7 Roommate Resolutions for the New Year
It’s halfway through the school year, which means you have experienced the highs and the lows of having a roommate. Living in close quarters can put a strain on a roommate relationship, especially with the added stress of finals. Now that you are going on winter break, you can have some more privacy and time to think about what may need to change about your living situation to make it better.
With the new year coming up, it’s the perfect time to make some roommate resolutions! Whether your roommate relationship is perfect or struggling a little bit, there is always some room for improvement.
1. Open Communication
It’s easy to be passive aggressive and leave dirty dishes in the sink when your roommate does, but with this new roommate resolution, you will have open and honest communication. When something is bothering you about your roommate’s living habits, say something about it.
The key to good communication is not to attack the person, though. Start with sentences with “I feel” and “I would like” to make the conversation more about you than your roommate. If it’s easier, maybe get a chalkboard or whiteboard to put in the common area to leave reminders for your roommates, in a nice way!
2. Do Your Dishes
We all slip up sometimes, especially during finals week. Sometimes there is just too much to do and your dirty dishes are low on the priority list. As a new year’s roommate resolution, try to always do your dishes. Get your roommates in on it too! Have an agreement that everyone is responsible for their own messes. You can even put a time limit on how long dirty dishes can stay in the sink until someone has to say something about it.
3. Enforce a Rule You’ve Let Slip
At the beginning of the school year, you probably set some rules with your roommates. It’s easy to let some rules slip throughout the semester, whether it’s because you are busy and don’t have time to enforce it or you don’t really care about it.
Decide whether or not this rule is important to you and sit down with your roommates to talk about enforcing the rule during the spring semester.
4. Rethink Your Roommate Agreement
Now that you have experienced what it is like to live with your roommates, maybe it’s time to update or add some amendments to the roommate agreement you made at the beginning of the school year.
You may realize that some of the rules you agreed on are unrealistic now that you have created your own routines around each other. You may also realize that there are some new rules that must be made in order to live peacefully together.
Sit down with your roommates when you get back from winter break and read through your agreement. After making some changes, write up a new agreement and have everyone sign it. Hopefully, this will provide solutions to previous conflicts.
5. Schedule Roommate Nights
During your busy schedules with classes, projects, friends, and student organizations, you can lose sight of how amazing your roommates are. Each month have designated and mandatory roommate hangouts. This can involve going out to dinner with each other, having a night out on the town, or just staying in and watch movies together.
Don’t take your roommate for granted or look at them as just someone you live with. Hopefully, they are also your friend and someone you enjoy spending time with.
6. Make a Chore Calendar and Stick to It
You may have your designated chores written out in your roommate agreement, but how often will you be looking at it throughout the week? Probably not often. Transfer over those chores to a chore calendar and hang it up in a common area where everyone will see it. Make it fun and decorative so it doesn’t look so bland hanging up on your wall.
Maybe you tried to have a chore calendar last semester and nobody seemed to follow it. Make your roommate resolution to stick to the calendar and make sure that you place is nice and tidy!
7. Workout Together
It’s the oldest new year’s resolution in the book; get in shape. Everyone should take part in this resolution. It’s always important to stay active and healthy and who better to help you stick to your goals than someone you live with? Schedule times to go to the gym together and keep to it!
If you aren’t fond of going out in the cold to go to the gym, find some workouts you can do right in your bedrooms or living area. There’s no excuse not to workout when your workout buddy lives with you!