How to Live Peacefully With Your House Mates

Whether you are living with friends, strangers or family, getting on peacefully with your house mates is important. When you live on your own you don’t have to take into consideration the thoughts and feelings of others around you and you can do what you want. However, living alone can be quite lonely, and it is likely you will live with others at some point in your life.

If you are living with others, then it doesn’t have to be all arguments and fights. There are plenty of advantages to living with house mates. You have constant company, you can share work between you, and gain encouragement and support when you need it.

Of course, there are downsides too. You have to share your space with others, and your privacy can be limited. It is inevitable that you will get on each other’s nerves at some point, and disagreements will probably occur. However, this stress can be avoided and reduced if you follow a few simple tips on how to live peacefully with your house mates.

Communication Is The Key

The first and most important thing you need to work on when living with others is communication. Without good communication with each other, you and your house mates will argue far more. You need to take care of your responsibilities and duties within the house, and communicate with each other about the duties of others.

If you are considerate and set firm boundaries then you will all get on well. To start the process, you should talk about your needs, likes, dislikes and expectations. This will give you all an idea of what is expected and will get communication channels open. It also gives everyone the opportunity to avoid confrontations as you already have an idea of what each other likes and dislikes.

You should also discuss some rules and boundaries to follow. Things such as preparing meals, shopping, bills, cleaning and social rules should all be talked about. This way you all know the way in which you should behave to avoid problems.As long as you continually communicate and go over these ground rules from time to time should be able to live peacefully with your house mates.

In Case Of Disputes

Despite the best of intentions, it is unlikely that you will always be able to avoid disputes with your house mates. However, there are ways you can reduce the impact and severity of these arguments. Firstly, have a schedule set out for getting ready in the morning in terms of shower and bathroom usage. Many disputes occur when people rush around trying to get to work and are stressed. If you set out rules for this in the first place then you can avoid or lessen conflicts in this area.

However, if an argument does occur, try and remember that you have to live with this person after it is over. Recognise that you are both stressed and try to diffuse the situation. If there are problems, you can discuss them later when you are both calmer rather than saying things you will both regret.

If you can learn to appreciate and respect your house mates and their differences then you will get on better. They may have different habits and routines to your own, but if you can see their good side you will avoid many arguments.

Living with others isn’t easy, but if you take the time to listen and communicate with each other about any possible problems, you will get on more peacefully and hopefully have a great time living with your house mates.