How to Get Along With a Female Roommate

By eHow Education Editor

Rate: (3 Ratings)

Living alone isn't always cost-effective. Living with a roommate, however, can drain your sanity. Here's how to make it easier.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1
Communicate openly with your roommate. Agree to talk about issues before they get out of control.
Step2
Accept that sometimes people will be in a bad mood. If she says she doesn't want to go do something with you, don't take it personally.
Step3
Decide early how the rent and utilities will be split, and what to do if one person can't make the month's payments.
Step4
Establish rules about food, company, chores, noise, tobacco and alcohol use, and parking. Make sure each person's expectations and responsibilities are clear.
Step5
Respect your roommate's right to privacy and her possessions. Always ask before you borrow anything, no matter how small.
Step6
Knock before entering her room.
Step7
Don't tie up the only phone line ' consider getting separate lines for each of you.
Step8
Take messages from callers. Get the name and phone number and write it down where your roommate will see it.
Step9
Begin your statements with "I," as in "I get really annoyed when you leave your dishes in the sink" instead of "You're such a pig!" Focus on her behavior, not her personally.
Step10
Recognize that some people are neater, louder, more private, or more possessive than others. Don't expect your roommate to mirror your own personality.
Step11
Treat her the way you expect to be treated.
Step12
Don't lie. If you screw up, admit it immediately.

Tips & Warnings

  • Show your appreciation for your roommate's courtesy once in a while.
  • Don't walk around the house in your underwear.

Comments

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Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 3/17/2006 If you are planning on having a pet live with you, make sure your roommate is OK with that first. There's nothing worse than a cat-hair allergy that someone forgot to mention springing into action, or a parrot screeching at six AM.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 A lot of fights will revolve around resentment that one person is doing more in the way of cleaning than the other. It's just easier to avoid all these fights by doing more than your share and being super anal retentive in common/shared areas of the apartment and/or dorm room. Never leave dirty dishes by the sink even if the other roommate does. Never leave your personal stuff in common areas.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Give yourself a month grace period to get to know each other's habits and then have a discussion about problems or rules that need to be made. In the beginning, it is hard to know what will annoy you months down the road.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Don't nag you roomate, or tell her that she isn't doing something right. Let her find out on her own, and encourage all of her philosophies on life.

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eHow Article:  How to Get Along With a Female Roommate

eHow Education Editor

eHow Education Editor

Category: Education

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