Speaker 1: I've heard so many roommate horror stories and you don't want to be in that situation. Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. Today's video I'm going to be talking about how to get along with your roommates. So if you're in university or college and have roommates, or you've graduated and now you live alone with some friends, I'll be going through five tips that will help you address some major concerns that could possibly turn into big fights. So these tips will really help make living with any kind of roommates a lot easier. So the first tip that will help you get along better with your roommates and avoid conflict is to establish a process for buying food and cleaning. So these are things that can create major conflicts because of different ways of living and because money is involved as well. So you really need to establish how you're going to split up groceries. Is everybody just going to buy their own? Are you guys going to put money into a pot and then take turns buying groceries? How is that exactly going to work? Because if you buy groceries thinking that whatever you buy is for you and whatever they buy is for them and then they go and eat something of yours without actually establishing that as the common rule around the house, then that can become a huge conflict. So you really need to figure out how you're going about buying groceries so you're not feeling like you're spending all the money and they're eating all your food or vice versa. And then in addition to food, you also need to establish a process for cleaning. This is going to be one of the biggest ones. I know my friend, she had a bunch of roommates when she was in university and she would be the only one that would clean. She would clean everything, spick and span, go up the stairs, watch something, come back down, and then everything was messy again, which I can only imagine would drive me crazy. So try to figure out whether it be a schedule, whether it be dividing responsibilities, whatever method is best for you. Try to figure that out with your roommates from the start so that everybody has an understanding and can be accountable for different things. You could have one person who's responsible for doing all the vacuuming, one person who's responsible for doing all the dishes, one person who's responsible for the mopping. You could divide it up that way or you could divide it by day and say, Monday, Tuesday, this person's gonna do the dishes. Wednesday, Thursday, this person's gonna do the dishes, and so on. Or you can just establish that whatever mess you make, you're in charge of cleaning up. But it's really up to you what your lifestyle's like and what you feel most comfortable with. So make sure to establish that with your roommates because cleaning and groceries are probably the two major things that are going to create the most conflict if you don't have a common understanding from the very start. The next tip that will help you get along with your roommates is to find a common interest. Now, if you're living with people that you don't know really well, you're gonna have to put in the effort to get to know them and that's just gonna make your life easier the more friendly you are with each other and the more you become friends. So finding a common interest will help with that so much because you'll be able to build on your relationship and better relate to one another. So find a common interest. Maybe you really love watching The Bachelor and you guys get together, sit down, and watch it every Monday or Tuesday night, whichever one it comes on. Or maybe you guys really like painting and you're gonna do painting every now and then. Whatever it might be, it's really gonna help solidify your friendship. So really try to get to know your roommates. Don't be that one that's just quiet and talks to nobody and makes no effort because you're gonna end up getting singled out and probably have a horrible time living with other people. The next thing that will help you get along with your roommates and avoid conflict is to give each other space. You do not want to be the clingy roommate that is all over everyone else, never gives them a moment to breathe on their own. Even if you're rooming with your best friends, you still need space and time on your own. So make sure not to invade that space for your roommates as well. Of course, still spend time together, but make sure they don't feel like you're attached to their hip and they can't move anywhere without you shadowing over them. And the best way to do that is to have your own independent time and if you're having your own independent time, they probably are too and that way you guys are kind of on the same page. So try to have that alone time every now and then and you guys should be good and not feel smothered by one another. The next thing you can do to get along with your roommates is to respect each other's differences. So what I mean by this is that obviously you have different personalities, you're not the exact same person as your roommates, so they might be different than you in certain areas and you need to respect that. So if you love partying, throwing parties, having a bunch of people over, but they like to have some quiet time and study and really focus on school, then you need to be able to compromise. And by respecting each other's differences is going to bring that compromise. So with that same example, it could be things like only having parties on the nights you know that they don't have big tests or assignments due and that way you're respecting their need for quiet study time. And on the flip side, hopefully they're respecting your differences as well and can acknowledge the fact that you like to party and don't get angry if you have a party every now and then. So it's really about respect and once you all have respect for one another, the compromising will just come naturally. The last and final tip that I have for you is to confide in each other. So this one helped me out a lot with my roommate. Back when I was in university, I had a roommate and I found that the first time that I confided in her and really talked to her about something I was going through, our relationship went from here to here so quickly because you build trust when you confide in somebody and they feel like not only they're a part of your life, but that you trust them and that just builds your relationship as roommates and friends and makes you guys a lot closer. So I know when I confided to my roommate about this guy that I was talking to and what she thought I should do, it was just like night and day. We were so much closer after that. So really try to confide in each other. Even if you don't feel completely comfortable yet, push yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone. You don't have to share everything, but just sharing a little bit can really make a huge difference and just make living together so much easier. So that's it. Those were the five tips that will help you get along with your roommates no matter what situation you're in. I used all these when I had a roommate in university and I would say that it helped so much. Try and fix things early and establish things early and make an effort to get to know your roommates early because I've heard so many roommate horror stories and you don't want to be in that situation. So just try your best, follow these tips, and it should really help you to get along with your roommates and avoid any conflict. I would love to know what your roommate situation is. Are you rooming with some of your really close friends? Are you just meeting people for the first time and rooming with them in university? Comment down below and let me know what your roommate situation is. And if you enjoyed this video, make sure to hit that like button, subscribe, and don't forget to hit that notification bell for more videos on life advice. See you guys next time. Bye.