roommate etiquette

ROOM-MATE ETIQUETTE


*** If you share a common washing machine/ dryer, follow thru when you do laundry. Don't throw a load in the washer then leave for the day , leaving your room-mate having to either wait for you or finish your work.
*** Do not eat loud food next to your room-mate if they are either watching TV , or working ( on the computer or otherwise) or on the phone, or reading, or....anything really. Raw celery, raw carrotts , potato chips , a bowl of crunchy cereal, all these are loud and it's kinda rude to eat thse right next to somebody, if you ask me.
*** Don't fill the refridgerator up with half eaten objects , bowls of leftovers etc. It's a shared refridgerator, not your own personal 'junk drawer'.
*** If your bedroom smells , either keep your door closed or air it out occasionally, or both! Particularly if you have a pet that sleeps with you, it probably smells even if you don't smell it. And if you don't bathe your pet it definitely smells. Trust me.
*** Empty the dishwasher occasionally , if you use dishes. Its everybodys job.
*** If your room-mate is going to work at , say, 9am as an example, and he/she showers before work, dont take your shower around the time they are. If you can wait, do so. Nothing worse than having to wait for the shower , particularly when the person showering has all the time in the world and you don't. And do not use all the hot water!!
*** If your room-mate is in the kitchen cooking, if at all possible try to stay out of the way. Dont start your project which takes counter space if they are in the middle of theirs. Just be patient......unless you share a large kitchen.
***Clean your hair out of the drains. Shower and/or sink. !
*** Room temperature should be acceptable to all/both parties. I like it warm . My room-mate likes it frigid. So it should be in the middle.
***Don't let your room-mate buy all the staples, like sugar, coffee, laundry detergent, stuff like that. Nor should you buy it all. But things like pickles...in a jar...i mean if y'all use your fingers to grab each one out, then by all means each jar should be for personal use.
*** You can't force your room-mate to be 'green.' . Unless its a law, you can't force someone to recycle, thats a personal choice.
*** Do not play your stereo or TV too loud ever....in particular at night or just in general while your room-mate is trying to sleep. If your TV is against a common wall to a room-mates room, I'm betting the rent they can hear it almost as loud as you, so if you are watching a particular loud movie or sport etc, please turn it down. Ditto the stereo.
***Somebody has to shovel when it snows. Not just the first one up....that is of course if you have a sidewalk/driveway....and live in a region of the country where it snows. The first one up shouldnt be the one to have to shovel always.
*** Don't eat your room-mates food. Or drink their soda. If you have to , replace. And if there is shared soda/juice/milk in the refridgerator, do not drink directly from the bottle. Use a glass...thats just not fair.
***If your sick, stay in your room a lot, dont lay on the living room couch coughing and queezing and sneezing and putting your room-mates heath at risk, minimize the chances of you passing your unfortunate cold or flu on to them. Blow, but in the bathroom or in your room, or at least be good at it. And toss the tissue away, don't leave it laying around. Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Be smart.
*** To my horror i saw my room-mate clipping his fingernails on the kitchen counter. Do not do this. Its disgusting...trust me.
*** Don't talk on the phone right next to your room-mate...unless they are somehow included in your two way/three way conversation. Go to another room, particularly if you are on speakerphone. Trust me, no-one want's to hear your conversation. By the same token, do not listen in on their conversation. It's rude. Disrespectful.
*** Don't go in a bedroom thats not yours. In fact don't touch the doorknob even. If you knock don't open the door unless they say come in. If there is no answer either there is nobody in the room or they don't want to be bothered. Go away. If your room-mate is not home don't go in there ever. Whatever is in there it's none of your business. You would want the same consideration.
*** Dont take your bandaids off in the kitchen. If your skin is peeling for whatever reason wear a shirt in the kitchen. If you have dandruff.....well. try to wear a hat. That may be hard...just be thoughtful of others.
*** Don't hog the common room television. In fact even though its a common area dont spend all your time in it. that may force your roommate to get their only 'quiet/alone time' in a biedroom. It sucks to have to go to your bedroom often just to be alone. There should be reasonable 'alone' time in even common areas.
*** the refridgerator/freezer and pantrys are shared areas. If you have more food that doesnt mean you get more space, in a perfect world. If there are two people it would seem fair to say each gets half the freezer...each gets half the shelf space. If there are three moom-mates you would think each gets a third of the space.
*** Don't pile up dishes in the sink, or next to the sink. If both or all roommates did that there would be kitchen chaos.
*** If you have a pet your room-mate shouldn't have to pay the price...in dog hair, cat hair. I don't want to clean up your dogs poo. I dont want to have to step in cat vomit...but if I do, and it's not my cat, i shouldnt have to clean it up. Nor should I have to wait too long for you to clean it up. If its a shared couch, dontcha think its only fair to keep your pet off it ? They dont wash their privates after they pee/shit. Then they're up on the sofa, where I might wanna sit. Do i need to explain?