How do flatmates go about food in the kitchen?
So I guess that everyone gets a cupboard or part of one to themselves, but whats the best way of going about stuff that everyone uses, such as sugar, tea, coffee, ketchup ect?
Surely their isnt enough space for everyone to have their own (and I doubt would be able to use it all before the best before dates) so do flatmates share these items or something?
Love it if some current students could shed some light on this and what works well (and not so well).
Cheers!
Surely their isnt enough space for everyone to have their own (and I doubt would be able to use it all before the best before dates) so do flatmates share these items or something?
Love it if some current students could shed some light on this and what works well (and not so well).
Cheers!
Every flat I've been in people have bought their own but attitudes towards those sort of 'basics' has varied, it's nicer to feel like you can borrow something and replace it later/lend some back at some point especially in first year when you're not used to shopping yourself and will inevitably forget things you decide you need/want
buying things together sounds like a nice idea but I tried it literally just with toilet paper/cleaning stuff in one shared house and it was a nightmare, there was one person who just used LOADS of everything all the time which as petty as it sounds does start to bother you when you're short on money and having to spend another fiver on toilet roll that really shouldn't have run out yet and there was another person who would always buy a 4 pack of value toilet roll when everyone else bought a 9 pack of something reasonable and wouldn't see the problem...
personally I'd try and avoid any communal situations about buying until you know people better and therefore know how much/what they use and are happy that things will actually be fair but be generous with things you have and let people borrow stuff and that way they will probably return the favour
buying things together sounds like a nice idea but I tried it literally just with toilet paper/cleaning stuff in one shared house and it was a nightmare, there was one person who just used LOADS of everything all the time which as petty as it sounds does start to bother you when you're short on money and having to spend another fiver on toilet roll that really shouldn't have run out yet and there was another person who would always buy a 4 pack of value toilet roll when everyone else bought a 9 pack of something reasonable and wouldn't see the problem...
personally I'd try and avoid any communal situations about buying until you know people better and therefore know how much/what they use and are happy that things will actually be fair but be generous with things you have and let people borrow stuff and that way they will probably return the favour
Original post by doodle_333
Every flat I've been in people have bought their own but attitudes towards those sort of 'basics' has varied, it's nicer to feel like you can borrow something and replace it later/lend some back at some point especially in first year when you're not used to shopping yourself and will inevitably forget things you decide you need/want
buying things together sounds like a nice idea but I tried it literally just with toilet paper/cleaning stuff in one shared house and it was a nightmare, there was one person who just used LOADS of everything all the time which as petty as it sounds does start to bother you when you're short on money and having to spend another fiver on toilet roll that really shouldn't have run out yet and there was another person who would always buy a 4 pack of value toilet roll when everyone else bought a 9 pack of something reasonable and wouldn't see the problem...
personally I'd try and avoid any communal situations about buying until you know people better and therefore know how much/what they use and are happy that things will actually be fair but be generous with things you have and let people borrow stuff and that way they will probably return the favour
buying things together sounds like a nice idea but I tried it literally just with toilet paper/cleaning stuff in one shared house and it was a nightmare, there was one person who just used LOADS of everything all the time which as petty as it sounds does start to bother you when you're short on money and having to spend another fiver on toilet roll that really shouldn't have run out yet and there was another person who would always buy a 4 pack of value toilet roll when everyone else bought a 9 pack of something reasonable and wouldn't see the problem...
personally I'd try and avoid any communal situations about buying until you know people better and therefore know how much/what they use and are happy that things will actually be fair but be generous with things you have and let people borrow stuff and that way they will probably return the favour
I agree that sharing/splitting costs can easily cause arguments. Would a rota work, where you have say a product that everyone uses, and then take it in turn to buy it? People who dont use that product dont get put in the rota.
Only downside is that if it fell on someone when they were low on cash it would be difficult to keep going....
Thoughts?
My flat in halls and my houseshare this year (2nd year) didn't buy communal items except for toilet roll as some of us weren't there all the time due to placement or finishing earlier than others.
Personally I wouldn't do it.
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Personally I wouldn't do it.
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I've always bought those things myself. We tried communal sharing/buying but there would always be arguing over who used what and whether people should pay more. I know it seems petty to argue over the cost of coffee etc but the people I lived with would barely pay for electric let alone condiments
Original post by UndecidedChoice
I agree that sharing/splitting costs can easily cause arguments. Would a rota work, where you have say a product that everyone uses, and then take it in turn to buy it? People who dont use that product dont get put in the rota.
Only downside is that if it fell on someone when they were low on cash it would be difficult to keep going....
Thoughts?
Only downside is that if it fell on someone when they were low on cash it would be difficult to keep going....
Thoughts?
it's the same issue in my opinion, something like that cannot be done completely fairly, what happens when someone forgets to buy butter (a mistake everyone will make) and then 5 people can't eat breakfast? or someone changes their mind when it gets to their turn? Or someone buys full fat/skim milk when someone else hates it? Or one person has 5 milky coffees and 2 bowls of cereal a day when someone else just wants a splash of milk in the morning - who buys what?
if everyone is very chilled and has plenty of money and no need to be concerned about buying an extra bottle of milk or losing out and will always be reliable it can in theory work and I'm sure people will post to say it worked okay for them but in my opinion the less you can make 'shared' with your flatmates the better as anything which is shared will almost definitely end up with someone upset/angry (kitchenware, cleaning supplies, toilet roll, actual cooking and cleaning etc)
I'd rather buy a bit of extra milk myself than end up in a blazing row with someone in 5 months time about how I use too much/don't replace it fast enough etc
Wow hearing everyone's experiences here has made me think twice about house sharing in second year. I always assumed that sharing costs for household items used by everyone (toilet paper, washing up liquid, bin bags) was the norm and that this wouldn't really be something to be a problem or cause an argument. Obviously for things like food it should be separate but household items that are used by everyone should be split equally IMO.
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Posted from TSR Mobile
Some guy in our flat bought like a litre of sunflower oil which most people just used, but apart from that there wasn't much sharing.
There've been a few times where we pinched eachother's milk, soy sauce etc... stuff where taking a little will probably go unnoticed.
And of course, the troll in our flat took someone's orange juice on purpose for 'banter'.
If you can keep stuff in your room and there have been events that make you not want to trust your flatmates, put them there. It's inconvenient but it's safe.
There've been a few times where we pinched eachother's milk, soy sauce etc... stuff where taking a little will probably go unnoticed.
And of course, the troll in our flat took someone's orange juice on purpose for 'banter'.
If you can keep stuff in your room and there have been events that make you not want to trust your flatmates, put them there. It's inconvenient but it's safe.
Original post by UndecidedChoice
So I guess that everyone gets a cupboard or part of one to themselves, but whats the best way of going about stuff that everyone uses, such as sugar, tea, coffee, ketchup ect?
Surely their isnt enough space for everyone to have their own (and I doubt would be able to use it all before the best before dates) so do flatmates share these items or something?
Love it if some current students could shed some light on this and what works well (and not so well).
Cheers!
Surely their isnt enough space for everyone to have their own (and I doubt would be able to use it all before the best before dates) so do flatmates share these items or something?
Love it if some current students could shed some light on this and what works well (and not so well).
Cheers!
Honestly, you'll be surprised at how little space you need for your stuff.
You normally get a cupboard and a couple of draws - that's how it worked at my university! But you may start sharing things with your flat, such as the basics in tea, coffee, sugar and milk. Some people do, some people don't. It'll just fall into place if you do, if not, you'll work it out.
It all just falls into place naturally.
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