5 Apartment Essentials To Split Or Coordinate With Your Roommates

By Garth Brunner

When you’re getting ready to move in with someone new, you absolutely must communicate with them about what each of you is bringing to the table. After all, you don’t want to end up with multiple of the same devices nor do you want to have none of something you both need. While not everything needs to be coordinated, moving in with someone requires a lot of communication. To start your journey, here are five apartment essentials to split or coordinate with your roommates.

Kitchen Utensils
Kitchen utensils are a must when it comes to coordination. Unless one of your roommates follows a strict diet and they do not want to share anything in the kitchen, this is something that needs to be coordinated. Extra forks and spoons don’t hurt too much, but you don’t want to have three blenders on the counter. Split objects like the aforementioned blender, air fryers, pots and pans, and plates and cups! Too many sets can take up a lot of space that you’ll need. While there is a wide range of kitchen sizes, many starter apartments have smaller ones. You still need to have a snack cabinet, right?

Furniture
Depending on the space you’re in, if you have a common area like a living room, you need to split or coordinate furniture. Think about what it is that you’ll be using and sharing. Usually, these are things like couches, chairs, lamps, side tables, and coffee tables, but there might be other things you or your roommates know you need. Decide who buys what, unless you want to go shopping together. It can be easier to split tasks up so that everyone arrives with something and you’re not sitting on the floor for a couple of weeks! Ensure that the way you split it up comes out to an even price so that no roommate is paying loads more than the other unless you plan on paying them back. Do keep in mind that, if a roommate purchases your couch for the place, if they move out, the couch is theirs! That goes for what you buy as well. You can always choose to leave it behind, but you own it.

Decor
While not all decor needs to be run by each other, if you have a clear vision for a shared space, it might be worth talking it over. If you have separate bedrooms, you can each decorate your rooms however you please, so long as you don’t break any renting rules. However, please keep in mind that these shared spaces are shared. Do not force your ideas onto your roommates! Some decor falls into categories that everyone might like: clocks, extra couch cushions, and rugs. Split these among yourselves so that, again, you all contribute equally.

Cleaning Supplies
Next is cleaning supplies. When you’re first moving out on your own, you don’t realize how much has always just been in your cabinets. You need to go out and buy all those wipes, toilet bowl cleaner, and more. Not only the cleaning products themselves, but items such as brooms, mops, brushes, and sponges. And do you want to splurge on a vacuum? You might not use these items as often as you do in the kitchen, but they are still necessities to have around the apartment. It is also helpful to coordinate the cleaning tasks and cleaning styles when you’re speaking with your roommates. Do you clean the bathroom once a week while your roommate likes to clean it once a month? Depending on this spectrum, you’ll go through a lot more or less cleaning supplies. If you’re the one who is in charge of cleaning the bathroom often, those materials might reside on your shopping list, while your roommates take care of the kitchen.

Big Electronics
Big electronics are things that likely everyone will use and that should be coordinated. Think things like TVs, fans, and printers. You don’t need more than one, especially because you might not even have the space. Consider what big purchases you and your roommates will all need and want to share. There are a lot of devices that might make your lives better. Do you want a humidifier? A fancy coffee maker? Talk this through with your roommates so you can split what you want accordingly. If you both want a printer, you can split the cost. If you’re the only one who wants a coffee maker, then that will be a purchase you make for yourself. On the other hand, maybe your roommate already has one that they can bring! See how important communication is?

There are plenty of things you need to buy to anticipate moving in with some new roommates. Before buying anything, communicate effectively so that you know what you need or do not! That way, you can split and coordinate purchases accordingly.