Roommate Agreement

One of my favorite TV shows is "The Big Bang Theory". While watching this show the other day, I found myself thinking about Sheldon Cooper's Roommate Agreement. I know Sheldon is crazy, and his agreement seems kind of out there, what with the Godzilla clause, and the idea that “Leonard will name Sheldon as his sidekick if Leonard obtains superpowers”, things like this seem to make the idea of a roommate agreement laughable and crazy. However, the more I have been thinking about it, the better having one of them sounds.

I have been at BYU for the last 2 years and during my freshman year alone I moved three times and had very different roommates and experiences. Being away from home and out of my comfort zones, I have found I have MANY pet peeves. I also have things I look for in an ideal roommate. As this semester is working its way to a close (though it can’t seem to come to an end fast enough), I have been thinking about where I will live next year and the things I would change and want to address with my new roommates. As I have been thinking about these things, I decided I would start putting these "terms" onto paper. I will be adding continuously, but for now I will just put some of my pet peeves and things I will be trying to implement.

1.       I truly hate dirty sponges/ rags/ scrubbers. When they get dirty, just throw the sponge away or wash the rag. I do NOT see the need to keep them sitting wet and molding in the sink or on the counter.

2.       After a week, why can’t we just throw away the leftovers you are NEVER going to eat?

3.       Why should we divide the fridge/ freezer? There is no possible way to divide it equally for 6 people.  I think this idea is silly. If I want to buy food, or you want to buy food, just put it in the fridge wherever it fits. I am all for that. I like having a full fridge and having the butter, syrup or other condiments available to share.

4.       If we are going to have communal items; i.e. Toilet Paper, paper towels, dish soap, hand soap, Clorox wipes, cleaning supplies etc. We need to have some kind of rotation for replenishing these items. And everyone that used these things NEEDS to help and take their turn producing these things.

5.       We need to have some kind of apartment calendar in the front room; on the fridge, hanging on the wall etc. So that if someone plans on a party or if they have someone coming over for the weekend everyone is aware and we don’t have multiple things planned for the same night.

What kinds of things would you add?