No matter where you’re living, whether it be in a New York City high rise or one of many Kansas City luxury apartments, you’ll likely have a roommate during at least some point in time in your apartment living journey.
Whether your roommate is your friend, a boyfriend, or a complete stranger that you met from a classified ad, it’s vital to your happiness and roommate longevity that you know how to be a good roommate.
If this is your first roommate or you’ve only had poor roommate experiences, you might be wondering how to make the most of your roommate relationship. Here are a few tips to help get you started:
1. Communication is key.
Before you even move into your apartment with new roommates, you need to establish some kind of agreement. You should discuss – or communicate – how rent will be divided, how much each person is expected to pay, whose name the utilities will be under, and so on. Having this discussion before you even move in is key to having a good roommate experience.
No matter how good of friends you are with your roommate or roommates, they will not be able to read your mind if you have an issue. Conflicts are bound to arise when you’re living with someone, and knowing how to resolve those conflicts is key to maintaining a happy and healthy relationship with your roommate and a calm home environment. Bottling up your emotions and hiding how you feel isn’t doing anyone any favors!
2. Clean up after yourself.
Your roommates are not your mother or your maid, and you should not expect them to clean up after you if you make a mess in the house. Being a good roommate means taking responsibility for your own messes. Do not leave your clothes lying around in shared spaces; do your dishes quickly and don’t leave them lying around; if you spill something on the counter, then immediately wipe it up.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you may be surprised at how many roommate relationships suffer because one roommate will treat the others like servants. No matter if you’re in one of our Kansas City luxury apartments or not, it’s important to treat your space with the respect it deserves.
3. Don’t use things that aren’t yours.
One of the life lessons your parents likely taught you when you were younger was “sharing is caring,” and that’s true even now as an adult. However, it’s important to know that even though it’s kind to share, it isn’t required, especially in this kind of setting.
Oftentimes roommates or housemates will purchase important essentials for the house that are for everyone to use, like bowls, utensils, appliances, and more. However, there are plenty of other items that are exclusive to the owner like food, toiletries, towels, and more. Your roommate is well within their rights to ask that these items not be eaten, used, or otherwise messed with.
If you’d like to be able to use another roommate’s things, then simply ask! Most of the time, your roommate isn’t going to tell you “no” unless they have a good reason. However, using something without asking is a sure-fire way to ensure that you won’t be able to use any of their things in the future.
4. Chip in for household necessities.
Living with roommates is beneficial when it comes to buying necessities that you need for the household. When you move into a new apartment, there’s no need to have three blenders, two separate couches, four vacuums, and more. Instead, a better idea would be to assign who brings what, to make sure that nothing is doubled and that you don’t have an extreme amount of unnecessary items.
You should keep in mind, though, that if you’re living in the home, you’re likely going to be asked to help contribute to their purchase. Furniture, appliances, electronics, and more are all expensive and require a bit more money than one person may be willing – or able – to pay all at once. You should be prepared to chip in some money before moving in to ensure that these necessities can be purchased.
The same idea applies to shared food items. There’s no need to buy a separate bottle of each condiment for everyone, or three different gallons of milk, and more. When you go out for groceries, rotate who purchases each item or pool your money to purchase the fridge and pantry basics. It’ll go a long way to get the basics in your new apartment, and then it’ll be easy to share the burden of replacing them in the future!
5. Pay your bills – and pay them on time.
Don’t be the roommate that always pays their bills late! Moving into your own apartment is a huge commitment, especially if you’re sharing that commitment with roommates. When you’re dividing up the bills, make sure that you’re paying close attention to due dates. Don’t leave your roommates with the burden of paying the full bills, or your friendship or roommate relationship will dissolve quickly.
A good idea to keep the peace and keep everyone accountable is to draw up a formal roommate agreement before you ever move in. Decide who is responsible for what, how much each person will pay, and so forth. Having a formal agreement that everyone signs, whether you go into the agreement as friends or not, is a great way to make sure that everyone understands and acknowledges their responsibilities.
Kansas City Luxury Apartments
Woodside Village is proud to be the home of some incredible Kansas City luxury apartments perfect for solo living or living with a roommate. Our incredible apartments and townhomes, designed with quality and comfort in mind, make for a great first – or fifth – apartment.
If you’re interested in making Woodside Village your new home, then contact us today to schedule a tour!
