[David]

So I'm going to be living in a house with several other guys this coming school year and I need to know HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE? Any tips? (Especially with the food issue.)

[d4nnyb0i]

I'm off campus with 3 other buddies and we always split up groceries and cook all the time. Also, 2 of my roommates have serious girlfriends and they can both cook and clean really well =P

Since it's summer right now and I'm at school I have to rely on my own meals but during the school semesters I make a quick 5 minute drive to campus and pick up something on-campus with my meal plan. I could probably also walk there in 10-15 minutes if i wanted to enjoy the weather.

[David]

What if none us can cook? =\

[dr4g0n_l0v3r]

^That's a skill that you'll have to learn to acquire in your years of college. Just start off with like those on the stove easy cooking packets, where all you have to do is follow the instructions. Then, move onto something like pasta, where you heat up the sauce and boil the noodles. It's not as hard as it looks, but good luck to you. .

[d4nnyb0i]

well if you can't cook then... buy a george foreman grill.. best investment i've ever made.. all you gotta do is buy hamburger patties, steak, chicken breast, bacon, sausage, whatever the hell else you want and throw it on the grill... so useful

[MaC87]

make rice or instant noodle.... takeout or meal plan is more healthy though

[tian`tian]

I live with 3 other girls. And we have food problems. Where people take each other's food. Generally we each bring our own stock of whatever. But there are always instances where eggs start disappearing or butter or something.

Like they say, you'll learn how to cook slowly.

And takeout/meal plan everyday is not healthier. Living out of dorms allows you to buy and eat fresh foods everyday if you want to.

[_ambrosia]

^ How do you deal with it when people take your food? Does it bother you, and was it really a big problem for you? Would it be better to just make each person buy it each week, and share?

[tinyvietpeach]

2 words.

cup noodle.

just kidding. more like mac&cheese.............. =)

[d4nnyb0i]

^ How do you deal with it when people take your food? Does it bother you, and was it really a big problem for you? Would it be better to just make each person buy it each week, and share?

unless you really don't like your roommates then it shouldn't bother you... if it did then you are probably realllllly stingy and a hassle to live with. My roommates use my sauces, eggs, bacon, frozen foods, and instant ramen all the time but i don't care cause they're my friends and plus they don't care when i use their food when i don't have any

[Boomx2Brian]

Do hamburger helper. That stuff is easy to make and taste good too. College is a learning experience. Try stuff

[_ambrosia]

unless you really don't like your roommates then it shouldn't bother you... if it did then you are probably realllllly stingy and a hassle to live with. My roommates use my sauces, eggs, bacon, frozen foods, and instant ramen all the time but i don't care cause they're my friends and plus they don't care when i use their food when i don't have any

So it shouldn't even be discussed? lol I just want to know what to say so it won't offend anyone

[sckster]

haha like my suitemate was a very open guy so we just shared everything without really asking but we were all those close so it was cool. if it bothers you just discuss it like the first week. like it's okay to use things as long as you return it the way it was or if it's food issue then make some rules or yeah if stingy just hide it in your room ^ ^

[azzer]

Have a house meeting or something when you guys first move in to lay down the "rules." Like, split up the chores, and make sure people clean up after themselves. Establish how to deal with groceries (some people pool their money together and buy shared groceries, while others can choose to buy their own and not share unless asked).

[hamster428]

yeah, have a meeting at the beginning of the semester and set down some basic rules. don't let problems start before doing that.

about the food sharing: sometimes three milk gallons can get cluttering in the fridge so you guys can always split the grocery bills for common food such as milk, eggs, and butter. and you can do that with the rice if you're all rice eaters.
and if it's something like your Haagen-dazs ice-cream, just kindly talk to the person eating your stuff. my housemate talked to another housemate about that, and it was totally cool cuz afterward the other girl apologized and went and bought her another with no hard feelings.

cooking: i didn't really cook until this summer where i'm 3000 miles away from home. unless you're a difficult eater, your own cooking wouldn't suck that much. dumplings are good for just stashing away and boiling whenever you want them. pastas are easy. meatloafs are easy. buy those marinating sauce and try steak or something. i love the korean pear BBQ sauce haha, since i'm a sweet-eater. call home for your mom's recipes. she'll understand your amateur situation and will simplify the steps, i promise

[tian`tian]

^ How do you deal with it when people take your food? Does it bother you, and was it really a big problem for you? Would it be better to just make each person buy it each week, and share?

The thing is, with my roomies, I'm pretty good friends with one of them, the other 2, not as much.

Our apt is more like we make our food and eat it in our rooms. Pretty sad. We rarely interact too. So when food starts being taken, it does bother me. If we were close, I probably wouldn't care.

It's kinda hard to get all 4 of us together at one time, so we ended up leaving notes everywhere. We also made a schedule regarding dishes [since after a while with the "wash your own dishes" deal, we started getting "mystery" dishes that belonged to no one...], garbage, cleaning kitchen, etc.

Personally my situation makes me mad a lot, since no one really follows the schedule except for dishes and garbage. The kitchen gets dirty a LOT and I always end up being the one cleaning it. [My parents own the place, it's actually a condo] No one ever vacuums, so I end up doing it, etc.

Just try and room with clean people....I guess. Or really good friends that you know you can count on to share the responsibilities. Because even after "dishing" out responsibilities at a meeting, it can all break down pretty fast.

[ohnoitsme]

take a lot of food from home....stuff your mom cooked...that's what i'm planning on doing

[mintfresh]

You just need to learn how to cook if you live on your own (forget your roommates, just learn it). You may burn a couple of things at first but you just GOT TO learn how to cook.

Unless you are willing to pay so much of money on restaurant foods or you can ask your mom to send you some non-perishable food...but I do not recommend it.