have stuff all over your own sink as well. A clean environment is a healthy environment! Also, do not forget to discuss the trash can issue. If one person is okay with taking out the trash regularly, then that’s fine. It’s also okay to take turns. Do not just passive aggressively stack trash on top of each other until one of you gives up.
Be considerate of how long you’re going to be in there. Again, this is a shared space. If you know your suite-mates’ or your roommate’s schedule, consider working around that. If you have class at the same time, try to wake up earlier. Perhaps you can even try to convince your suite-mate to wake up earlier (good luck with that though). For example, on Tuesdays, I always wake up half an hour earlier than usual because I have an extensive skincare routine I do each morning. This way, I can get what I need to do done and my suitemate can still get to class on time.
Do not smoke marijuana in the bathroom. This one should be fairly obvious. In the state of New Jersey, recreational marijuana is illegal. If you have it for medical reasons, the bathroom you share with two to three other people is still not the best place to be using it. No matter how much Febreeze or Glade you spray, you can still smell it. You can’t cover that dankness with Hawaiian Breeze.
Know when someone else is in the bathroom. If the light is on, someone is probably in the bathroom. If the toilet flushes, someone is probably in the bathroom. If the sink is running, someone is probably in the bathroom. If the shower is running, someone is probably is the bathroom. If you open the door and someone is in the bathroom, someone is probably in the bathroom. If someone is in there, do not go in there. If you aren’t sure if someone is there, listen to this next point and keep it in your heart.
KNOCK. For Pete’s sake, knock on the door! Even if the light is off, it doesn’t hurt to knock! The worst that can happen is the ghost in the mirror will chime in “It’s occupied!” Actually, it would probably be worse to see your suite-mate buck naked.
Being a good suite-mate is not rocket science. While bathroom problems may occur between you and your suite-mates, it can all be solved with common courtesy. The bottom line is don't forget that you share this bathroom with others and you'll be fine.
