The Truth about Living with Friends

By Mia Robinson
Web Content Contributor

When I first signed my lease with three of my close friends, I thought it was going to be all rainbows and butterflies. Turns out, I was wrong. Living with friends is a lot more work than just hanging out all the time.

It’s only the beginning of the school year and our friendships have already been tested by laundry, dishes and trash. I decided to write this to help others who might be living with their friends and provide some ways to keep the friendships strong. 

The first thing that roommates who are friends should do is create a chore chart. Do not wing chores or play it by ear because I guarantee that one person will be doing a lot more than the others. This will lead to tension, and even anger, so it’s best to play it safe – not sorry.

Some things you should have on the chore chart are taking the trash out, washing dishes, sweeping the common room and cleaning the counter tops so that the house looks picture perfect. 

After making the chore chart, you’ll need to have a roommate meeting to discuss ground rules or problems that you guys might be having. A roommate meeting when tensions are high might be difficult, but afterwards, you guys will feel so much better.

One tip that is helpful to do before your roommate meeting is to create a list of things bothering you, so you can make sure you get it all out. Also make sure to use “we” statements instead of “you” statements, so your roommates won’t feel like they are being attacked. 

One last thing to keep your friendships strong when rooming together: don’t take everything so seriously. In my apartment, we have come to an understanding that we are allowed to only leave stuff in the common room for 24 hours. We made this rule because even though we want our apartment to be clean, we understand that we all are busy. This goes along with not being so serious because we don’t care when the chores are done, we just want to make sure they get done. 

At the end of the day, rooming with your friends is a fun experience. Even though there are going to be problems, just try your best to communicate maturely. If you take the advice given to you in this article, I can assure you that your friendships won’t be in pieces by the end of the lease.

Featured image by Mia Robinson.