Ten Things You Need to Know Before Moving into a Share House

 

Moving into a Share House for the first time can seem like an exciting opportunity to be more independent and experience what life as an adult is all about. However, no matter how eager you are to leave your parent’s house behind you and do whatever you want – you need to know how to do a couple of things.

 

 

I hate to break it to you, but eating cheap noodles at every meal won’t be sustainable for long. Cooking might seem daunting and time-consuming, but learning how to make a couple of quick and easy dishes will only help you in the long run. Not only will you be getting the nutrition you need, but you also won’t be eating the same thing all the time. Trust me, it gets repetitive much faster than you’d think. To cut down on the amount of time you need to cook, you can make larger quantities of a dish at a time. That way you can put away the leftovers and eat them the next day!

 

 

While living in a Share House it’s important that you know how to clean up after yourself. This means not leaving your mouldy dishes in the sink, not ignoring the gross clumps of hair that fall out of your head when your shower, and not leaving the toilet rolls empty. You’re not the only person living in the house, so be polite. You wouldn’t like it if someone else left their mess for you to clean up, so don’t do it to your flatmates.

 

 

Knowing how to do your own washing is also another important task. There’s only so many times you can wear your favourite shirt before it smells, after all. Even if you have an extensive wardrobe, there will eventually come a time when you run out of new items to wear. Now that you’re on your own, you can’t just chuck your stained and grotty clothes in the laundry basket and wait for them to return – magically cleaned and folded – in your bedroom. Independence means having to do your own damn chores.

 

 

To be able to cook proper meals you will need to know where you can shop for your groceries, where to find the ingredients you need at said shops, and ultimately make it out of there with at least a couple of fruits and veggies. You’ll even need to plan ahead and know what sort of food you’re going to make yourself for the week. Hint: it probably shouldn’t be Mac ‘n Cheese seven nights in a row. I doubt that’s particularly healthy.

 

 

Welcome to adulthood, friend. The thing we all love most about growing up and being independent are… paying our bills! Okay, so this clearly isn’t true – but it is, unfortunately, something we all need to be able to do for ourselves. These bills should also be paid on time, or you might just be charged more for your lack of punctuality. If you’re late on rent too many times you could even be kicked unceremoniously out of your lovely Share House, which would be a bit unfortunate. Moral of the story – pay your bills!

 

 

Unfortunately, you can’t just throw your money around and buy things you don’t even need. Yes, the item in question might have a big, bright “sale” sign on it – but that doesn’t mean you actually need it. Remember you have responsibilities now – groceries, bills, and so on. Keep track of what you spend and learn to walk away from the things you desperately want to buy but don’t actually need.

 

 

When Sharing a House with other people you need to make sure you’re a considerate person. Ask yourself – do you really think it’s a good idea to blow-dry your hair at midnight? Just because you’re awake doesn’t mean everyone else is. Remember to be respectful of the people around you and consider if what you’re doing may disturb them in any way. An angry flatmate makes for an uncomfortable living experience, so try to be as thoughtful and kind as you can.

 

 

Although I don’t live in a Share House anymore, I did a while back. While there I encountered a few uncomfortable situations because I didn’t really know the people I was living with. There were a few people I rarely saw and, honestly, didn’t even know their names. This made living there pretty awkward at times, and no one can really be relaxed and comfortable in an atmosphere like that. It was possible these people were just a bit shy, so make sure you introduce yourself to everyone and try and have a proper conversation every now and then.

 

 

Living in a Share House means confrontations are bound to happen eventually. Sometimes your flatmates aren’t picking up after themselves or are doing something to make your living situation difficult and/or uncomfortable. You will need to learn to communicate with these people and address the problems you have. Try to not be too accusatory, since this will make them overly defensive. Remember to be polite and kind – think about what it would be like if the situations were reversed.

 

 

Living in a Share House for the first time will probably be a completely different experience to what you’re used to. When faced with such issues, it can be tempting to go to the extremes – staying out all the time or confining yourself to your room. In my experience, my flatmates and I isolated ourselves by staying in our rooms all day. We were all lonely and longing for a bit of company, but none of us did anything to change this. Remember that balance is important – don’t spend all your time in your room watching Netflix, but you also don’t need to be partying 24/7 either.