Living with your family is one thing but if you’re heading off to college or Uni for the first time this September, then this could be the first time you’ve shared accommodation with complete strangers! Don’t panic, you’ll all be mates in no time but here are some handy tips to help you ease into this transition like a pro:
Who buys the essentials?
Everybody uses toilet roll but will everyone pay for their fair share? As you’ll be sharing a bathroom, you don’t want to carry your own roll with you each time you visit but also you don’t want to be lumbered with being the one who always buys it. Try getting together early on and making a list of shared household essentials and either take turns buying them or have a weekly kitty. Keeping a log stuck to the fridge is helpful and a good way to avoid arguments over who bought what last! For Gloucester Student Accommodation, visit http://studentaccommodationgloucester.co.uk/
Washing Up
This can become a major bugbear and there’s not much that’s more annoying than going to prepare some food and finding all your stuff piled up in the sink! You either need to work out a rota or operate on a ‘wash your own’ system.
Cleaning
The same issues often arise when it comes to cleaning too. A certain level of acceptance early on that chores will never be split perfectly equally but as long as everyone pulls their weight, peace will reign. The options available include cleaning as a group, having a rota or being responsible for cleaning up your own mess. This is tricky though as it’s almost impossible to share accommodation and not, at some point, have to clean up after someone else. Hiring a cleaner may seem like an expense too far for a bunch of students but if a cleaner came once a fortnight, it would probably cost less than a tenner each!
Be Self-Aware
So, you’re a laid-back kind of person who loves to walk around in just your pants, slurp the milk from your cereal bowl or enjoy breaking wind for sport – but your housemates will probably think this is disgusting. Now is the time to become a bit more self-aware about your behaviour and any bad habits as you’re now living away from home.
Cooking
Many people like to do their own cooking so they are in charge of their own diet and weekly budget. Depending on how you all feel about cooking, you might decide to work on a rotation basis and have one person cook for everyone a couple of nights a week and then take it in turns. If you opt to go solo then make sure you work out a weekly budget for your food and remember that a varied and healthy diet will keep you in fighting form for all that fun you want to have!
