Hello my little pineapple turnovers!
Sorry that it has been a while since I have posted. I seem to be apologising for this a lot lately. I guess the motivation just hasn't struck me. But I am here now with another little blog for you.
I have been living with roommates since January this year. Before that I lived alone.
Both very different ways of living. And if you aren't used to living with people who aren't your family it can be a bit of a shock to the system.
I have learnt a lot in ten months so here are a few little tips to help things run smoothly. Not saying that our little house is perfect because we still have some issues, but we are doing okay haha.
Now I was lucky enough to move in to the house with two friends, so it made communication a lot easier at the beginning. It does however have it's issues if you are trying not to hurt feelings or cause conflict when there are problems that need to be addressed. Having never lived with strangers I can't say which is better, but I know living with friends can either make or break friendships. I'm grateful ours are still going strong :) So my advice is to choose people to live with who you know will either pull their weight or wont be offended when you ask them to do something to contribute. Otherwise it just won't work.
If there are more than two of you, get a dishwasher. It saves time. It is as simple as that. Otherwise you will be standing in the kitchen for hours doing dishes.
There are three ways to go about shopping for groceries. You can all pitch in and go for a mass shop, buy communal bread, milk, cheese etc and buy everything else for yourself or all go completely independent from each other. My vote is for the second one. As long as you each take turns to get these staples. But the grand rule for living with roommates is don't eat their food. Not cool. Unless you replace it the same day. Then it is sort of okay haha.
Make a joint account for rent. Then you can all simply deposit the exact amount you need each fortnight or month and it will automatically get withdrawn. A big tip though is to set reminders for when rent is due or have one person remind the others each time otherwise you will get late fees! It is also helpful if you are all with the same bank because it will take a shorter amount of time for money to transfer.
In regard to bills we have found it works well if one person just pays them and the other two transfer their share to that persons account. I prefer hard copy bills because we can stick them to the fridge and circle when it is due and how much each roommate needs to put in.
Now house work is where my roommates and I struggle. We have tried rosters and job assigning, but it hasn't been very successful at all. Cleaning in our house tends to peak when we are expecting visitors. Now no one cares what the state of your bedroom is. That is your business. But communal areas should have some sort of standard. Key word: should. Especially the fridge! A weekly throw out isn't too hard. No one wants to find a month old yoghurt in the back of the fridge. Unfortunately that is the only tip I have for cleaning considering we fail at it.
Have individual shower baskets with your products in it. And clean them out when your products are empty. Especially girls!
No one really cares about the lawns until you actually want to hang out outside. So you don't really have to bother with the backyard. Or if you have to, chip in 15 bucks each and get someone to mow it for you. Also, FYI you can get a really big inflatable pool for 50 bucks at Big W. Great for summer. Just make sure you empty it after summer ends before an ecosystem is created.
Sarah's ten rules for communal living
1. Message your roommates before you bring a friend or partner home.
2. If you watch someone else's dvd, put it back in the case once you are finished.
3. Remove your washing from the line once it is dry so that someone else can use it.
4. Respect sleeping times. Especially on weeknights.
5. Ask before you borrow something. Whether it is makeup, food or hair products. They will probably say yes but they wont appreciate it if they catch you just taking it.
6. Take your dishes out of your room like once a week. We are always out of forks lol.
7. Be supportive of dieting. No matter how many times they restart them. (NB: Do not make a cheese platter and eat it in front of your two roommates who are on a juice cleanse. Ahem Ash).
8. Offer your skills to your roommates, whether it be hair dying, tanning their backs or helping them word replies to text messages from boys. And if you are a guy living with girls. Offer the same.
9. Everyone should help clean when parents visit.
10. Do your hair and makeup outside of the bathroom so that other people can use it for actual bathroom reasons
And that is about it! Hope you guys are enjoying the warmer weather :)
xx Sar
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