Situation #12: WHAT TO DO ...

1.       WHEN YOUR ROOMMATE BORROWS ITEMS WITHOUT ASKING – This is a very irritating situation that is usually caused by your roommate’s incapacitation for doing laundry. This situation can be dealt with numerous ways, on a case by case basis. The answer to this question depends on the item borrowed:

 Underwear:  If your roommate borrows your drawers, don’t worry about it. What you should be worried about is how you knew they were wearing them (see situation #8 – What to do when your roommate comes out of the closet – for more info).

Jewelry/Accessories: I personally do not know what to do about this as I do not wear jewelry often.  Instead of making up an answer, I will turn it over to my good friend Alice Thacker:         

                                “There are a couple scenarios to consider here. Scenario A: If caught borrowing without permission then said jewelry item is ripped from their person. Scenario B: If discovered afterward, there are two choices – 1: You sell all of their jewelry, including any priceless heirlooms, to the kid at the lemonade stand down the street for re-sell, or, 2: You ‘borrow’ their underwear, wear them for a day (two days if you’re nasty) and then return them to their drawer.”                      

Pants: Very kindly explain, “Hey, I need my pants back. I was supposed to be taking them to the dry cleaners to get the lice exterminated today.”

Shirts: This is a tough one, as shirts are usually plentiful, and people are, for the most part, generally the same size. If it is a very important shirt to you, have a stern conversation with your roommate about what the shirt means to you and why they shouldn’t borrow it without asking, and then follow that up with a stern conversation with yourself about why a shirt is very important to you.

Personal Electronics: This is the touchiest of all items. We depend on our personal electronic devices in today’s American society and culture, so it’s a little bit hard to just let those go. If it bothers you, you are 100% in the right to be upset with your roommate for this violation and should let them know this. They may not like it, but they’ll get over it, and go to the public library to surf the web like the homeless people who don’t have computers.

Expensive Things: Let’s face it. If you’re still at the point in your life where you need a roommate, you don’t have any truly expensive things.