How to share a bathroom
Author: Chris Brown Date Posted:29 June 2016
How to share a bathroom
You may be getting married (in which case you will probably want to live happily ever after), moving in with a partner for the first time, starting university or entering a new house share.
Regardless of how well you think you know someone, sharing a space with someone outside of your immediate family (or even within it) can be a source of horrible tension, especially when you have different ideas about personal hygiene and the rules of sharing.
We all have a certain amount of patience, but this can get used up very quickly when the bathroom is a mess and people don’t seem to care. We can’t all be lucky enough to have en-suite or separate bathrooms so here are a few suggestions to make sharing a bathroom easier.
-Set some rules:
The first thing to do when you move into a new living situation is to establish some ground rules that everyone is happy to stick to. This will avoid plenty of awkward conversations later on.
Little things like leaving the seat up, running the tap unnecessarily or spending too long in the shower can make you hate living with someone you love. Get these issues sorted out early on and you’ll be on track for a happy life.
-Keep stuff separate:
This suggestion is both for the sake of hygiene as well as sanity. Sharing items such as towels can spread infections, including some STDs and keeping toothbrushes next to each other can lead to cross-contamination.
Although sharing items such as toilet roll and toothpaste seems like the practical solution, when it comes to products such as shampoo and face wash, it is sensible to just buy these items individually and keep them for yourself. This is both due to issues of personal taste and also to avoid petty disagreements about how often is normal to condition your hair and so on. It can be just as bad when you’re married and your husband is always using your expensive shampoo!
-Take turns:
This applies to cleaning, buying and using so pay attention to this suggestion very carefully. If you are living with friends or strangers, it may be beneficial to decide on a budget and organise a rota so that you always know whose turn it is to stock up, or to form some sort of housekeeping kitty so that you’re all chipping in.
In any household it is sensible to work out what time everyone is most likely to need to use the bathroom in the morning, especially if you are working similar hours.
Bathrooms need fairly regular cleaning and it can be frustrating when you seem to be the only one doing any of this cleaning. The easiest way to combat this is to divvy up jobs early on so that you can each keep on top of your own role. Although, it is still only polite to make sure you are leaving the bathroom in a fit condition for whoever is using the bathroom after you.
-Be considerate:
If you have long hair then keep an eye on the drain when you’re in the shower and throw away any loose strands that could form an unpleasant clog for the next person.
If you use the last of the paper on the roll, change the roll.
Open the window every now and then.
Clear the sink when you have finished shaving.
These are just a few basic but crucial rules that should be followed by everyone in the house in order to all live in harmony. It might sound like an easy task but trust us, if they aren’t followed the outcome could be disastrous!
-Use a shower caddy: An ideal tip, especially if you are living in a house full of girls, is to store all of your bathroom essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shaving cream and much more into your very own shower caddy that you can store in your bedroom. This takes a lot of clutter out of your bathroom and will also ensure that no one uses that expensive shampoo you bought!
-Invest in a nice smelling scent:
Whether it’s a candle or a bottle of room spray, it can make a big difference to the overall feel and smell of the bathroom. Leaving some air freshener or something similar in the bathroom is also a good idea to air out any undesirable smells.
-Cut people slack:
Maybe they were in a big rush and they left the hairdryer out along with an open tube of toothpaste and their pyjamas on the floor. Cut them some slack and give yourself a chance to calm down before blowing up. If it’s a regular occurrence then yes have a conversation about it when you’re not so angry but if it’s the first time, you might just want to let it slide.
-Communicate:
It might seem like an obvious one but communication is vital when sharing a bathroom. Simply talking to each other about morning routines rather than trying to bang the door down while someone is in the shower is usually a much better way to resolve things.