Topic: roommates

Even if you’re a neat freak, the chances that you actually want to do more than your share of cleaning in a home you share with roommates are pretty slim. There’s something about cleaning up other people’s stuff that just seems gross, whether it’s wiping a glob of toothpaste off the bathroom sink or smooshing down the garbage pile so the trashcan lid will close. When it’s not yours, it’s hard to want to touch it, clean it, or throw it away. Especially if it’s food or bathroom-related.

Because of this fear of the unknown, and also because most of us are very lazy, shared homes are usually pretty bad examples of cleanliness. So today I wanted to share with you guys some cleaning tips for semi-clean people living with roommates. More »

Amidst the sea of roommates I’ve had since my freshman year of college, I can count two as boyfriends. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t pretty much live with other boyfriends (much to the dislike of my actual roommates) by having them over sleep every other night and take up one-third of the couch, but that’s something else entirely. The arrangement I’m speaking of today involves two people who are dating and living together, with all their shit thrown into one space (physically and emotionally speaking). It’s an entirely different type of roommate relationship, but one that has just as many ups and downs as all the others. More »

It’s no secret that my experiences with roommates haven’t always been pleasant. Personality conflicts, lack of communication, and inconsiderate behavior are all factors that created rifts in roommate relationships I’ve had, and I think those types of issues will continue to be at the core of most roommate disputes for years to come. But one thing that’s changed in a big way since I first started sharing a home with roommates is technology. More »

Last week I wrote about the concept of living with roommates past our 20s. And while that isn’t a totally crazy, foreign idea, the point that I wanted to make was that it’s cool to live with others if you’re not interested in living alone, even if you can afford to live alone and are over a certain age. This week, I thought I’d write about the opposite. When is it okay to live alone for the first time, and what are the signs that help you to determine whether living alone is right for you? More »

When I was in college and dealing with my first real roommate relationships (outside of sharing a bathroom with my brother or sharing a bunk at summer camp), it never occurred to me that I might still be sharing a living space with roommates well into my 30s. And while I personally haven’t yet entered my 30s (I’m on a six-month countdown!), I read an interesting article this week about a woman in California who does just that. Leilani Clark is 37, sharing a home with three others—a married couple and another friend—and, surprisingly enough, loving it. More »

In this column I’ve mentioned several obnoxious habits that roommates have, but one thing that irks me the most when living with others is heightened sound. Sometimes you just want to sit—or sleep—in peace and quiet, but you can’t because your roommate just got promoted and is having a party. Or she got laid off and she‘s psyched, or she got a great score on her final when you have yet to complete your exams (and in fact have another one the next morning at 8 a.m.). More »

Today’s column isn’t about the number of kegs you should get to throw a proper house party (although I recommend one for every 30-40 people). It’s about how to throw a party while living with roommates. Granted, there are households occupied by roommates who are legitimate friends that run in the same social circles. When those types of roommates throw parties together, the conversation only lasts like 20 seconds. “Hey, roomies, are we going to throw a giant house party and get totally wasted with all of our friends tomorrow night??” “Hells yeah, we are!” End scene. More »

A while back I wrote about how to put up with your roommate’s boyfriend. In that column I focused on how annoying it is when a roommate’s boyfriend is always around, especially if he doesn’t chip in on the cable bill or buy beer for the house and maybe has a tendency to trim his pubes in your bathroom. But what that article didn’t acknowledge was what to do when your boyfriend and roommate(s) totally hate each other’s guts.

I bring this up because the other day a friend relayed a story to me that was a little crazy. Apparently when he was in college, he and his girlfriend’s roommate didn’t get along to the point that the cops had to get involved. More »