As a woman living with 3 other guys I wanted to give some tips to other people living in male dominated homes. It can be awkward or annoying to talk about some things with your roommates, but hopefully one of these 5 problems and potential fixes give you some ideas and help lead you to compromise.
1. The toilet seat battle — It is up or down?
There’s no ‘winning’ the battle of the toilet seat. One side seems to always lose. However, if you live in a household with a dog who likes to drink out of the toilet, you know there's a third option! Compromise — Leave the lid down. In doing so, both everyone is compromising and helping to keep those toilet germs out of the air.
2. Going braless — This can be a really awkward step for any roommates, especially for women who are blessed with a busty chest.
Find whatever works for your situation. Unfortunately, there is no ‘talking point’ to this situation. Personally, I live with my boyfriend, his brother, and our friend from high school and I’ve gotten comfortable enough to go braless. Each person is different so there is nothing wrong with you if you aren’t comfortable with it.
3. Night owls VS morning people — The everlasting battle of those who love the night and those who crave the early morning sunshine.
This is something my household struggles with. I’m a morning person, my roommates are night owls. This is EXTREMELY hard for me because I’m most productive during the hours of 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and I also don’t want to be disrespectful to my roommates who are sleeping during this time. I’ve found that having a common rule of quiet time and respect goes a long way. So watching TV and some quiet tasks are fine, but please don’t blend any smoothies while your roomies are sleeping.
4. TV time — when your roommates love action movies and you just wanna binge on chick flicks...
Stemming from the TV in #3, it can be hard when the genders collide and wanna pick something to watch on a Saturday afternoon. A quick fix for this issue is to flip a coin. If you want to get some brownie points with your roomies, try letting them chose something for everyone to watch.
5. Cleaning — how clean is clean enough?
This is tricky because usually women are noted as more clean than men (not the case in my house). However, regardless of who is doing the cleaning, everyone has their own versions of what clean is. How do you fold the towels? How many times do the floors have to be vacuumed? Setting boundaries and 'chores' for everyone to be in charge of takes a step towards a happy home. In the scheme of things, it’s not a big deal and learning to let it go is a huge part of life.
My tip for every issue in your home - talk it out and let it go. Guys are girls living together can be easy and enjoyable. If something really is an issue for you, bring it up to your roomies and keep an open platform for everyone to voice their opinions. Once you guys talk it out, let it go. Having a positive relationship with your roomies is more important than making smoothies while they’re sleeping and watching The Notebook all the time.
