Lately, I’ve been on a Big Bang Theory kick. My family got me interested in the show while I was home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The show is hilarious, especially the character of Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons. Sheldon, if you’ve never watched the show, is a narcissistic physicist with obsessive compulsive behaviors. He likes everything in his life to be a certain way and absolutely hates change.

(Sheldon and Leonard signing the roommate agreement.)

Sheldon is roommates with Leonard, another physicist, who is a little more “normal”. Because Sheldon likes things done a certain way, he makes Leonard sign a roommate agreement that not only covers the basics, but also goes into massive detail about everything from the bathroom schedule to dining options to alien abductions to robot invasions.

For example, there is a clause in their roommate agreement that details what the temperature in the apartment will be and who is in charge of setting it (Sheldon, of course).

Although this is an extreme example of roommate agreements, I started to think about my past living situations and the fact that we never developed a written or “official” roommate agreement. We all talked about specific things and mostly acted respectfully to each other, but I wonder if it would’ve helped solve disagreements we had.

And although I now live alone, I believe that a roommate agreement can be beneficial in maintaining harmony in any living situation. It could help avoid conflicts and make sure that all parties living in the apartment are in agreement on what is expected. If I ever have a roommate again, an agreement will be extremely important.

Have you ever signed a roommate agreement? Did it help?

Image from sheldoncooper.org.