At the end of a long day, you don’t want to come home to a household that’s giving off negative vibes.

If you’re one of those people, like me, who just wants to relax when you get home, then keep reading. You may find some useful steps you can easily apply to your share house.

#1 Get Plants

Plants and greenery make everything better. From my own experience, coming home to plants is a great alternative to the city’s sterile concrete buildings. They make spaces feel lush and tranquil with minimal effort.

For us uni students, succulents are our best friends in the plant world. This is because they don’t cost a lot and because they need hardly any water to survive. Even better, most succulents reproduce and multiply on their own. Crazy! I know. This means you only need to buy one plant to have five or more down the track.

Just don’t put your plants in pots that don’t have a drainage hole in the bottom – unless you get a saucer as well. This is especially important if you’re renting. There’s nothing worse than trying to relax in your living space with a few plants and realising a few months down the track you’ve created a water damage nightmare.

#2 Keep Bedroom Doors Open

Having gone to college for two years where you live in a hallway with up to 20 different people, I can tell you open doors make all the difference. It keeps the place feeling spacious and inclusive.

In a share house, these positive vibes are something you want to channel. The last thing you want is a negative atmosphere where people don’t feel comfortable and are at each other’s necks constantly.

Just remember though, when I say, “keep doors open,” I don’t mean 100 per cent of the time. There will be instances when your housemates aren’t going to want to see or hear what’s going on in your room. If you know what I mean.

#3 Keep Common Areas Clean

No one hates a filthy common area more than your housemates, especially when it’s not their mess and they want to use it. Therefore, clean up after yourself right away.

My mother’s favourite saying when I was growing up was, “Clean up as you go.” Today, I still follow this philosophy, especially when it comes to cooking then eating. I’m one of those people who needs to lie down after I finish a meal. And no, not because cooking is stressful, but because eating is tiring. Food coma, am I right?

So, when it comes to this time of the day, when I’ve been slaving away making myself a decent meal, I apply my mother’s saying. I cook and clean as I go. This means as soon as I finish eating, all I need to do is put my plate and cutlery in the dishwasher. It makes for one happy household.

#4 Communicate With Your Housemates

Communicating is super important to a smooth running household, as it lets people know where you stand on a matter and how you feel.

Most of the time communicating will also benefit you, as well as others. There’s nothing worse than having an issue and not talking about it. Keeping things pent up never solves a thing – it only makes you frustrated and angry. As Shrek says, “Better out than in”.

#5 Take Responsibility For Your Screw Ups

I know it’s  the last thing we want to do, but owning up to our mistakes is the easiest way to avoid drama.

Take me, for instance. I was the housemate — despite being cautioned — who decided to hang pictures up on my bedroom wall using removable sticking hooks. I thought it’d be fine. I was drastically wrong. The removable sticking hocks I used didn’t just remove easily from the walls, they also removed part of the wall.

I had two decisions. To tell my housemates or not to tell. I went with the first option, and I am glad I did – even though I looked like a fool. But to my housemates’ credit, they didn’t yell or huff and puff; instead they looked at me like the idiot I was and handled it kindly, keeping no water under the bridge.

To this day, I remember the shame and stupidity I felt. But I’d rather remember the stupidity than a massive argument I could’ve avoided.