Most of you should know that going potluck on a college roommate is a bad idea reserved for freshman year when you’re allowed to make new friends. Even when living with close friends or relatives, conflicts can arise that will lead to strained friendships and awkward family reunions.

There is no definite or concrete way to deal with bad roommates. Some methods may work for some while others might fail, but here’s a list of tips to keep a happy college household.

Make early contact with your roommates

With Facebook, Twitter and even MySpace, it’s really easy to get in contact with your roommate-to-be. This is an important step because you can find out what kind of person your roommate is, what they like and dislike before you move in. What I personally like to do is work with them and establish rules we can follow once we move, from doing the dishes to cleaning the bathroom. You can use this as a contract you can hold them up to in case they aren’t holding up the end of their arrangement.

Nip problems in the bud

It’s really easy to ignore little problems you see brewing and think of them as inconsequential, but that could be the start of a bigger problem. It could be a couple of dishes in the sink or inviting unwanted guests on your couch without permission. It’s the start of a problem and must be addressed promptly.

If you don’t bring this to their attention, it could be a regular occurrence and your house might turn into a crack den, complete with weird strangers sleeping on dirty mattresses on your living room floor and skinny women selling their babies for toothpaste. Random example, but it happens.

Be polite and understanding

As a college student, you know how hard it can be to keep a June Cleaver-type house and work on keeping that three-point GPA, so cut your roommates some slack, not everyone is as clean as you are. So what if they keep forgetting to take out the trash or close the blinds after dark? Everyone makes mistakes once in a while, and should be forgiven. Besides, no one likes to be that anal.

Do not be afraid of confrontation

I always feel awkward or like my mother whenever I have to talk to a roommate about something they did. It’s a really awkward experience for me because I’m afraid of embarrassing a friend or making them feel uncomfortable but that shouldn’t be the case. If you have a problem with what someone did, you can either ignore them or talk to the person in question about it. If it’s someone you live with, I say you confront them, or else they’ll keep doing whatever it is that provokes you. Now, by talking, I don’t mean you should engage in a yelling match or fisticuffs, because you might get in some legal trouble and imagine how embarrassing that call to your parents will be. Uh-huh, yeah, not pretty.

You could be the problem

There are always two sides to every story and we only see things from our perspective while remaining completely oblivious to the other roommate’s feelings. Try to see things from their point of view or ask them about the problems they have with you. While this sounds like some crap that Oprah would say, I say give it a try, no matter how unrealistic it sounds, it still works.

Moving out is always an option

When you’ve tried everything, and nothing seems to be working, I say you move out. Not too many people agree with this because, finding a new place might be hard to do mid-semester and it can be a very expensive to break your lease, but I say it’s worth it. You’re a college student and already under the stress academic life is notorious for and if your current living area isn’t the safe haven you want it to be, it’s worth it to move out.