How to Split with a Roommate the Right Way

After five years of entangling dishes, décor and our lives in general, my roommate and I are moving out from our gorgeous Camden Fourth Ward apartment and onto our own adventures. Our friendship is rock solid, but our career paths have us on opposite sides of town; hence the big move coming up in just two short months. If you have a roommate, you have woven a home together with then this post is for you. Here’s how we’re splitting the right way:

1. Know what belongs to you:

The easiest way for conflict to start during a move is not knowing what belongs to who. Your roommate thinks that white blanket is hers, and you distinctly remember your Aunt gifting it to you three Christmases ago. If you keep track of your stuff, this fight will never happen. Know what belongs to you. Prepare for your moving day by doing a clean out of your shared spaces and dividing your things. There will be no day of panic and you’ll know exactly what goes in which box. Prepare for this way in advance by taking advantage of extra storage spaces, like the patio storage closets at Camden Dunwoody, to keep certain things separated.

Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash

2. Clean out what's not coming with you:

If you know something isn’t coming with you when you move or that it doesn’t have a place in your new home, but it’s cluttering your current space, get rid of it! Don’t burden yourself, your roommate, or the people helping you move by holding on to things you don’t need. For any move there should be a decluttering like this but especially when you’re splitting with a roommate. You’re diving two people’s worth of things; any extras are just in the way.

Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash

3. Respect what’s of value to your roommate:

If there is something that you’re planning on tossing before you get to your new place, make sure it’s not important to your roommate. For example, a piece of décor or a kitchen tool that is technically yours but has become their favorite/most used item. If you’re not keeping it, why not offer it to them and give it a home in their new Camden apartment where it’s wanted and needed.

Photo by Jeremy Cai on Unsplash

4. Be honest about your goals:

Moving out after so many years can be a tight rope walk. Be honest with your roommate about why this is the right time for you to move on. Being clear with something like “this commute is getting to be too much for me” or “I think it’s important that I live alone before I settled down” show your roommate that it’s not a statement on them or their qualities as a roommate, it’s about your needs and your future.

5. Celebrate your time together and plan:

This is the end of an era! Make sure to mark your time together with a celebration. Whether it be a dinner just the two of you to toast to your shared home or a party to say goodbye to a space that you loved. Celebrate the friendship and memories of your home. And before you get too far out the door, be sure to make plans for how you’re going to keep up with one another when you’re no longer 10 feet apart every night.Plan to spend time together or to call each other before the move out happens so you’re not worried about that split being too hard.

Photo by Kelsey Chance on Unsplash

Do you have other concerns about roommates? Take a look at this blog about deciding whether or not to have a roommate or this one about surviving and thriving during roommate conflicts.