By Natalie Ng, Residence Advisor

Living with 5 different room mates can be a challenge, especially if all of you are unfamiliar with each other’s daily habits. This can be an issue during midterm season, when stress levels are high and people fail to complete their cleaning duty for the week, or leave the dishes in the sink for too long.

There are a variety of ways to approach this sticky issue:

1)Speak to them personally: Do not underestimate the power of face-to-face contact. Although this may be difficult to do, it is usually the most effective when you talk to your room mate about this in person. Not only do they have a sense of your expectations, they are able to address or respond to your concerns immediately.

2) Write them a note: Very often, it is difficult to catch your roommates at the right time. I find it very useful to write them a note – it is a visual reminder, and if it is something that applies to everyone living in your unit, you could paste it on the fridge, on the mirror in the washroom, on top of the sink. What I like to do is write it on colourful post its; it is casual, friendly, and a gentle reminder that usually gets the point across. Unless it is an urgent issue, notes work very well for most people.  Just remember that what your write can be misinterpreted so choose your words carefully.

It is important to remember that communication is a two way process – having regular conversations and getting to know them should always be one of your top priorities in building a good relationship with your roommates.

If you are having problems with your roommates, you can always speak with a Residence Advisor.

Follow