8 Top Tips For Sharing a Kitchen
1. Talk to each other!
Get to know your flatmates! Find out who loves an early breakfast and who’s favourite dinner is a curry. You may find that you have some things in common and could even arrange to cook together and share meal plans and ideas!
2. Common space vs. Personal space
This goes for cupboard and fridge space, as well as shared dishes, personal equipment and communal ingredients. It may be helpful to organise a rota for basic ingredients like milk and butter to ensure that you’re always stocked up! Simple labelling of areas and items will help manage everyone’s expectations and make who owns what clear.
3. Clean up after cooking and eating!
Remember to leave the kitchen as you would want to find it. Tidying up will only take 2 minutes and leaving any mess will take much longer to clear up in the long run and most likely make you pretty unpopular with your flatmates…
4. Throw out food past it’s expiry date
Please keep an eye on food that you buy and make sure to throw away anything that is past it’s expiry date! Sooner rather than later is best, nobody wants a smelly fridge!
5. Take the rubbish out regularly
If this bin is full, please take it down to the rubbish area and replace the bin liner. Make sure to alternate this job with your flatmates and share responsibility.
6. Empty the dishwasher
If you open up the dishwasher and find everything to be sparkling clean, please take 2 minutes to empty it. This is where those labels will really come in handy!
7. Create a cleaning rota
Why not work out a cleaning rota? One person may be happy to empty the dishwasher every other day whilst another may be happy to take the rubbish out. Having a rota will ensure that nobody feels that they’re doing all of the work whilst others do nothing.
8. Be kind and considerate!
If your flatmate has had to run out in a rush and left a dirty bowl next to the sink, why not wash it up for them? A little kindness can go a long way and the favour will most likely be returned! This kind of attitude will ensure that the kitchen stays a pleasant environment for everyone to cook, eat and socialise in.
Remember, weekly or one-off kitchen cleans can be booked via cabenco-students.co.uk!
If you don’t fancy sharing a kitchen while at university, check out our student studios in London.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Student Accommodation Etiquette