How to Have a Drama-Free Household

When people interact they will inevitably experience conflicts, especially when they live together. Whether you're sharing space and household chores with roommates, or negotiating child care duties and budgets with spouses, there are bound to be challenges that test everyone's patience. However, there are ways to live in a drama-free household. According to Victoria Stern, "it is possible to cohabit without killing each other," according to "Natural Element: The Drama Free Household," on Psychology Today.com.

Follow the steps below to ensure that your household communicates and overcomes issues in a healthy way for all.

Instructions

1. Be upfront. Talk about expectations right off the bat. When two or more people live under the same roof, you can be sure there will be differences. Housemates have expectations, and unless you talk about them, no one knows what they are. Some people like to play music loudly and have the TV on all night; others prefer lights out and quiet by 10 p.m. It's possible to avoid conflict if everyone is upfront about their lifestyle preferences. By discussing such mundane tasks as who takes out the trash and when, who cleans the bathroom, who empties the dishwasher, etc. you'll be off to a good start.

2. Divide chores. Make a list of all household chores and divide them up equally based on who wants to do what chore, who is good at what chore and the time frame involved. Make sure everyone has a daily chore, a weekly duty and a monthly task. Put everyone in charge of something.

3. Keep negotiations fluid. When one of you is slacking off and one of you is feeling taken advantage of, tension rapidly escalates. While some people advocate enforcing stricter rules to keep people timely, try a more diplomatic intervention. While some housemates get bored and lose interest doing the same chore over and over, others like regular routine. Temperament is an aspect of getting along that needs to be handled directly. Even members of the same family have different preferences. Accommodating the differences and adjusting to a variety of styles keeps the atmosphere friendly. Enforcing rules strictly adds to resentment and behind-the-scenes drama.

4. Pay attention to signals. A "walking on eggshells" feeling is a signal that tensions are about to bubble over and issues are being swept under the rug. Call a household meeting, serve cookies and approach the subject with an attitude of: "Let's be sure this works for everyone." Every community has conflicts; if you pay attention to potential problems in the early stages, you can create a caring community with interpersonal connections that last.

5. Clear the air. If you've been the slacker, step up and admit it right away. Your housemates will respect your maturity and forgive you, but if you make excuses, you'll create distrust and you may hurt your relationships.

6. Lend a hand. There are times when chores fall through the cracks, when someone is sick or out of sorts, or simply forgot. When that happens, cheerfully pitch in. You may need help some time, too.

Tips & Warnings

• Scheduling a monthly meeting to discuss how things are going can keep problems at bay.

Resources

• PsychologyToday: Natural Element: The Drama-Free Household