The awkward realities of living in a student house with your mates

So here we are, a couple of weeks into the semester, everyone is getting comfy and learning how their houses on Smithdown or in Kenny work as a group. Theoretically, if you’ve chosen to live with your friends this should be going swimmingly, right? Ah… lets just think about that for a moment. Would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Let’s get real, we all adore our housemates (mostly) and have made great friends in these people. The question is, do we actually enjoy living with them? I’ve put together a list of real-life talk on living with friends at uni and how we all try to deal with them as we tackle living as a house of 9. If I am the only one with these issues – sorry guys, I love you all and please don’t spit in my cereal box!

Keeping the kitchen urm…not minging?

So we all have our own rooms and keep them as tidy (or untidy in my case) as we like. The difference is… multiple people don’t have to live in there at a time! The importance of keeping your communal kitchen and living space clean is key to keeping the lot of you (and the landlord) happy. Easier said than done though, as most of us cannot be arsed to clean that tray we used yesterday. And yes, every single of us denies that the singular baked bean on the floor is ours. The reality is, Uni kitchens never quite get clean, but it’s best not to lose hope.

Shower time!

Picture this… five people with 9am lectures and only two showers. It very almost looked like a post-rugby match shower room in there at times. Hygiene levels are questionable and for some reason there is never any toothpaste, but at least Febreze exists… right? Learning to work around each other is something gained throughout the year, but sharing a bathroom never gets easier. Sorry people. we wish you luck!

Sharing each others food – to dip or not to dip?

Right this is a tricky one. We are best friends, speak everyday, share shower gel… the lot. But, can I take a bag of her crisps without asking? This is a fine line that no house can draw straight, and everyone at some point has had some hangry rant for the loss of that last biscuit. We have found that if you ask, it's chill. Kind of. In my advice… stay away from the branded things and anything with chocolate on it.

Hands off hunz

Chipping in with the boring house costs

We’re all mates, so why are we suddenly bickering over a 50p washing up liquid? Who knows, but boy we can fuel a row over this. Pitching in and all sharing the costs makes the house so much easier to live in, we all know it. How long this lasts is another issue. Cooking with no oil for a week because we were all too stubborn was a new low for us. There’s only so long you can fight over who last bought the toilet roll though….

Nights out… who paid for the Uber last time?

Yes. To begin with, going out with the people you live with is great. You can all pre-drink together, travel together and scoff Maccies in the kitchen at 4am. But the reality is, who paid for the Uber last time? Who’s lemonade is that? Who forgot a key? Who had to take the crying housemate home last week? Oh, and God forbid a vodka bottle mix-up. Things that are fun turn into a household chore all of a sudden, and we have all at one point spoken to our housemate like their Mother – “Would you PLEASE not be so loud when you get in?”. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.

Sorry to ask, can you send me that £2.46 pls?

Bed time… bed bug or party animal?

Okay, we have all been both. I have been banging my foot on the floor to try and stop the belting rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody while I watch Strictly Come Dancing in my onesie. However, I have also yodelled through the letterbox at 5am as I’d forgotten my key – and apparently the ability to knock? It’s all down to being respectful. If it’s a weekend, expect to be kept up by your housemate weeping over that boyfriend (that wasn’t really her boyfriend but was but wasn’t). If its exam season, its time to all be in bed by 9pm and saying goodnight like the Waltons family. Balance.

So there we are, an insight into the shared pet peeves of living with people I’m sure we will all be friends with forever… unless they dip into your Cadbury's of course.