Tricks to keeping your student flat stress free
Second year UoN student Callum Evans shares his top tips to make sure you have a happy (not stressy) home
- Start a cleaning rota
I know, it’s not what you would expect. You don’t live with your parents any more so you should be able to just clean when you feel like it, if you ever do. But that just doesn’t work when you live with others, and trust me when I say a cleaning rota solves a LOT of problems. Don’t go overboard and assign bleaching and dusting as a daily chore, it doesn’t have to be THAT tidy, however wiping down the kitchen sides, hoovering or mopping the kitchen floor are a good thing to do once a week.
So sit down, have a chat with your housemates and come together to create a plan that is fitting for everyone.
2. Don’t leave dishes
No exaggeration… this is a BIG one for a lot of people — dirty dishes that are just left out. Every now and again there will be a day where you have dinner, there’s minimal mess, and you just want to go to bed. That’s fair enough. However, when it becomes a regular occurrence, or you have used all the pots and pans, that’s when you can’t just ‘do it tomorrow’. Chances are, someone else will be wanting to cook later in the evening, so if you have taken up every surface, or used what the other person needs, or even blocked the sink, just take a few minutes and clean the mess so someone else doesn’t have to clean after you. Not doing this is one of the top causes for arguments in many flat / house shares!
3. Be mindful
No one is going to be completely quiet throughout the day on the off chance of disturbing a flatmate — and there will be times where you have friends round for the evening. However, if you know the person in the next room is asleep, or has an exam or coursework due the next day, this is when you need to be considerate. So just turn down the music a tad, and talk, don’t shout, it’s all it takes to keep the flat happy.
4. Split the bills
If you are living in University accommodation, there’s not a great deal you will need to share — however if you are in a shared house then there could be a lot more. There are many ways of keeping track of who’s bought what, whether it is the last light bulb that went kaput, toilet roll, or washing up liquid. You can simply take it in turns to get each thing — or have a petty fund pot to take money out of for the essentials. Apps like Splitwise will help you keep a track of shared expenses.
5. Have fun together!
Have a flat movie night, go out together, or even just cook together once a week — having your flatmates as your friends is really the number one tip for having a happy and stress-free life at your new home.
6. Always fill the kettle for at least two
And finally… keep the kettle topped up. Making a cuppa for your flatmates will ALWAYS be appreciated.
