You dream of living alone, but the rent is too high. Or you want to live with friends and enjoy the companionship offered by good friendships. In either case, it’s best to think about what it means to share a life. This will help you to avoid undesirable and unpleasant surprises in your daily life.
Know the habits of your future housemate
The first step in this new phase is to know all about the person you’re going to live with, in order to avoid a lot of problems. Knowing the habits and customs of your housemate is, perhaps, the most important part of sharing a house. Is he clean? Careful of the furniture? Will there be problems in sharing the household expenses? If the answer to any of these questions is unacceptable, you’d better get out while there’s time. This will avoid stress and save a friendship.
Sharing household tasks
If you’ve found a good housemate, it’s time to think about daily tasks. A house doesn’t take care of itself. Cleaning and repairs are a constant demand that can’t be a load on just one person. Remember: there’s no longer mother to depend on.
One of the possibilities for sharing tasks is to consider personal skills. Is there a “chef” in the house? Let him do the cooking. In exchange, you do the cleaning and washing up. The aim is to optimize the process, not to choose a victim to do all the work.
Dialogue is important where guests are concerned
The rules for living together must be clear and accepted by everyone. Some of the major topics discussed could be about visitors, boy (girl)friends, parties. Nobody wants to be surprised by an unexpected party, so schedules must be agreed on.
Making a home together
Lastly, work hard at making a home. Not every house is necessarily a home. That must be everyone’s goal when living together. This only comes with time, but also by following and respecting the suggestions we’ve offered. Good luck.
