How to Resolve Common Houseshare Arguments

You’re out of milk

You’d be surprised at how messy the milk situation can get. If you share food with your housemates, it’s inevitable that eventually you’ll run out of milk – a nightmare for the next person who fancies a cup of tea or some cereal. Fingers will soon get pointed – “It was your turn to get it! I got it last time!” and before you know it you’ll be crying over there being no milk to spill. 

Fear not, there’s a way to solve it, and it’s a method as old as time: a shopping list. If you spot something running out, whether it’s milk, toothpaste or toilet paper (trust us, you don’t want to fall out over that one) jot it down and store the list in a communal space. Sticking it on the fridge is a good option. That way everyone can see where you’re at, making it a joint responsibility to keep supplies stocked up.

The bins need taking out

No-one enjoys taking the bins out, but do you know what you’ll enjoy even less? Maggots. When bins overflow, they attract pests, and before you know it your house stinks and there are flies everywhere. The best way to solve this is to take it in turns. Keep track of who did it last and make sure everyone’s on board with the rotation. 

But if you can clearly see the bin is overflowing, don’t be petty. Just pick it up and take it out and accept you’re the better person. 

The washing up needs doing

That pile of dishes won’t wash itself, as hard as we might wish. The worst part of eating is the washing up that follows, but someone has to do it. As a general rule of thumb, if someone is cooking for you, you should do the washing up, and if you’re cooking for yourself, you should wash up after. If one of your housemates isn’t playing by those rules, make it clear to them that their pots won’t get washed by someone else. To make the process that much quicker, one of you could wash, the other could dry, and if you’ve got a third person they could put things away like a beautiful washing up machine.

Someone’s mate is overstaying their welcome

Not all of your housemate’s friends will end up becoming your friends, and there’s always that one who you just can’t get on with. If you find they’re coming over too often for your liking, or staying on the sofa when you’ve got work the next morning, it’s time for a serious conversation. While we don’t recommend expressing how much you can’t stand their friend, you can suggest certain days of the week where social activities can’t go on too late, or recommend they spend time out of the house instead.

This one’s a particularly sore point if you’re trying to work from home and you’ve got a friend-of-a-friend asleep on the living room sofa while you’re trying to do a meeting. Sound familiar? You might like our tips for overcoming common working from home struggles in a houseshare.

TV hogging

In this age of streaming and video on demand, the days of everyone sharing one TV are pretty much over. But if you’ve got plans to get some mates round and watch the football or your favourite film, watching it on the big telly feels a bit different to watching it on your phone. You should let your housemates know long in advance that this is what’s going on, and maybe even invite them along to the fun. This makes it clear in everyone’s calendar what the main TV is being used for that night, and leaves them free to watch whatever they want in the comfort of their own rooms.

The bills aren’t being split fairly

You knew it was coming, didn’t you? Household bills are a common cause of housemate disagreements – the chances are some people will say they’re too busy or disorganised to talk about things like ‘utilities’ or ‘rent’, putting all the responsibility onto one housemate. But it doesn’t have to be this way.. 

With Split The Bills, you can quickly and easily make sure everyone is paying their fair share with just a few clicks on your screen. There’s no need to sit around the dining table and do the maths – we’ll take care of everything for you, leaving you with one less thing to fall out about.