My top 5 tips on being a good flatmate

Having gone through the experience this year herself, Student Content Creator, Vidhyasree, shares her top tips…

Be friendly and supportive

First and foremost, make sure you’re friendly to everyone. Living away from home can be overwhelming for everyone, some may show it, some might hide it, but the least you could do is to be kind and supportive. Say hello, check in on your flatmates, make sure you actively try to spend time together, especially in the first few weeks, which can be the hardest. It helps you bond and settle in better.

Clean up after yourself

If you’re sharing the kitchens and bathrooms, make sure you leave it in a neat and clean way, so that the next person using is comfortable. Be considerate, so your flatmates’ schedule is not affected, and they will most likely afford you the same token, so everyone can live together harmoniously.

Share responsibilities equally

There’s nothing worse than being the only person to actually acknowledge the fact that your flat needs to be tidied rather than just ignoring it, everyone can see it and lives in it, which means the responsibility should be split equally.

Make sure you split tasks equally, like taking out the rubbish and cleaning common spaces. In my flat, we created a simple rota with weekly jobs that we each took on, keeping in mind everyone’s personal schedules. As well as this, we were big on having open conversations around what is expected, this gave everyone a chance to take ownership where they could and express any concerns if they arose throughout term.

Respect personal space and routines

I’ve already mentioned this a couple of times, but you should consider your flatmates’ schedules. In keeping with this, be considerate about everyone’s boundaries, that includes always asking before borrowing food, ingredients, kitchen utensils or personal items. Be open and honest if you have an early class in the morning so everyone knows to keep the noise levels low at night.

In my flat, we found setting up a WhatsApp group, where we could communicate with each other helped, just to remind your flatmates if you’d be gone for the weekend, had an exam that week so needed some quiet time or needed to borrow someone’s milk before a lecture!

Be open when communicating

That leads me onto my final tip, speak up and communicate in a respectful manner if something bothers you. Sorting out things early on helps prevent frustrations from building up and avoid misunderstandings.

Nobody is the perfect flatmate, but we certainly can be a good one, as long as you’re open, respectful, considerate and willing to work together. This is the place you will call home for a while, so making it a positive environment to be in can make university life far easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.