Whether you have roommates, a significant other or kids, chances are you're having to share your bathroom with someone else. Someone who might not have the same standards you do or someone who seems, at times, to not even realize they need to share the bathroom with you!
And while we all have a certain amount of patience, it can get used up mighty quick when the bathroom is a mess and the roommate couldn't care less. We can't all be lucky enough to have separate bathrooms so chime in with your tips for keeping the peace while sharing a sink! At the end of the day keep in mind that we can't always control the other person, but we can be good bathroommates ourselves.
• Communicate. We have been so surprised to ourselves seething with anger over how long a morning shower is taking when we need to get in the bathroom to put on some makeup and get out the door. And yet, we don't say anything until we're tapping our foot mad. Don't make that mistake, talk about when and how you need the bathroom before it becomes an issue.
• Schedule. It could be as easy as one takes a shower at night and the other in the morning. If this is your situation, congratulations!
• Clean the Drain. Always always clean the drain after a shower.
• Change the Roll and Buy More Paper. Enough said.
• Schedule Cleaning. If you both chip in and clean the bathroom every saturday then it takes the guess work out of when and how to clean. Even a simple: Hey I'm going to clean up the bathroom, can you give me a hand for 15 minutes? will do.
• Head's Up. Give your roommate a heads up if you know you're going to need to leave earlier than usual or if you have a job interview or some other occasion where you might be using the bathroom for longer or at a different time.
• Acceptance. If you need the bathroom to be cleaner than your roommie, accept that you will be doing more of the cleaning. Everyone resents a nag and it never got the bathroom any cleaner.
• Put Things Away. If everyone has an area for their stuff then it can get put away between uses. Remember to put your things away as a courtesy.
• Cut People Slack. Maybe they were in a rush and they left the blowdryer out along with an open tube of toothpaste and their pajamas on the floor. Cut them some slack before blowing up. If it's a regular occurance, have a conversation about it when you're not seething.
• Matches, a Candle, Air Freshener. Make sure that one of these is available to keep personal things...personal.
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Comments (17)
Maybe switch the photo out for the post? It's the same as one currently on the homepage.
It's courteous to let your roommate know when you're going to take a shower. My roommate is a morning showerer, and I'm an evening showerer. I usually give a heads-up before I get in, since it's usually at least a 30-minute-long process. Sometimes my roommate will want to remove contacts, brush teeth, etc. and appreciates the courtesy.
Also, cannot underscore the importance of ACCEPTANCE. Some things you just need to learn to deal with. You are not perfect either.
The tips above are great. Here is another one:
Discuss moving your grooming routines out of the bathroom.
I prefer taking my time with my hair and makeup so I kept these accessories out of the bathroom and set up a makeshift vanity in my room (which was a full-length mirror, some lighting, and a storage cart). I kept a spray bottle filled with water in my room to save me a trip to the bathroom if I need water for whatever reason.
I agree about the grooming routines. I have a vanity in the bedroom for doing makeup and hair.
When it's just the two of us, it's not really an issue, because our morning schedules are staggered. When we have guests, we ask them when they want to take a shower, and then plan our showers accordingly.
Our biggest issue is remembering to open the window after a certain, er, movement, because there's no bathroom fan, and we're not into scented candles or sprays.
If you're sharing a bathroom, for sure, as magstermash says, move tasks out of the bathroom that don't HAVE to be done in the bathroom.
Don't get antsy about a roommate being in the bathroom when you want to put on makeup. Do it somewhere else!
Ditto with reading, hand washing clothes, doing your hair . . .
We had a roommate in college who had no sense of hygiene. Let's just say we did all the cleaning, and she made a mess.
Guess who we don't talk to any longer?
I just want that sink and vanity.
It's a good idea to have your grooming things in your bedroom. I used to keep a mirror above my dresser and a box inside the top drawer with make-up, brushes, etc. that way you don't always have to wait for bathroom time.
Nag? Please. If the other person cleaned up, then you wouldn't have to. Enough said!
I live alone.
sturgeongeneral, your comment made me laugh! I can't count how many times I've thought that about my boyfriend.
I've lived with and therefore shared a bathroom with him for almost 4 years now. He's amazing in every way except when it comes to picking up / putting away absolutely anything.
However, since our new place has the world's smallest bathroom, he learned the hard way that any shoes / clothing on the floor get really, really soaked anytime the shower is on. He complained at first, but you can't argue with reason; if they weren't on the bathroom floor they wouldn't have gotten wet in the first place :)
I don't like to be a meanie though so when needed I gather it up in a pile and deposit in the designated "messy zone."
Also, I've learned if you've got a messy bathroom mate only buy the kind of toothpaste that stands up! No more squishy tubes emptied all over the side of the sink.
There's also the "get over your nudity" thing. We have one bathroom for 4 roommates, and my partner likes taking baths.
If you can be cool with showering while someone's peeing- I guarantee your whole life will become a hell of a lot easier.
But more importantly- that wooden slatted platform would be PERFECT for our shower. What is it? Where can I find it?!
I agree with RevelrybyNight on dealing with someone peeing while you shower...that makes a huge difference. And remembering the other person could use the bathroom to brush their teeth while you're in the shower and vice versa. When you're living with someone and one restroom, privacy is just not a privilege anymore.
Though you should warn those before you get in the shower since they may need the toilet for a reason other than urinating and probably would like to get to go before you decide to hog the bathroom for over a half hour.
Love that bathroom!!
RevelrybyNight - I liked the slatted wood platform in the shower too!!! So I went a-huntin'....... Google teak or cedar bath mat.
My number one fave way to keep the bathroom tidy, is to have hooks for towels. I use Grundtal from ikea hooks (small for hand and wash towels, large for bath towels) and just put them on the towel bar and hang the towel off that. That way everyone can have their towel in the bathroom at the same time, and multiple towels can be drying at the same time without hogging the whole towel bar. Then its up to the towel user to know when their towel is dirty. If having your towel in the very same place all the time isn't enough, for everyone to know which towel is theirs, then use a label maker to put each persons initials on the top of each of the hooks.
ExperimentsInHonesty or whomever really -- Ok, you'll store towels you plan to use again in the bathroom to dry - the place where the toilet gets used but health departments are going back and forth on whether or not we should keep a toothbrush in there to keep it away from all the bacteria? Sorry but I would not reuse a towel I left in the bathroom to dry - but again I am with the group that uses a towel no more than once or twice before washing it. The only towels that go on our towel bar are hand towels that I swap out daily.
I spray and wipe down the tub and walls after every shower with Method because it isn't toxic and my leg shavings go all over. I also wipe the sink, floor and bowl at least once per day so it doesn't ever accumulate a need for a "big" cleaning. Rather, it takes two minutes every day. BF thinks I'm mentally ill, and needless to day, he isn't nearly as clean as I am, but I'm convinced it is the singular reason my relationship hasn't ended yet. If i had to "clean up" after him, I'd leave him. This way, I'm just cleaning up after myself, which I'd do anyway.
ChrisGal if you use a towel "...no more than once or twice before washing it..." where do you hang it to dry if you use it twice and don't want to leave it in the bathroom?
I have to share my bathroom and the thing that irks me the most is my room mate not locking the door then getting mad when she is walked in on, forgetting her towel before she gets in the shower and using the towel we dry our hands on and not replacing it-everyday and never using air freshener but going right before everyone has to shower so you are stuck showering in poo steam. How do you help encourage the good habits and discourage the bad?