Roommate relationships are one of the trickiest to navigate -- you share a living space and sleep under the same roof each night, so you want to at least be cordial. The proximity can help friendships blossom, but can also lead to the revelation of some bad habits. And when those bad habits affect the person you're living with, things get complicated.
Everyone thinks they make a great roommate, but you may be making some serious mistakes without even knowing it. Below, we've outlined the worst roommate faux pas.
1. You forget to replace the empty toilet paper roll with a fresh one.
An offense that always reveals itself at the worst time.
2. You act like your roommate's toiletries are up for grabs.
The apartment isn't Sephora -- don't test out every moisturizer you see in the bathroom.
3. You borrow clothes without asking.
Hell. No.
4.You forget to refill the Brita water cooler when it's empty.
Ensure the entire apartment has clean, cool water to drink, please.
5. You open new packages of food that you didn't buy.
If a bag of chips is open, please have some. If it is sealed, please refrain.
6. Even worse, you eat any food that doesn't belong to you.
Better to stick with the items in the fridge that you did buy.
7. You never once take your turn to truly clean the bathroom.
Communal territory requires communal cleaning.
8. You refuse to take out the garbage.
If neither roommate takes it out, no one wins.
9. You use all the dishes, utensils and plastic containers when cooking.
So ... am I just supposed to eat my dinner with my hands off a paper towel?
10. You let guests sleep in your bed while you're gone.
Unless they ask, the empty bed is not a crash pad.
11. You throw crazy parties and don't clean up.
Respect the common areas.
12. You don't give fair warning when your parents are planning a trip to your place.
No one wants a surprise visit or to be seen in a less-than-satisfactory state.
13. You forget to give your roommate's important or timely mail.
Bills and this month's issue of Cosmo both qualify.
14. You let your significant other basically become another roommate.
That single signature on the lease wasn't a two-for-one special!
15. You forget to put the toilet seat down.
Didn't your mother teach you any manners?!
16. You leave leftovers in the fridge for weeks.
Or until you have to inevitably throw it out due to the foul odor.
17. You clip toenails in common areas.
...and then don't clean them up. Ew.
18. You never, ever, ever load or unload the dishwasher.
We're all in this together, guys.
19. You take up the whole fridge so no one else has any room.
It's not a chess game -- stop advancing on other people's food territory.
20. You steal vodka and replace it with water.
It freezes, genius. What is this, amateur hour?
21. You let your friends crash on your communal couch for more than a weekend.
Anything longer than that and they're expected to pitch in on rent.
22. You allow liquid or dirty dishes to sit in the sink for prolonged periods of time.
If permanent stains ensue, there will be some serious silent treatment as punishment.
23. You leave strangers you met the day before in the apartment when you go to work in the morning.
Do not leave a one-night-stand at the apartment. Just don't.
24. You open the window when the air conditioner is on full blast.
Please, just pick one.
25. You Skype or make phone calls in the public living space ... 24/7.
Sometimes people need some peace and quiet.
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