<p>I currently live in Florida in an on-campus apartment-style dorm and there are 4 single rooms, and we have been living with each other since around late August. One of my roommates has had a thing with leaving notes like on the kitchen or on your door, which has angered me slightly. Yesterday, she had a note on the thermostat, saying "please don't keep the temperature above 75degrees. At this temperature it is like the coldest I like, without having to put a jacket on. I talked to her last night about it, and i felt like we had an agreement, that, I will keep it at 75, and when I am gone they can lower it. Then today, one of my other roommates comes back from class and decides to put another note on it, but this time put tape all around the post-it note which now completely covers the thermostat. What do I do?</p>
<p>Stop wasting energy and put on a jacket. 75 degrees- really???</p>
<p>The apartment is old, so the thermostat is off, I know that 75 isn’t what 75degrees is in the apartment, its colder than that, and I am still cold even with a jacket on, cause they like to put it close to 70</p>
<p>Put on a coat.</p>
<p>Although the above sounds like a joke reply, I am being very serious for several reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Cost. While I do not know the precise temperatures in your area right now, logic says it is probably below 75F outside. However, this could also not be a factor if it is actually the AC coming on rather than the heater.</p></li>
<li><p>Not everyone is cold at 75F. Some people are uncomfortably warm at such a temperature and can even become ill from it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My vote is that the second option is more likely. While you can put on a coat to keep warm, there is only so much your roommates can take off to stay cool. This is my personal opinion, but 75F seems ridiculously high to me to keep a thermostat at. I start sweating around that temperature myself even though I suffer through 100F+ summers every year with no working AC (read: in theory, I should be used to higher temperatures). I would prefer to keep the temperature between 55F-60F during the day in the winter so count yourself lucky I’m not your roommate ;).</p>
<p>Majority in your apartment seem to feel 75F is too warm for whatever reason. Be a considerate roommate and just put on a coat and let the others be comfortable without having to strip down naked (which might not even be enough for them to stay cool). Invest in an electric blanket or a good quality space heater for your room.</p>
<p>ok, any advice on the whole, leaving notes thing instead of confronting you? because that is what bugs me way more than the temperature</p>
<p>I wasn’t joking. The energy consumption at 75 degrees vs. 70 degrees is a huge difference. On the other hand, in old apartments, the thermostat does not always reflect accurately the temp., especially if they are not located correctly. Also if your heater is a space heater that only heats the living areas and not the bedrooms, the BR’s will always be cold. However, it is expensive to heat an apt. and maybe your rm’s don’t want the extra expense. Also, the recommended setting in winter is 68 degrees from an energy conservation stand-point. I keep the heater off during the day if I am home so again, count yourself lucky that they let you keep it at 70. You really need to make an effort to dress more warmly- sweatshirt, socks, etc. I do agree that the notes are annoying- all of you need to sit down and figure this out.</p>
<p>I understand why they won’t confront you. You sound like a psycho. 75 is too hot for most humans.</p>
<p>takeitallin: I was not calling your reply a joke. I was calling my comment “put on a coat” a joke (or, more specifically, as sounding like it could be a joke) 
<3. Please read the entirety of what I typed and you will see in context it could only be applied to what I said. Particularly since the first thing I addressed was the cost of keeping the temperature so high.</p>
<p>OP: Have you tried confronting them yourself? And done so in a calm and mature manner without throwing accusations?</p>
<p>Yes, the passive aggressive notes are not an ideal choice your roommates have made based on what you have said. However, we also do not know the full details of how the last agreement took place. It is possible your roommates do not want to confront you out of fear of how you’ll react. I am not condoning this nor saying it is 100% for sure the reason, but it is a potential reason.</p>
<p>They have confronted me before, and I never get “angry” at them, I am always pretty calm when they confront me, and normally when I get “angry” I am good at keeping that to myself and besides these minor things we get along great. The agreement happened with one of them talking to me about it, and no one else was involved in that, which is probably why it failed to solve the problem. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I promise, I was definitely not accusing you of being “angry” ;). Just saying it was a possibility since none of us were there.</p>
<p>However, now knowing it was only one person you talked with: that sounds like the likely culprit. When things like this are decided, you need to decide it with everyone in agreement. Two people can’t decide something for four when you all have equal say.</p>
<p>Definitely have an apartment meeting with everyone and discuss this like mature individuals. I will say that you are most likely going to need to compromise on the temperature especially if it is your roommates having a problem with heat. If it’s cost, you could offer to pay for the additional energy the higher temp will use? I would definitely say just get the personal heater, though. You’ll be much happier I think and so will your roommates :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m always cold, but would never even think about complaining about an apartment being kept at 75 unless it were winter (and I live in Upstate NY) AND there were some factor that made the temperature inside actually cooler than the thermostat setting. Suck it up and put on some more clothes!</p>
<p>Man, here I was hoping this would be someone with a gripe about their thermo/stat mech class. :(</p>
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<p>I feel your pain. I read in scientific America that they are developing ways to remove tape. Apparently, all you need to do is pull it off. The theory is still in the expirimental stages though, so don’t hurt yourself. :)</p>
<p>Ps. If leaving notes bothers you, start leaving notes yourself to them (example. “hi guys! I rearranged the common area. I hope you appreciate the fridge being next to the sofa.”)</p>