You know how finding a roommate is super easy and the two of you end up being best friends living in perfect harmony in your perfect apartment? Yeah, me neither.
Okay, sometimes choosing the right roommate isn’t so bad. Sometimes you end up with the gem of all roommates who doesn’t drive you up the wall.
Sometimes she’s clean, nice, respects your stuff and doesn’t mind your weakness for 3 a.m. Oreos and peanut butter.This was not the case for me. I once had a roommate that ascended from the underground. The kind that doesn’t understand that using electricity costs money, that trash doesn’t take itself out nor do dishes wash themselves. After a long day at work, coming home to a smoke-filled apartment lined with drunk millennials, dirty tissues, men’s underwear and make-up remover pads was just not my cup of tea. Lucky for me, my name was the only one on the lease and as my tenant, she didn’t have much of a choice when she found a notice of eviction outside her door.
For those who aren’t so lucky, I feel for you girl. Try out some managing methods before kicking her to the curb and maybe you’ll be able to bypass all the chaos of an unfavorable roomie.
The first and foremost thing I didn’t try and highly recommend is talking to your roommate. This is obvious. If you have a problem with your living situation, lay down some ground rules. However awkward it may be, coming to a common agreement will help you both get settled with each other. If you have to stop by the bar and get a drink before coming home every day, I’d say it’s time for a serious talk.
I personally didn’t do much talking to my roommate. Once I noticed her unlivable pattern of behaviors, I deemed her unfit and got rid of her. If I could go back and try to work it out… well I wouldn’t, but I definitely think telling her what the problems were would have made a huge difference in the way things ended up.
If simply talking doesn’t do the trick, it might be time to take things to the next level. The first time I came home to a messy apartment, I made the mistake of cleaning it. From that point on, I became the assumed cleaning lady. Even if you can’t bear the fact that she leaves her tweezed eyebrow hairs all over the sink, don’t encourage her behavior by giving in to it. This may be a little juvenile, but fight fire with fire. Did she use all of your conditioner or finish off the toilet paper? Don’t buy more. Leave it to her to change her own behavior. Hopefully she’ll get the hint and get it together.
Alright, you’ve talked to her, you’ve given her the chance to correct the problem on her own time, you’ve talked to her again, but nothing is changing. At this point, get your landlord involved and start looking for other options. I may have been a little brash with the eviction process, but in the end I was much happier coming home after a ten-hour shift to a nighmare-less apartment.
Bottom line? Don’t settle for dirty tissues and $300 electric bills. If you aren’t completely happy with the person you’re living with, put yourself first and do something about it.
Feature Photo via Greatest