In this hectic day and age, most people don’t follow the traditional nine to five workday any longer, which can make communicating with your roommate difficult, especially if one of you works nights and the other works days. Here are a few failsafe tips for keeping in contact with your roommate.

Try to avoid leaving notes and emails unless you absolutely have to. Face to face communication is absolutely key to keeping your relationship with your roommate positive and on the up and up. When people are left notes, they tend to think they are being talked down to or that they are being lectured. Notes and emails can’t accurately convey tone or if you are joking or not, so it is best to wait to speak face to face if at all possible.

If the two of you are always missing each other and are often out of food that you both like, set up a grease board or a magnet list for food shopping so that you can always be sure that you have your favorite foods in the house. Be sure to communicate, however, so that both of you don’t go out on the same day and pick up the same thing.

Finally, if you have any problems with each other, it is important for the two of you to talk about them as soon as possible. Letting things fester for weeks or even months is never a good thing, and it can ruin what was an otherwise solid friendship.

While the laundry list of complaints that most people have about roommates covers everything from privacy to common decency, there are always a few big ones that are at or near top. Let’s take a look at a few common things you can do to keep your roommate tension down to a minimum.

Perhaps the biggest pet peeve many people have when it comes to roommates is picking up after yourself in common areas. No one is going to fault you for having a messy bedroom since that is your own private space, but you may get some flack for leaving clothes, shoes and belongings out in the living and dining room areas. It doesn’t take long to train yourself to not leave things everywhere and your roommate will thank you.

Another huge pet peeve many people have about roommates is not doing dirty dishes in a timely fashion. Not only do dirty dishes look unsightly, they can attract bugs and they often smell, as well. No one expects you do to your dishes instantly, but you should always make an effort to do them as soon as you can.

Finally, if you have been nibbling food that you didn’t buy or pay for, then you can expect serious problems with your roommate. You should have an easily identifiable system in place to designate whose food is whose so that mistakes never happen. If you are intentionally violating that agreement, expect your roommate arrangement to dissolve.

If you are a married couple or if you live alone, decorating can be a trial, but when you live with someone who likely has completely different taste than you do, than decorating can be an absolute nightmare. Here are a few basic decorating tips that you can keep in mind the next time you move into a new place with a roommate.

First, try to keep common rooms neutral as possible. Even if you have been living there longer, you need to respect the fact that this apartment isn’t only your home, but also the home of another person. See if you can find similar interests like sports or a particular kind of art that you can hang on the walls in common areas. Also, don’t try to dominate the furniture, either. Try to share what the other has so that one person doesn’t feel like they are living in your house.

It is also important to keep both of you involved in adding little touches around the apartment. We all have personal knick knacks to display at various spots in our homes, so make sure that both of you contribute, otherwise it can lead to feelings of alienation.

Finally, if you get any big decorating ideas, make sure you filter them through your roommate before you carry them out, even if you are positive your roommate might like it. Even if they do, the feeling of being left out of a major change in the place you call home can be hurtful.

If you have never lived with a roommate before, the whole idea can seem a little sketchy. The idea of moving in and living with a complete stranger is a bit odd to most people, so it seems natural that many roommates would ensure that both parties are listed on a lease in case there are any problems down the road. Let’s take a look at a few benefits drawing up a lease gives you when you have a roommate.

For most people, there are two different kinds of roommate arrangements: the most common kind involves two or more people living in an apartment that is equally rented by each person. There is a lease drawn up by a landlord or management company to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected. In this circumstance, it is always a good idea to update the lease agreement as soon as someone moves out or moves in to make sure that everything is on the up and up. The problem some people face is when you move in with friends to a house that one of them owns. In this circumstance, there is no outside authority demanding that a legal lease be drawn up; everything is usually done on a handshake agreement.

If you have a handshake agreement, it is still important that you put down the essential points of your arrangement in writing so that there can’t be any disputes in the future. Even if you are living with friends, protecting yourself should still be a top priority.

Do you guys really think that this entry deserves to win our current Messiest Roommate Contest?

At 27 votes so far.. not far to beat I think. So if you agree, then vote for this entry more at http://www.getaroomie.com/contests/viewcontestvideo/3 otherwise, you can join in your entry for messiest roommate here and have your friends vote for it and win an IPOD TOUCH 16GB!http://www.getaroomie.com/contests/contestvideos

Vote or Join now! We are planning on giving away more prizes like the PS3 or a Mobile Phone if this Contest is a success!

Have you checked out the Post Secret project?

To learn more about Post Secret click here.

What is unique about Generation X or Generation Y?  Are we undefinable?  What makes us unique and gives us our identity? What makes us an identifiable community?Feel free to add your opinion and participate in the discussion.  

Greetings. This is the blog of Get a Roomie.What will you find here? Various pieces and snippets of pop culture as well as updates and useful info for Get A Roomie users. This is a community of 20 and 30 somethings who enjoy culture.

We would like to know how we can help you. What issues can we cover that would be of interest to you? How can we best serve you?

We invite you to participate. If you would like to share your roommate story or your experience as a 20-30 something, please contact us.NathanCommunity GuyGet a Roomie