Latest news with #living
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
33 Smart Questions to Ask Potential Roommates
Filling a roommate vacancy isn't a decision you should take lightly. All those roommates from hell stories prove that being thorough in your search is the way to go. But if you're new to this process, we've got a ton of great questions to ask potential roommates as well as advice for how you can conduct a winning interview to find the right one. When you're interviewing for a new roommate, it's super important to figure out how responsible they are. Depending on your set-up, you might be held accountable for the rent if they don't make their payments. Get a feeling for how reliable and responsible they are with these questions. Do you currently have a job? And if so, how long have you been there? What's your current salary? Have you ever missed paying rent before? Have you ever been kicked out of a housing situation? If so, why? How long were you in your last living situation? Do you have your own car? How long are you planning on staying here? How quickly can you move in? While your roommate doesn't have to be your new best friend, you do need to be able to get along. If you're in a band and practice your music, a roommate who likes things quiet might not mesh well. Thankfully, we've got a few compatibility questions to help you do a little roommate matchmaking on the down low. Have you had roommates before? What does your normal schedule look like? Do you like pets? And/or do you have any pets? Do you have any dietary restrictions? How comfortable are you with strangers coming over? Are you more of a morning or night person? Are you comfortable with chore charts? Now, we know that asking someone personal questions can be difficult. But you can't let your fear of being impolite keep you from fully understanding the person who may be staying in close quarters with you. Feel free to use as many or as few of these questions when conducting your roommate interviews. Everyone's comfort level is different, and so you might need to know less than someone else does. Do you have a history of violence? Have you ever been charged with anything? Do you use recreational drugs? Do you have anyone who might try to find this location to harass you? Do you have any firearms? Do you have any medical conditions that I might need to look out for/be conscious of (epilepsy, narcolepsy, etc.)? Do you have any allergies? Are there any religious customs you might be uncomfortable with others not following? Related: Not everything has to be super serious in a roommate interview! Peppering in those tough questions with some easier ones like these will make your potential roommate feel so much more at ease. What's the worst movie you've ever seen? What's your best friend like? Which video always makes you laugh? What's the coolest thing that's happened to you this week? What's your favorite dish to make? How did you lose your first tooth? What's your favorite childhood memory? Which accomplishment are you the proudest of? If I gave you $100,000 right now, how would you spend it? What's that one thing you like to splurge on? Interviewing anyone is hard work, especially when something like half of our space is on the line. Knowing what to ask someone doesn't necessarily help you narrow it down. Make the best choice for you using our hard-earned guidance. Be Honest From the Start If you're honest with the person you're interviewing, maybe about how nervous you are or how difficult it has been finding someone, your potential roommate is more likely to be honest in kind. You've got to set the tone for the kind of conversation you want to have. Warn Your Guest About Big Questions Before You Ask Them It's a great idea to lead into big, personal questions with some qualifiers instead of just jumping right in. Try things like, 'Now this one's a toughie, but I really need to know the answer.' Or something like, 'Feel free to say no, but I've got some personal questions I need to go over with you.' Ultimately, it's their decision about whether they want to answer them. And the information (or lack thereof) that you get should get you closer to a decision. Write Their Responses Down Being a good listener is an awesome trait, but you don't want to rely on it when you're interviewing a potential roommate. Write the pertinent things down for all the people who you talk to so you and any other roommates you have can compare. Use Examples to Help Guide Them Towards an Answer Sometimes, people panic and can't think of what to say. If you're not getting much out of someone you're talking to, start throwing out examples. For instance, if you ask what kind of routine they have and they blank, tell them a little bit about yours. These examples from your own life should help them not only answer your questions but also get a feel for if they think they'd be a good fit. Finding a new roommate can feel like speed dating — and it may bear just as much fruit. But, the more questions you ask, the more sure you can feel about the decision you make. Kicking a roommate out isn't as easy as it sounds, so you want to make the right choice from the beginning. Solve the daily Crossword
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
How to destress your space with small changes for a calmer home
For many, a calm and tranquil home sits high on the wishlist, but often, the reality is quite different. Daily life brings clutter, unfinished jobs and small design frustrations that quietly add to the pressure. The good news is that small, thoughtful changes can have a big impact – such as moving an appliance, clearing a surface, fixing what's broken. These simple steps can help a home feel more zen. Here are some practical ways to reduce stress at home by focusing on how spaces are used day to day. No big overhauls, just subtle shifts. Finding purpose When starting any home improvement, the most important question isn't what it should look like, it's how you want it to feel. READ MORE Do you want the space to energise or calm? To encourage connection or allow focus? Too often, people begin with paint colours or Pinterest boards before thinking about the purpose of the space, but the atmosphere should come first. A bedroom, for example, has