To share or not to share a fridge, well for some it’s necessary. Sharing a fridge for the first time in college can be really intimidating. Figuring out the allergies of the people you’re living with, and deciding how strict people are about sharing food can be a lot. Particularly when you begin moving out of the dorms and into apartments with bigger kitchens, it’s very important to work out a game plan with your housemates. But just where do you start? And how can you make sure that each of your individual eating habits won’t ruin relationships and cause more tension in your living space? Here are some simple ways to share a fridge with your roommates.
1. Decide immediately what products are shared or individual.
It can be really easy to just say you’ll share food communally, until one morning when you’re craving avocado toast so you go to check the fridge just to find out that your roommate finished all of the avocados you bought. Making specific rules around whose food is whose right away is very important, this will alleviate any unnecessary tension in the apartment. Maybe you’ll decide to share staples, like condiments and eggs, but specialty ingredients, such as the aforementioned avocados, are individual. It honestly depends from roommate to roommate, so figuring it out upfront is the way to go.
2. Figure out how you want to split up the fridge.
Some roommates have good enough communication skills that they don’t need to mark designated spots in the fridge for each of their food items. However, a lot of times it’s just easier to figure out those spaces just in case. If you just have one roommate, it’s easy enough to split things down the middle. But if you have more than that, take the time to mark individual drawers. Maybe even label individual drawers and shelves — you can even make a craft night out of it! Some affordable fridge organizational pieces can be found here.
3. Be respectful of shared space.
When you live on your own, or even with family, it can be easy to forget about that butt of bread shoved to the back of the fridge, growing mold. But when you share with roommates, it’s not the most respectful to leave rotten food that they’ll have to smell in the morning. You also don’t want your expired milk jug taking up space that could be utilized for others. Make sure to always keep up with the quality of your food!
4. Don’t be too hard on your roommates.
Ultimately, you want to live in a peaceful environment. While hopefully none of your roommates are taking up all of the shelves, or constantly eating your favorite snacks, sometimes you just want to keep the peace. Keep the rules firm, but if you deal with issues as they come up, it often creates a more pleasant space. For example, if you see that a spill has happened with someone else’s food, don’t wait for them to get home to tell them about it. It’ll keep the fridge nicer in general if you just take care of it the second it’s noticed. And hopefully, this goodwill will rub off on your roommates’ attitudes towards you!
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate!!
At the end of the day, communication is key. If you bought food specifically for a party, mark it as such. Text it in the apartment group chat. When you are as open as you can with your roommates, not only will that mean that you can make that avocado toast tomorrow morning that you so crave, but you’ll be able to create closer bonds with them. College life can be stressful enough already, so don’t let food tear you apart when it’s one of the best ways to bring people together.