If you’ve no prior experience, living in a shared house with people you don’t already know can be a bit of a problematic for you. Living in a flat-share/ house-share is fun only if you know how to enjoy it. With that in mind, we used our years of experience to gather some great tips for you to make your life in a flat-share easier and happier. Most housemates thoroughly enjoy the experience, but things will go more smoothly if you follow these basic flat sharing tips when you move into your first house/flat share.
Resist, Request and Replace: Always try to leave your housemate’s possessions alone and get your own. If you feel like you really need to use something of his/her, request/ask in person before you indulge. Anything you take from your housemate, with or without permission should be replaced as soon as you can. It is highly recommended to avoid taking anything without permission.
Always wash your dishes: It’s never a good idea to let dirty plates build up in the sink specially when you share the kitchen. Try to do the dishes as you go! Clean everything you used right after using it. In case you are running really late always inform your housemate that you know you left it and take care of it as soon as you can. If they’ve done it for you, don’t forget to say thanks!
Use your space efficiently: In a shared flat, space is always an issue. So try to optimise the limited space you get. You may clean your old unused stuff and make space for new stuffs. Don’t cramp your space. There are many hacks you can use to properly optimise the limited space you get, use them.
Buying essential accessories and toiletries: Many flatmates manage this by taking responsibility for buying these essential items from time to time. If that doesn’t work it’s a good idea to draw up a routine. You may even assign responsibility for one type of item to an individual.
Make a food plan: Agree early on how you’ll share or not share edibles to avoid frustration and starvation later. Everyone should have their own separate cabinet for the food they bought and another common shelf to leave items that are up for grabs. People are less likely to dive into their housemate’s stash if there’s always something free. you can use this space to keep foods you don’t like, close to expire date or just for sharing foods with your housemate.
Make the shared space accessible for your housemate: Everyone should make an effort to keep shared space and storage organised. It will speed up everyone’s schedules and decrease small annoyances.
Agree on a cleaning routine: Have a house chat and agree on a weekly cleaning schedule that works for everyone. Aside from that, you can assign different tasks to every housemates regarding specific areas that they are always responsible for. Or, you can just hire a cleaner.
Finally, always respect your housemate. Treat them with the consideration you expect for yourself, approach them about problems the way you would want to be approached, and remember that you may not be the only one having a rough day.
