You’ve all heard the tips on how to get a good room mate or how to get along with your room mate. You may have even heard ones on how to bond with them. These tips are probably engrained in your head; however, have you ever been taught how YOU can be a good room mate. You may think you are perfect and don’t have any annoying traits, but you need to realize that everyone gets bugged by something. Here are some ideas to help you be the best room mate possible.
What Bugs You?
Think about what bugs you the most about a person. You can even make a list if you feel like you need to. Some things that bug me are when people borrow my clothes and don’t hang them up, or when people leave dirty dishes in the sink. When you know what bugs you, you can grasp an idea of what bugs other people. Do not do any of the actions on your list that drive you crazy or you will be the one driving everyone else crazy!
Chit-Chats
>As a way of getting to know your room mate, just straight up ask them about their pet peeves and tell them yours. This way, you will know exactly what irks them and there will be no excuse for them to ever be bugged at you. If you talk it out, you will figure out if they like to be alone when they’re mad or upset, or if they like to be consoled. Knowing your room mate’s pet peeves will help you be more considerate toward them and will help you understand them when they seem frustrated or annoyed.
Can I Pencil you In?
Another good way to make sure you are being the best room mate possible is to know their schedule. If you know that they have an early class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, don’t bring all your friends over to hang out on Monday and Wednesday nights. You know if you were the one who had to get to bed early, you wouldn’t want a bunch of loud kids to be your bedtime lullaby.
Include Them
Don’t act like you don’t know your room mate when your friends are there. Ask them to hang out with you. Your room mate may decline but they will know that you are a nice person who is trying to include you with their friends. Most likely, they will also invite you to meet their friends. Having lots of friends in different types of groups helps you broaden your horizons and see new perspectives.
Sparkly Clea
>If you are a clean and tidy person, this will eliminate many potential conflicts between you and your room mate. Try and pick up your things off of the floor and just be overall neater than you probably were when you lived with your parents. If you do this, it will be appreciated by your room mate and hopefully they will also feel the need to be cleaner.
Having a room mate for the first time can be hard and frustrating at times. Don’t put all the blame on someone else though. If you are having major problems, you need to look at both sides of the spectrum and see what you can do to improve yourself as a roomie.
About the Author
Meagan Hollman is a writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers is a website that strives to help potential students determine what kinds of online colleges can help them reach their goals. The site even helps students find online mba programs to fit their needs.