Mark Roemer image of a well organized apartment

How to Share Space in Your Apartment

When it comes to sharing space in your apartment, especially if it is quite small, it can be a bit hard. It doesn’t matter how strong your relationship is with the other person; if you are always tripping over their things, there is likely to be a problem. Below, I, Mark Roemer, will share with you a few ways that you can avoid a nasty argument over the shared space in your apartment. These ways will be mutually beneficial to all parties involved.

Communicate

As with any great relationship, communication is the absolute key. It may seem simple, but you would be surprised at the number of relationships that are dissolved due to a lack of communication. When we think of communication, we should be thinking of sitting down and having a calm, rational discussion. However, many times roommates consider conversation a passive-aggressive note left somewhere in the house. The note is usually placed in the offending area. Take, for example, if you have a roommate that is not pitching in when it comes to dishes. Merely leaving a note that says, “We aren’t going to do ourselves” next to the sink is not going to get the job done. It will likely lead to a heated argument and one of the two parties leaving the apartment.

Instead, I suggest that you talk to your roommate and decide on a time and place that works best for both of you. When the time comes, calmly explain to them why you feel wronged when they don’t do their share of the dishes. I suggest that you lay down some ground rules for how the dishes are to be done. Whether it is something as simple as everyone does their dishes right after they use them or something more complex like a rotation of who does the dishes, in either case, make sure you walk away from the “meeting” with a plan.

Stay Organized

Some people are naturally tidy; others are not tidy at all. No matter where you fall in the spectrum, make sure that you are keeping the apartment in order when it comes to the common areas. Not too many roommates will mind if your personal space is not tidy. After all, they are not the one that needs to live in that space. If you find yourself just tossing your things anywhere that you can find the room, then chances are you are in need of some organization. Below you will find a few of my suggestions on how to get more organized.

In the bathroom, make sure you have plenty of storage so that you don’t have to put your things in someone else’s cabinet. When it comes to bathroom things, people can be quite shy about them. In the kitchen, invest in some shelves that you can store your larger items. This will free up drawer and counter space to allow everyone to have their drawer if that is desired. In the living room, you could buy an ottoman or DVD shelves to clean things up. It will look like a much more inviting place if items are not strewn all over the place.

Designate Zones

When you are living in a small apartment, it can be quite challenging to determine which part of the house is for which activity. Even if you don’t have a small apartment, the new fad is having open floor plans. It can lead to things being in places they don’t belong. I suggest that you create zones in your apartment. Doing this can be quite straightforward.

The first thing you are going to want to do is to decide where these zones are. Take, for example, if you have one big room that encompasses the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room. There are no walls or natural barriers from one end to the other. Get together with your roommates and decide where each space ends. After this has been determined, you will want to invest in décor that will suggest that to you and others. Some examples can be furniture, room dividers, or merely different curtains. This will tell the occupants and visitors what activities they can expect in each area. Doing this will also keep dishes out of the front room or work out of the bedroom.

Surplus Storage

There comes a time in our lives that we may downgrade our living quarters. This means that you move into a place that is smaller than your previous home. This usually ends up in having too much stuff for the new location. You will have to make some decisions on what stays and what goes.

Let’s say you are a person that has a lot of collectibles. More often than not, they take up a lot of space. Decide on your favorites and store the rest. Most apartments come with a certain amount of storage. If your apartment complex does not offer this, or it is simply too small, you may have to rent additional space. While this may cost you more at the end of the month, it is better to have these items in storage than having to deal with them in your limited space. The space occupied by these items can be better used for functional items rather than your knickknacks.

Conclusion

That is pretty much it. You need to make sure that each person is equally represented in the apartment. Living in an apartment does have good qualities, but just as many bad. Don’t worry, though; apartments are rarely the end goal for anyone. In time you will have your place and have the ability to keep the house however you want. I, Mark Roemer, hope that you find this blog useful and will utilize it to make improvements to your living space. Whether you are the one that is keeping your stuff all over the house or you have a roommate that is doing it, you should find this an easy way to keep the peace.