The locker room. It’s that large, sometimes smelly room located within gyms and within schools. In addition to a multitude of lockers and bathrooms, a locker room may contain incredibly confident nude senior citizens and sometimes even youngsters.

Please avoid being one of those people. Quickly dressing into or out of gym clothes or a uniform, grabbing necessary equipment, and heading out seems like an impossible task to some. But with this guide to behaving like a decent human being while in a locker room, it is very possible.

DON’T’S…

• Don’t take each and every one of your body washes, exfoliators, creams, and hair brushes out of your gym bag and lay them out across a bench, ladies! Unless you are responsible for each location managers, trainers, and janitors paycheck, you do not own the place. I, for one, definitely understand the need for all those pampering products and items, but whether we like it or not, the space of others must be respected. Here’s a tip: bring an individual bag for your shower items. It’ll be easier to carry them, and your body-scrub bottle won’t slip out of your loaded and quivering arms as you head towards the showers.
• Don’t shower with the curtain wide (or even halfway) open. While you’re in the shower, make sure to close the curtain 110%. I know I speak for many men and women when I say we do not wish to peek at your private parts as you shampoo your hair.
• Don’t play music out loud. The locker room is not your car. There is already music playing out of the gym speakers. If your headphones are a hassle while getting dressed, wait until you’re out of there to jam out. Elgin Community College’s (ECC) Spartan and softball player, Samantha Daniszewski, irritatingly said, “I seriously don’t like when girls play their music out loud in the locker room.” It is not likely that many of the middle aged individuals want to hear Rihanna mumble “work” repeatedly or listen to Nicki Minaj talk about the consumption of body parts as if they were cupcakes.
• Don’t spit your gum (or your saliva) out into urinals and water fountains, gentlemen! When asked about his locker room pet peeves, Alven Georges, player for Assyrian soccer team, Shlama Fc,told a source, “I hate when guys spit their gum into a urinal.” Well, boys, not many people in their right mind would take a leak into a trashcan, so avoid spitting your chewed up Trident pieces into urinals. “If I see gum in a urinal”, he continued, “I will go out of my way to find and use a cleaner one.”
• Don’t make eye contact with someone strutting around in his or her birthday suit. Awkward. Oh, and no matter how confident you feel after pushing through all of that exercise, don’t be that individual who is walking around nude either. (Refer to DON’T number 2)

DO’S…

• Do wear deodorant. This is not an option. This is a way of life. Unless you desire to give off a stench that says, “I haven’t showered in four days!” please wear deodorant.
• Do wear flip-flops, sandals, or heck, even crocs! Especially in the shower. Hygiene people, hygiene! Your feet appear a lot less gross when they don’t look as if they’ve contracted something deadly from a locker room floor.
• Do wipe your sweaty foreheads with your shirts on your way into the locker room, gentlemen. If you’ve been working hard on sculpting your bod, you absolutely deserve to lift up and use whatever available item is right in your presence (in this case, your shirt) to wipe that dazzling sweat right off. And take your time.
• Do bring a lock to keep your items safe. ECC’s softball Spartan also happens to be employed at L.A. Fitness. And when asked about responsibilities of the gym, Daniszewski confirmed that most gyms have warnings about the loss of personal belongings posted in various places. “People will steal your things,” she said. “Bring a lock to the gym!”
• Do keep it clean and tidy. Yes, most individuals must pay in order to be able to use a gym if it isn’t a part of their university. However, respecting the space of others and remembering that the locker room is not your personal bathroom is key to keeping your area and relationships with colleagues clean.

Now that you’ve read through the guide of proper locker room etiquette, you know how to avoid awkward situations such as running into professor Smith in your birthday suit. It takes only a few seconds to put your pants on.