very different emotional needs than a home office or living space. One is about rest and recovery, the other might be about clarity, focus or creativity. A living area might need to transition between relaxing with family in the evening and entertaining friends at the weekend. If you don't design with these intentions in mind, the space may never quite feel right. Simplify Before diving into any design change, it's worth taking a step back and observing how you actually live at home. Track a typical day, or better yet, a whole week and pay attention to the routines, movements, and moments that feel stressful or awkward. These daily frictions are often small, but they add up. [ How to futureproof your home in a cost-effective way Opens in new window ] One client I worked with a few years ago did exactly this and made a surprising discovery. Mornings in their house always felt chaotic, and they couldn't figure out why. After tracking their routine for a few days, they realised the kettle and coffee machine were positioned directly above the cutlery drawer, so every time someone was making tea or coffee, they were blocking access for the person trying to get spoons for cereal. It created unnecessary bottlenecks and tension at a time of day that's already under pressure. By simply moving the appliances, the mood in the mornings shifted dramatically. It sounds almost too simple, but unless you stop and observe your habits, these design mismatches often go unnoticed. We get used to working around them, even if they're causing low-grade stress every day. Take on to-dos Do you want the space to energise or calm? Design by Optimise Design Sometimes the things that stress us out at home aren't dramatic, they're simply unfinished. A DIY job that was started but never completed. A broken drawer. The flickering light bulb you keep forgetting to replace. These low-level annoyances quietly chip away at our calm. Even if you've stopped consciously noticing them, your brain is still logging them as 'to-dos,' creating a subtle, but constant sense of pressure. Taking an hour to make a list and then slowly working through it can bring an immediate sense of control and relief. It's not about perfection, but about reducing background noise in your mind. And then there's clutter. It's one of the most common and underestimated stressors in the home. In today's world, it's incredibly easy to accumulate things and much harder to carve out the time to assess what's actually needed or valued. But research backs up what many of us feel intuitively: clutter makes it harder to focus, can increase anxiety, and even elevate cortisol levels. One study by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that women who described their homes as 'cluttered' had higher stress levels and a lower overall sense of wellbeing. [ Interiors: Good design is as much about what you leave out as what you put in Opens in new window ] Decluttering isn't about being ruthless or overly minimal, it's about clearing space for what matters. Start small: a single drawer, a shelf, a countertop. Create one clear, calm zone and build from there. You'll not only lighten your home but also your mind. Reflection of you Before diving into any design change, it's worth taking a step back and observing how you actually live at home. Design by Optimise Design When redesigning a home, one of the most important measures of success is whether you actually feel at home in the end result. It should be a reflection of you, not a carbon copy of your inspiration images or someone else's taste. It's easy to get swept up in trends or perfectly curated Instagram accounts, but the most comforting spaces are the ones that feel lived in, loved, and personal. Ask: does this space reflect how I live and what I love? Do I feel relaxed here? Does my family? Put your stamp on your space. Choose colours you're naturally drawn to. Hang art that tells your story. Keep the things that make you smile, whether it's a holiday souvenir, a ceramic bowl from a class, or a slightly wonky lamp that's followed you through three homes. As Marie Kondo says, surround yourself with things that 'spark joy'.
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Advocates say the goal isn't just about existing — it's about thriving at home.
Advocates say the goal isn't just about existing — it's about thriving at home. Posted 28m ago 28 minutes ago Fri 18 Jul 2025 at 1:29am
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
20 People Who Woke Up One Morning Over The Past Week And Kinda Sort-Of Accidentally Ruined Their Entire Year
person with the best seats in the house: person whose tree just pulled a Kramer: Related: person who will have no trouble hitting their water goal now: person whose cat put the finishing touches on their sandwich: person who got pump-faked by an email: person who will always double-check the dimensions from now on: Related: person whose watermelon went absolultely nuclear all over their toaster: person whose backseat is the birthplace of an entirely new ecosystem: person who got such exciting news over text: person whose timeless memories became goop: Related: person who played the world's most annoying game of Where's Wallet: person whose tiramisu turned into a tirami-spew all over the floor: person who might be slowly turning into a giraffe: person who might want to shave their lettuce: person who had a tiny little friend tell them secrets: Related: person who finally found that pesky little thing: person who got a little extra iron in their pasta: person whose bread was baked with nothing but love and blattodea: person whose rice had a little extra seasoning: the person who got a heaping helping of poop from a butt: Ain't life grand? Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds:
Washington Post
17-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Carolyn Hax: Boyfriend slow to move his belongings to make room for partner's
Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I'm moving into my boyfriend's house, and we're discussing which furniture to keep. His furniture is all secondhand, given to him when he bought the house and needed it in a pinch after his divorce. My furniture is new, and I put thought, time and money into it. I'd like to keep it.
