Life: What I've Learnt From House Sharing

I've lived away from home for nearly 5 years (with a brief return to the parents' after uni in between), and for all of that time I've been a house share of some sort.  House sharing is a cheap way to live, especially when you move in with strangers in a large house. 

My 1st ever house share at university

2nd house share

The lovely people in my final uni flat share

And there's been 2 more since then. But I'm finally at the end of my tether and can't wait to move on to the next phase of living with a good friend instead! These are the main things I've learnt since moving out. They may be slightly biased based on the last year of my house sharing life...

1) NEVER buy anything that is of good quality for the shared areas (especially the kitchen). Just use the cheap crap everyone else doesn't care about.

2) Invest in some good earplugs. Whether it's creaky floorboards, parties, or an over-enthusiastic housemate with her new boyfriend, you will need these.

3) There will always be somebody who cannot flush the toilet/wipe down surfaces/manage basic personal hygiene. It's confusing to somebody who can tidy up their own bodily functions, but that's just the way it is.

4) By the end of your time there, there will definitely be at least one person you cannot stand the sight of. The feeling will be mutual.

5) Somebody will always think they can get away with 'borrowing' aka stealing your washing powder/toothpaste/orange juice. Name it, hide it, spit in it. They'll learn.

6) Have your social life away from your house. You'll soon realise the value of being somewhere other than your small over-priced room.

7) Pretty up your room. It makes the whole thing so much more bearable!

8) Have something that catches/zaps bugs. When your stepdad isn't around to catch that moth, you can't just sleep in the hallway.

9) Cook your week's worth of meals over the weekend. Then freeze it and cook when necessary. It's time-saving, cheap and means nobody will try and nick it.

10) Have your own TV. If you end up living with people who watch god-awful faux historical dramas on the SyFy channel all the time, you get a bit annoyed. 

Good luck to any of you moving house soon!