You’ve confirmed your place at university, and you’ve, hopefully, got yourself a pretty nice room (with us, of course!). Things are looking good. Maybe you’ve managed to get to know some of the other students you’ll be living with – whether that’s on your accommodation Facebook group or face to face. This may be your first time living with other people besides your parents and siblings, but living with other people your age can be quite different and may take some adjustment.
Don’t worry, what it boils down to mostly is just being mindful of your actions and to try and act how you would want others to act in your home. Because it is your home for the next three or four years. And you should take pride in it.
1. Don’t be ‘the messy one’
There is a world of difference between leaving your course books on the table and leaving day old dishes to soak in the sink. It’s not the responsibility of others you live with to clean up after you, so make sure if you make a mess that you don’t leave it for the next person to clean up. You should aim to leave a shared kitchen in the same condition as you found it.
Obviously sometimes its okay to leave empty cups and plates, that aren’t caked in food if you’re in a rush – but don’t forget about them later!
2. Don’t take what isn’t yours
That goes for food, socks and other personal items. You probably wouldn’t like it if your stuff disappeared and then reappeared a week later in a different place.
Unless they’re items that you’ve bought together, prepare your own food and keep any items you don’t want used labelled or in your room.
3. Make a cleaning schedule
Establishing this early on is the best way to avoid arguments about who needs to mop the kitchen floor on a Sunday after a night out. Buy a whiteboard that you keep in the kitchen, and either schedule people in different days of the week or set everyone a chore each.
This should be something that everyone is happy with and can agree on and, most importantly, are going to stick to.
4. Be considerate of the space you take up
Living with other students should be a fun experience, but be conscious of the fact that everyone sometimes will need their space. A closed door means that you will need to knock. Make sure that you aren’t too noisy. Don’t slam doors or play loud music until the early hours.
When students aren’t sleeping, they’re probably studying, or thinking about needing to study. Headphones are you and your flatmates best friend.
5. Don’t take everything too seriously
There are going to be times when things annoy you, but that’s all part of student life. Remember that everyone is having the same first experience of living away from home and will sometimes need a little bit of understanding.
Most situations can be solved with some humour and a few cups of tea.
6. You’re all in this together
If you have visitors over, try to include your flatmates. It will be a good opportunity for everyone to meet new people. Doing things together will bring you together – take it in turns to cook for each other or plan activities to do together.
If you are going to make a cup of tea – offer to make one for everyone else too. That might mean several trips to the kitchen, but it will make you popular with everyone!
Still need to find a room for September? You can see what Host has available by checking our locations page.
