Food

In 2011, on 1st day I arrived at my first-ever shared house (I was still in university back then), I unbox all of my stuff; including food cans, and arrange them in the kitchen. The very next day, longing for a can of sweet corn, I reach the closet shelf to find that it was gone! What happened next is kinda too harsh for this blog, so I’m just gonna leave it at that!

This is obviously shared living 101! The moment you set foot there, you set clear food (and cookware) boundaries! Meaning, you say out loud that these are your things and unless someone asked you to eat them and you said yes, they’re not to come near them. So, you start by labeling your refrigerator shelves, choosing a kitchen closet (a shelf in a closet will do), cleaning it, labeling it, and arranging all of your stuff there. 

Back to you, it’s all about what you can and can’t tolerate, and how you feel about your stuff (some with more proprietary characters than others). Also depends on your financial and grocery shopping situation. 

When it comes to shared meals, these are some suggested arrangements to be considered:

• Some ladies have this motherly persona and love to cook literally for everyone. If you’re cool with that, let them, but you need to contribute in other ways: groceries for the meal, money, cleaning and washing the dishes after…etc.
• Other flatmates appreciate a meal together once a week or a month; (just make sure that this is what you want and you’re not being pressured or guilt-tripped to do it in any way); because god knows I have!
• Another arrangement would be rotations. Each takes a turn to cook for everyone.

If you’re a solo eater like myself, just prep and cook your own meals, and eat alone.

Keep in mind that there is no right way to do this and that people usually try to influence you to do what they want and need (external influencers) and you are to decide if that aligns with what you want to do or not! Remember, boundaries!

Finally, your cookware and Tupperware. For me, I’m very gentle with my cookware, and I choose my Tupperware carefully, so, of course, I’m not going to share! But again, you might feel different, totally cool! Just know what you want and stick to it, AKA, set boundaries!