How To Peacefully Clean & Organize Your Home When Living With Roommates

Hello readers! I'm delighted that you came to my page today!

When moving to college, or when moving to another place in general, it can be difficult to combine different lifestyles under one roof. I quickly figured this out when I moved to college as people come from all sorts of backgrounds and will have different habits. For example, some people are clean and organized, while others are not, and there will be all sorts of people in between. So from my casa to your casa, here are some tried and true tips that I've learned through the months! These tips are to help create an organized system in your household, help delegate the chores of everyday life, and to prevent arguments before they begin!

1. If dishes are a problem, then getting multiples dish boxes may be necessary.
Some roommates will be just fine with doing their own dishes and being accountable from the get-go, but some roommates will enjoy the freedom of living away from home and may not want to do dishes. To prevent a pile-up of dishes, a dish box for each roomie is necessary. At our house, we have a rule that if dishes are not put in the dish washer and/or hand washed and put up within 2 days then they go in the dish box. At that point, it is no longer anyone else's responsibility to clean it and it's a subtle hint that the person needs to wash their dishes. If it remains in the dish box for a period of time (say 2 days) then we will put the dish box by that person's bedroom door. Dish boxes cost about $1 in the kitchen section at any superstore and can be an efficient way of keeping dishes out of the sink. Although efficient, it is important to talk the rules over with the roommates first and not just throw dishes in a box and by their room as a way to be passive aggressive. This brings me to my next point of...

2. Having open communication
Before applying the rules below, it is important to have a talk with the roommates beforehand so that everyone knows what is expected of them and to consider their thoughts/suggestions. Kindness goes a long way!

3. Post rules if necessary
If you feel like you need to reinforce the rules and/or make it more official, then posting the rules in a shared space in the home will help the process. It reiterates the fact that everyone is to know what is expected of them.

4. Have everyone assigned to trash duty for a week
Unless you have a roommate who recycles absolutely everything, there will be trash involved. To solve the problem of who takes it out and when, assign a week to everyone and the turnover day when trash duty is the next person's responsibility. If someone is not taking the trash out, do like number 1 and simply put the trash bag by the person's door as a hint for them to take the trash out. Note: It is critical that everyone agrees to this concept so that it is fair game and NOT just being passive aggressive.

5. Physically separate the fridge/freezer space
 Food is a necessity, yet space is probably limited. To try to eliminate the problem, it is best to physically separate the space so everyone has an equal amount of room. We made our dividers out of closet divider material and cut them to fit. Other locker dividers may work as well. If all else fails, simply taping where the dividers should be could work as well. Also, please excuse our messy freezer! ;)

6. Switch out bathroom chores
Thankfully, each of my roommates have their own bathroom so bathroom chores are not a big deal here, but others may not have that luxury. Just like the trash duty, bathroom chores can be switched out every week. It may help to make a chart for this and to assign one person trash that week while the other person does bathroom cleaning. Whatever works best!

and last but not least....

7. Hold each other accountable!
While everyone would love to live in a perfect world where everyone gets along, I realize that these solutions may not work for everyone. If these systems don't work at first, then try again. Combining multiple lifestyles under one roof is hard work and it takes practice adjusting to everyone's differences. If some of these work for you and some of these don't, then great! Adjust as often and as necessary as you want. The most important thing is that you all find a system where you all can hold each other accountable, but in a respectful way. Having open honest communication, respect, and love towards one another can make a world of a difference!

Well, I hope you all have enjoyed these guidelines for how to have a cleaner and more peaceful household. Thankfully, our household has implemented these techniques and are much happier! What changes have you guys made to create a better living space? I would love to know in the comments below!

Have a lovely rest of the day!
-G