The kitchen is truly the heart of the home, and anyone who's lived with roommates has, shall we say, a more nuanced understanding of that old cliche. Kitchens feed resentment and bitterness just as easily as they produce joy and, unless you and your roommates communicate directly, you're in for a very bad time. Here are some guidelines to help you get off on the right foot.

For many people, your flatmate is the first person you’ve had to share such close quarters with who isn’t related to you. They might be less annoying than a sibling, but you won’t have parents there to mediate disputes. Here’s how to get off on the right foot with the person who will sleeping under the same roof as you.

This week we have a guy who's moving into his own place and taking the stuff he bought with him. The trouble is, his old roommates use some of those things and aren't being given much time to adapt. Is there a nice way to deal with a situation such as this?

This week we have a pair of sad dogs that aren't treated very well and a non-owner living in the same household who's concerned for their well-being. Is there a way to save the pooches from abuse and neglect?

Decluttering old or useless junk might make you feel jubilant and free, but not everyone shares that mindset. Whether it's a ratty old recliner your spouse won't give up, an overabundance of cookware in the kitchen, or a collection of weird posters your roommate hung in your living room, there are ways to compromise when it's time for a thorough spring cleaning.

Some people have problems that require delicate advice from a qualified professional. Others just need a random a guy on the internet to kick 'em in the teeth with their blunt honesty. I'm the latter. Welcome back to Tough Love.

The sponge is possibly the grossest thing in your house. I say this as someone who regularly comes home from holding a train pole and immediately eats finger food (it's builds character!), but still the sponge disgusts me. It is, by nature, a festering cesspool of germs, a wet thing used to clean dirty things that you let fester in the open while also sucking up all the bacteria in the air. The smell of a dirty sponge is one of the worst household odours, one that lingers on your fingers and leads to me obsessively washing my hands after every single sponge contact. It's like cat urine or black mildew - it's the smell of bad housekeeping.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated - in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated - in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated -- in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated -- in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated -- in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

It's just common sense that in order to keep peace in your household, chores should be split evenly between the people who live there. Whether you share chores with roommates, a partner or both, this two prong approach will get them to do more chores without a fight.

You don't always get to choose your roommates, and you might not be best friends with them, but that doesn't mean you can't build some kind of bond. Planning an occasional roommate "date night" is a great way to get to know each other and make dealing with each other a lot easier.

If you're trying to eat healthy in university, there are a lot of forces working against you: A tight budget, limited choices in the university food court and, of course, your friends and roomies. Here's some help eating well around your Pac-Man roommate.

It's tough to find the right people to live with, but over at Apartment Therapy they have come up with a set of 11 questions that should help you figure out if you'll get along with a potential roommate. Here they are, in no particular order.

Video: You may not like living with a slob, but nobody likes living with a cleaning nag either. Dedicating specific parts of your home to be either clean or messy areas will help both of you reach an agreement.

If you live with roommates, being on the same page as them when it comes to security is key to a safe home. Here are some questions to ask before moving in to make sure you have the same priorities on home security.

Dear Lifehacker, I live in an apartment with three flatmates and I suspect one of them may be stealing from me. The problem is, I don't know which one! Am I allowed to set up a surveillance camera without telling them? What are the laws around this?