No one likes coming home to a mess. That, among other things, is something to keep in mind when trying to be a good apartment roommate.
Living with other people isn’t always easy. The benefits are obvious: you can save some money on rent and, in some cases, make lifelong friendships. With that said, learning to live with a roommate within an apartment comes with a whole load of difficulties if you’ve never done so before. Learning to navigate such troubles, and turn them into a positive experience, can be one of the many joys of apartment renting. Let’s take a look at our four tips for being a good apartment roommate.
Respect Privacy
Private spaces—notably, someone’s bedroom or their personal corner of the bathroom or kitchen—should always be respected. You wouldn’t want someone to invade your room, so don’t do it to anyone else. Defining where personal spaces are and when it’s okay to interact with them is a good thing to communicate about when you first move in. If you’re close with your roommate, you may be okay with sharing certain things, but without defining what those boundaries are, you may run into trouble.
Respect Shared Spaces
While respecting private spaces may seem obvious, respecting the shared ones sometimes doesn’t get the same attention. You want to ensure you’re not hogging the kitchen or leaving a mess in the living room. Knowing who is able to use what, even things like tissues or milk, can cut down on any passive aggressive arguments about who owns what.
Clean Up
Part of respecting shared spaces is taking the time to make sure those spaces are clean. You don’t want to be that roommate, you know, the one who leaves the apartment filled with garbage or leaves a mess of the sink. Neglecting the cleanliness of a personal space is one thing, but when other people are using those rooms, it’s best to always do your part and take a few minutes to leave things as you left them.
Open Communication
Don’t be the kind of roommate who leaves passive aggressive sticky notes detailing conflicts. Instead, make sure that whenever you have an issue, you’re open and honest about what the problem is. This doesn’t mean you need to be aggressive, either—understand that you need to frame things in a way that is non-accusatory and promotes actual solutions instead of just causing more problems. Call a roommate meeting and let them know what’s up so the situation can get better.
The Apartments of Wildewood have a friendly community that’s waiting to welcome you!
At The Apartments of Wildewood, located in beautiful in St. Mary’s Maryland, we offer homes with access to pools, an on-site gym, and maintenance whenever you need it – and have access to all the information you need to affordably rent an apartment in St. Mary’s. To set up an appointment to check out an apartment or townhouse rental from The Apartments at Wildewood, call us at 301.737.0737 or visit the website!
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