5 tips on living in a shared house.

Living with others can be hard, and even sometimes downright difficult.

If you’re a student, you’ll most likely be living in a shared house at one point in your university life.

You could be living with friends, or people you don’t really talk to.

And even if you are house sharing with your best mates, you’ll still run into difficulties.

So how do you avoid fights and conflicts? We give you some tips.

• Always be honest with one another.It sounds simple but it’s true. By being completely honest with each other about how you feel (whether someone isn’t cleaning enough or putting effort in with everyone) your housemates will appreciate it. Plus, no one likes built up tension.
• Don’t talk or complain about your other housemates faults/flaws behind their back.Everyone has faults. Maybe one of your housemates has really annoyed you on one particular day, but you’ll get nowhere moaning to someone else about them.
• Make a cleaning chat or rota.If you’re in a household that has problems with cleaning, i.e. a few housemates don’t really clean up after themselves or take the bins out, then make a rota. It means everyone will participate and join in.
• Respect each other’s space.After a busy day, all you want to do is come home and collapse into bed. Everyone feels that way at least once or twice. So if your housemates come home, say a quick hi and go straight to their rooms, don’t be offended. They just need some time to themselves.
• Keep things light and friendly.If you have a problem with something in the house, make it known but keep it friendly and not over the top. It’ll keep a good atmosphere and the problem will get sorted out quicker. 

 

We hope our 5 tips help when living in a house with others. Let us know how you get on by commenting below. If you need any more help contact our agony aunt Laura on our agony page.