Facing problems with your roommates? Useful hints to deal with them.

Sharing a room with friends or a bunch of strangers comes with a set of advantages and disadvantages. There are certain issues that students face when they live with a "roomie". You certainly would want a solution to it.

Here are the types of roommates, the problems they cause, and the ways to deal with them...

* The Borrower:
He/she takes what is yours without your permission.
Whether it is your best-friend for years or someone you have just met, if you don't want people to take your things without notifying you, then you must let them know about it.
Make a rule that they ask you before taking things and let them know that you shall follow the same.

* The Self-sustained:
He/she does not bother to keep the room clean, wash the dishes, throw out the waste etc.
Have a word with the person, show them how difficult it is for you alone to take care of such things.
If they continue to be in their own world, then you must follow what they do. Leave things around and don't bother, although you can't tolerate the clumsiness, you have to bear with it until they realise how important discipline is.

* The Stingy:
He/she does not share any of the expenses like electricity bills, vegetables or other stationary items bought that is shared etc.
Pay half the amount for the things and let them know that you have done your bit.
If they back out each time and ask you to pay then it might be a serious issue. You cannot take someone's burden on you. You might want to have this sorted out by asking them to leave as you are paying for all the things. Because the primary reason for shifting in with a roommate was to share expenses.

* The Mr./ Miss Negative:
He/she has a very negative personality.
No matter how high your spirits and hopes are, your roommate might just be around to add some bit of negativity to the things by saying or doing things that de-motivate you.
You must turn the tables around and help them out to be more positive in life. Do not get discouraged with their actions. You know what is right and you shall stick to it. Make this your personal rule to follow.

* The Needy:
He/she cannot do a thing without your help.
Be it finding a matchbox to ironing their clothes, they need you. They need you to wake them up to study, to know their timetable etc. They are not really helpless mass of living things! Teach them how to do things and ask them to learn it and do it on their own, the next time onwards.

* The Careless:
He/she is all over the place.
You might for a moment think you are actually living with a kid!
It is their choice not to be careful about their things. So, let them learn the after-effects of being careless, by letting them fix the issue on their own.
It's time they learn and you will have to help them become more serious about things by reminding them about their carelessness.

* The Mean boy/girl:
He/she is a nasty person!
You are made fun of, teased and harassed. You must inform this to the concerned authorities and move out to other better and safer place.

* The Rebel:
He/she does not care for whatever you have to say, but rebels at every given opportunity.
You have tried to reason things out with them about the do's and don'ts, but they just don't seem to understand or even listen. So it is time to take some serious action. Let the concerned authority know about your problem so that they can give you other workable options.

These are some of the ways to deal with "impossible" roommates.