Tips for Living with Siblings

Put It in WritingThe first rule to follow when living with your sibling is to put everything in writing. Before you ever move in together, sit down and set some ground rules. While you should do this with any roommate, it is even more important with your sibling because they are the most likely to take advantage of you because you have the ultimate level of trust in them. Write down who is responsible for paying what bills. Will you allow each other to bring friends over unannounced? What is the process if one of you wants the apartment for a get together or a date? Think of every possible circumstance you can, plan out how you want to work it, and write it down. At the end of the conversation, make sure both of you sign the form.

Allow Alone Time

Even though you are probably much closer to your sibling than you would be to another roommate, you still need to allow your sibling some alone time. You may share some common areas in the apartment, but that does not mean you need to be together all of the time. Go into your room sometimes to give your sibling some quiet time. You should expect the same back in return.

 

Divide and Conquer

For a lot of siblings, working out the food situation and the housework is often the most difficult part of living together. That is why it can be helpful to have separate areas of the house that each of you is responsible for. One of you can clean the kitchen for a week, while the other one does the bathroom and living area. The next week you can switch. As far as food goes, it is a good idea to divide the fridge and pantry into two sections. That way you can each buy your own food and eat your own food. If you want to share, that’s fine, but you should always ask before helping yourself to your sibling’s stock.

Living with your sibling can be very rewarding. As long as you set some ground rules and stick to them, you will be able to build on your lifelong relationship to make it stronger than ever.

source: renters.apartments.com