Is sharing really caring?

If you’re living off-campus with roommates, you know that there is very little room for privacy and personal space.  As that line starts to blur between where one person’s space ends and the other’s begins, it’s natural that individual items will be shared.

Just because you’re sharing a living space, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’re sharing all of your personal belongings as well. Obviously, there are some things that are perfectly normal to share. This can include a printer, a fridge, an iPod dock, bills, a microwave, dishes and ,of course, those chic home decorations. All these items can save you and your fellow roommates’ money, time, space and maybe even a failing grade.

Take third-year communications student Maria Proulx, for example. “My roommates and I basically operate as one human because it’s a lot cheaper and convenient,” Proulx said. “Pretty much everything is fair game.”

However, there are some things that are simply not okay to share with your living partners, as it could lead to conflict. We have compiled a little list of things that really shouldn’t be shared between roommates. This list is merely a guideline and results may vary. If you have something to add, feel free to let us know via Dear Life.

Specialty foods
We’ve all done this before; stolen a handful from your roommate’s larger-than-life bag of spaghetti. This isn’t the biggest deal due the insignificance of the food. However, your roommates’ expensive or favourite foods shouldn’t be shared.

I’m talking about the last bagel, cookies, chips, soft drinks and of course, anything related to your collection of alcohol. These especially delicious foods should be kept separate to avoid appetite disappointment. Third-year student Chris Hadley actually needed to resort to a ruthless prank as payback for his unwillingly-shared Swiss Chalet meal with one of his roommates. “He had it coming, he knows I love a quality half chicken dinner,” he stated.

Shampoo and shower gel
This one may apply more to the women at Laurier but, nevertheless, having a reluctantly-shared shower essential can be annoying.  Most roommates stake a bathroom, and therefore a shower, which is where items should never be shared.

First of all, those tall bottles of L’Oreal and Garnier aren’t cheap by any means. Be considerate of that fact. Secondly, everyone has a different hair preference. Whether your roommate likes it slicked back, conditioned or soaked in anti-dandruff formula, you shouldn’t be sharing these shower serenities. Third-year student Elyse Black  said, “I would never share mine because I use a specialty shampoo for curly hair.”

Clothes
This may be a little bit of a weird one for some of you but trust me, you don’t want to share threads with your roommates. Third-year student Kate Terrio described clothes-borrowing roommates in one word: “hoarders.” On top of that we’ve all heard the horror stories of a ruined Alexander McQueen scarf or ripped Bench sweater caused by the sharing of clothes amongst roommates.

Maybe you trust your roommates not to ruin your clothes, but third-year student Andrew Kerr agrees that clothes shouldn’t be shared. “That’s your personal style and you don’t want someone else taking that from you.” Always be cautious of the question: “Hey roomie, I need something to wear  for a party tonight, can I borrow your…”