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So you’re in this new place surrounded by new people and new adventures. One of those adventures is learning how to live with a roommate! While this is an exciting time, it may be a little intimidating, especially if you’ve never had to share a room with someone. If that’s you, take heart: It is going to be completely fine.

Living with someone new is a unique experience, and there are ways to make the most of it! Living with a roommate can teach you a lot about yourself as you figure out the best ways to live with one another. I had an amazing experience with my roommate, and we have turned into the greatest of friends. There are definitely some things we did that I truly believe helped get us to the point we are today. To help you out, I want to give you a few tips on living with roommates!

Communication is Key!

As with any relationship, communication is so important. You can’t read each other’s minds, so it’s best to be honest with each other and talk over things that are important to you. My roommate and I talked about everything and were pretty open with each other from the start, which helped to create a comfortable stress-free environment, especially when we felt we needed to talk about something that made us a little uncomfortable. 

Set Boundaries From the Start

Coinciding with communication is setting boundaries, which requires mature, respectful and understanding communication. This may seem like an uncomfortable conversation to have, but I promise you it is worth it!

Some of the things you can talk about include, “What time should guests leave our room by?,” “When do you prefer the lights be turned off?,” “Do you mind if the blinds are open to let the sun in in the morning?” and “Are we sharing dishes and utensils?” 

Share Your Schedule With Them 

 One thing I found super helpful was sharing our schedules with one another. We both wrote down our class and work schedules on whiteboards we kept on our desk so each of us could see it at all times.

Not only does this practice give you peace of mind when your roommate is gone – you know they are in class, so there’s no need to worry about them – but it also helps you know when you have the room to yourself. Sometimes it’s nice to just chill out and have some quiet alone time, or if you are wanting to make a phone call alone, you can see when your best time to do that is. 

Be Kind and Respectful

Like you would with any other person, being kind and respectful helps you start off the relationship on a good note. You both are going through a lot of changes and figuring out college and living with one another, so lighting up the load by just being kind is so important! You may have met a lifelong friend in your roommate!