c/crazy-roommate-stories

Used to track chores on a whiteboard, app made it worse

Back in 2018 my roommate and I split a 24-pack of dry erase markers and kept a chart on the fridge, worked fine until he moved out. Now I tried a shared app with the new guy and he ignores the notifications, so I'm back to paper but he never writes anything down. Anyone else find that low-tech beats high-tech with certain roommates?

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james_kim•2d ago

Roommate took 6 months to admit he broke my blender

My roommate Mike from Denver used my Vitamix to crush ice for his protein shakes back in February and the motor started smoking, but he never said a word until I found the scorch marks under the base last month. He finally confessed after I asked him directly if he knew anything, and he said he was waiting to see if I'd notice on my own. Has anyone else dealt with a roommate hiding damage that takes forever to own up to?

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johnson.jesse•2d ago

The Week My Roommate Decided We Were Roommates With His Girlfriend's Cat

Last Tuesday my roommate Jake brought home a cat he said he was 'just watching for a weekend'. That was 9 days ago. The cat has claimed the laundry basket as its throne and screams at 4 AM like it's being stabbed. Jake doesn't scoop the litter box, he just flips the whole thing over in the backyard once a week. I told him the lease says no pets and he said 'it's not a pet, it's a temporary guest'. I'm not mad about the cat, I'm mad about the 40 bucks I spent on a pet gate that the cat jumps over anyway. Has anyone else had a roommate smuggle in an animal with a story that got longer every day?

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elizabeth900•6d ago

Took 6 weeks to get my roommate to admit he broke the shower caddy

He left the whole thing on the floor with a note that said 'it fell.' I found the exact model online for $14 and showed him the receipt, he finally confessed after his brother visited and ratted him out. Has anyone else had to play detective just to get a basic apology?

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the_margaret•9d ago

The $75 noise machine that ended my war with the 3am gamer

I moved in with a guy who raided until sunrise and screamed at his headset like it owed him rent. Earplugs failed, white noise apps failed, even a box fan on high couldnt cover his shouting. After two months of zero sleep I dropped $75 on a proper sound machine with brown noise and a heavy thump setting. That thing sat by my bed and finally let me pass out while he lost his mind next door. Best part is I got my security deposit back because I never snapped and strangled him with his own gaming chair. Cost me less than one urgent care visit for sleep deprivation, so honestly it was a steal. Has anyone else bought gear just to survive a roommate and had it actually work out cheaper than moving?

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phoenix_carter•13d ago

Is it normal for a roommate to keep a grocery receipt spreadsheet?

My last roommate tracked every single shared item we bought down to the penny, even a 79 cent can of beans, and called me out for not logging my half of a $2 loaf of bread. I get being fair with money, but at what point does that cross into controlling? Has anyone else dealt with a roommate who treats the kitchen like an accounting office, or am I the weird one for just splitting things 50/50?

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the_jason•18d ago

My brother's 'snoop once' advice ruined 4 months of roommate peace

My older brother told me to just check my roommate's room once when he was gone, said it would settle everything. I did it last Tuesday and found a literal trash pile behind his door, like 30 empty energy drink cans and takeout boxes. Confronted him about it and now he barely talks to me, but the common area smells way better. Maybe it's just me, but I think some mysteries are better left alone. Has anyone else tried the snoop method and gotten burned?

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gray6•20d ago

Is the $20 'quiet roommate' app actually fair, or just lazy?

I found out my roommate pays $20 a month for an app that allegedly plays white noise through his earbuds so I 'won't hear' his late gaming sessions. But last week he still woke me up at 2am screaming at a boss fight, so the app obviously does nothing. Is the money worth it, or is he just using it to avoid actually talking about volume limits? Anyone else dealt with this kind of tech-based peace offering?

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masonbell•21d ago

My roommate's 'meal prep Sunday' turned into a 3-day science project

I came home last Tuesday to find our kitchen covered in mason jars full of some brown sludge, and my roommate Sean was labeling each one with a Sharpie like he was cataloging evidence. He said it was his new probiotic fermentation thing he read about online, and this was going to fix his gut issues from eating too much fast food. I didn't say anything because he's usually pretty chill, but then Thursday he got mad at me for opening the fridge and letting the 'culture' get disturbed. I get wanting to eat better, and honestly the apartment smelled like a brewery for two days, but he never once asked if I was cool with sharing our tiny kitchen for his experiment. Has anyone else had a roommate turn a shared space into their personal lab, and how did you handle it without nuking the whole friendship?

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paul346•24d ago

Hit 10 roommates in 5 years, is that normal or am I the problem?

So I just realized I've lived with 10 different people since college, and honestly I'm starting to wonder if it's me. Some were great, some were nightmares, but the number keeps climbing. My buddy says 10 is rookie numbers, but my mom says it's a red flag. For context, my worst was a guy who hid my bicycle in his closet for 3 weeks because he thought it was his, and my best was a girl who baked muffins every Sunday and never stole my oat milk. I've done the whole random roommate thing, friend roommates, even a couple who were super nice but kept a pet snake I didn't know about until it got out. So what's your count after 5 years? And if you've hit double digits too, did you ever figure out if you were the common denominator or just unlucky? Has anyone else hit a weird milestone like that and had to question their own roommate choices?

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robertgreen•24d ago

That $85 espresso machine my roommate swore we'd split, he moved out after 3 weeks

I fronted the whole cost for a machine he claimed he'd use every morning, then he left a note saying he was moving back in with his folks and never paid me a dime, so has anyone else gotten stuck covering a roommate's sudden big purchase idea?

