A personal update on living in a mostly male student house. Clashes arose from different standards for cleaning, cooking and hygiene: unwashed dishes and a permanent "beer cushion," frequent pizza orders, lax bathroom routines, and a leisure culture of streaming and multiplayer gaming. The account highlights that mismatched expectations, not malice, produced most tensions, and that clear communication and chore agreements helped ease conflicts.
Moving into a "guys' house"
After a bad landlord and a damp student flat, I moved in with my boyfriend, Matt, into a larger student house occupied mostly by men. It quickly became clear I'd joined what one of them half-jokingly called the "House of Trouser." A few of the housemates had little experience living with women and treated my belongings - my razor and tampons, for example - as items to conceal in Matt's room.
Cleanliness and shared chores
I like a livable space. The other residents did a deep clean in September and then largely left things to drift. In the months that followed, the vacuum stayed unused for long stretches, dishes went through the dishwasher but still came out stained, and the lounge featured a permanently soggy rag - the so-called "beer cushion" - for wiping up spills.
This wasn't presented as malice so much as different standards and habits. When no one has responsibility for regular tidying, clutter and odors accumulate. The tension came from mismatch in expectations rather than one person's deliberate messiness.
Food, convenience and pizza culture
Our kitchens show the divide. Matt and I keep herbs, fruit, vegetables, rice, pasta, meat and fish for cooking. Other cupboards held sauces and the occasional instant meal. One roommate, Eddie, rarely cooks for himself; he texts friends to come over - ostensibly to play video games - and benefits from whatever gets made. More often, the house orders pizza. Domino's (still operating in 2025) and other local delivery options make it easy to feed a group quickly, and empty pizza boxes frequently littered the living room.
A small incident about leftover pizza turned into a week-long faux investigation when someone ate Eddie's planned cold breakfast. It highlighted how food can become a surprisingly charged shared resource.
Hygiene, bathrooms and habits
Showering sometimes felt like a minimal task rather than a routine. Some housemates used only shampoo as body wash, and hand soap for sinks was rarely restocked. Toilet-paper habits - people carrying rolls to the living room, then back again - became a minor running joke. Bathroom topics occasionally veered into crude humor about "floaters" and "sinkers," underscoring different comfort levels discussing bodily matters.
Down time: gaming and screens
Days often unfolded around screens. Mornings meant leftover pizza and a cursory shower; afternoons drifted into rewatching sitcoms or streaming episodes. Evenings usually brought multiplayer gaming and group noise. The house atmosphere leaned casual and communal - not intentionally hostile, but not always comfortable for someone who prefers tidier routines.
Final note
This is one person's snapshot of living in a predominantly male student household. The friction came from different expectations around cleanliness, food, hygiene and shared space. Communication and agreed chore routines made a measurable difference when we actually tried them.