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james_singh7•24d ago

Serious question, how do you split shared food when one roommate eats triple?

My roommate Marcus and I split groceries 50/50 for 8 months until I noticed he was eating about 3x my portion of snacks and frozen meals, so I brought it up last week and he said he thought we each just bought what we wanted. It hit different because I realized we never actually talked about the rules, we both assumed different things. Has anyone else dealt with a food budget blowup and what system actually worked for your house?

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felix824•24d ago

My old roommate's drum set took 11 months to officially leave my life

Back in Austin my roommate moved out but left his drum kit in the garage, said he'd grab it in a couple weeks. It sat there through two lease renewals and then he finally called asking if I could ship it to him in Portland for $180. Anyone else had a leftover item outlast the actual living arrangement?

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loganl22•27d ago

That $40 white noise machine actually saved my lease

My roommate started blasting death metal at 7am to "get pumped" and I was about to snap, so I grabbed a cheap white noise machine off Amazon. Two weeks in, I sleep through everything except the smoke alarm, has anyone else thrown money at a noise problem and had it actually work?

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patriciap52•28d ago

Appreciation post: my roommate's "obsessive" chore chart actually saved us

Everyone told me I was crazy for letting my roommate Jen make a color coded chore chart with daily checklists back in March. I thought it was so extra, but I was wrong. She caught a leak staining the bathroom ceiling at 9pm on a Thursday because her checklist said to check under the sink that day. We called the landlord the same night and avoided paying for drywall damage that would've probably cost us $400 each. Now I'm the one who makes sure the chart gets updated every Sunday. Has anyone else had a roommate whose system seemed too much but actually worked?

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the_riley•28d ago

Enforcing a 9 PM quiet rule was the best thing we did for our place

My roommate and I argued for two months about noise. She wanted to host late game nights, I wanted sleep before 11 PM. We finally put a schedule on the fridge: music and guests off by 9 PM on weekdays, midnight on Friday and Saturday. It took three weeks to stick, but now we both get rest and actually hang out more on weekends. The key was writing down exceptions ahead of time, like her parents visiting in June. Has anyone else tried a written noise contract that actually worked?

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drew965•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: roommate agreements are overrated

Everyone told me to sign one before moving in with my buddy in Denver, but we ditched it and just talk things out. Sure, he left a fish tank in the hallway last month, but we sorted it in 10 minutes. Has anyone else found written rules just cause more drama?

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ben206•1mo ago

When my roommate's critique of my dishwashing actually helped

My old roommate Marcus watched me load the dishwasher for like 4 months and finally said, 'you're putting the cups at the wrong angle, they pool water and smell.' I switched to tilting them face down and the weird mildew smell is gone. Has anyone else had a roommate's nagging turn out to be a legit fix?

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norathomas•1mo ago

My roommate's DIY hydroponic tower flooded our kitchen 3 times

I lost $200 in water damage to my textbooks and laptop charger when that thing burst at 2 AM last January. Mike kept saying the PVC seals were fine and we didn't need a plumber. After the third flood I told him either the tower goes or I move out, and he chose the tower. Has anyone else had a roommate try something like this without checking with you first?

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oliver_wilson49•1mo ago

The WEEK my roommate tried to start a home bakery at 3 AM

Last Tuesday I woke up at 3 AM to find my roommate covered in flour, blasting music, and baking 40 loaves of bread because she "felt inspired." She used my last bag of sugar without asking and left eggshells in the sink for three days. Has anyone else's roommate snapped and turned the apartment into a full business overnight?

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david_rivera4•1mo ago

Heard my roommate talking to her mom about how I "never clean the living room" and I realized she just doesn't see the stuff I do at 6am

Like, does wiping down the counters before she wakes up just not count if she's not there to watch it, has anyone else dealt with a roommate who assumes you do nothing because they never catch you doing it?

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sam17•1mo ago

That $50 share of a Costco run I still regret

My roommate talked me into splitting a Costco trip for bulk groceries last January. I paid $50 for a giant bag of frozen chicken breasts and a 24-pack of pasta sauce. Turns out he moved out two weeks later and left me with three years worth of marinara. Has anyone else got stuck with a roommate's Costco leftovers?

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taylor668•1mo ago

Vent: I finally figured out why my roommate's dishes always smelled like sour milk

For six months I blamed her for not rinsing properly, then last Tuesday I caught myself scrubbing a pan with the same sponge I'd been leaving in a puddle of water on the counter. Turns out I was the one growing the bacteria this whole time. Has anyone else had that gross sponge realization?

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elizabethtaylor•1mo ago

Figured out my roommate was stealing my food after 3 months of guessing

I kept noticing my yogurt and sandwich stuff disappearing, but I blamed myself for forgetting what I bought. Turns out my roommate was eating my groceries every night while I slept, and it took me setting up a cheap camera to catch him. Has anyone else dealt with a roommate who took forever to finally admit what they were doing?

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jessicac28•1mo ago

Had to choose between the quiet guy who never cleaned or the partier who left dishes everywhere

I moved into a 3 bedroom place last fall and it came down to two people. One barely spoke and left food in the sink for a week. The other had people over every night but at least wiped counters. I picked the partier. Big mistake. Turns out his 'friends' started using my shampoo and leaving beer cans in my room. Three months in I asked him to cut back and he got mad. Now I'm stuck till the lease ends. Anyone ever pick the lesser evil and regret it worse?

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