I go to college near my parents' house and was lucky enough to save some money by living at home for three years. But I've finally moved out of the basement of my parents' house and into my first home. I am so excited to be on my own and living with two of my closest friends but I never knew what it fully takes to keep a nice, clean household.
1. Shop in advance
The amount of Target runs I have been on in the last three months is criminal. I signed my lease in January but did not start buying items for the house until May, and boy, was that a mistake. Spreading out the purchases over time would have been more manageable.
2. Take measurements
Take measurements of literally everything, even the weird things you don't think you need to measure. You will need to. And make sure you write it down in a place you can find it instantly when you're out shopping.
3. Stock up on toilet paper
You guys, humans go through toilet paper so fast. My roommate literally thought someone was stealing our toilet paper. So, find a friend with a Costco membership and stock up now.
4. Produce goes bad fast
Fruits and veggies are so good for you, but if you aren't careful, they will spoil. And they spoil so fast. I've found it best to buy frozen fruits and veggies and thaw out only what I need.
5. Freeze meat products
Meat is expensive but it's nice to have on hand. My mom taught me to stock up on meat and store it in the freezer for the days you make fancy dinners.
6. Buy all the ice trays!
If your apartment or house has a fridge that comes with an ice maker, you are living a lux life. We came to our house with one ice tray and that was a huge mistake. Grab four and you should be in a good place.
7. Central air is a blessing
And if you have central air, you're one lucky college kid. Michigan is constantly going through mood swings as far as temperature and it would have been really nice to be able to crank the A/C. But such is life. And I will survive, me and my 10 box fans.
8. Leave a light on
If you're the first of your roommates to get home and it's getting dark out, leave a small light on for them in the living room so they aren't walking into a dark house after a long night of partying.
9. Storage, storage, storage
Depending on the size of your space, you may not have a lot of room to store items you don't use every day. Find creative ways to stack and store! I really like the closet organizers at Ikea or Target and Homegoods or At Home have awesome storage units that won't cost you a fortune!
10. Plan ahead
Bills will pile up if you're not careful! We have a whiteboard up in our kitchen with important dates and the amount of money for each month for each of our bills. We have another whiteboard on our fridge for important notes, like we're out of shredded cheese or the trash needs to go out tonight.
Leaving my parent's basement and moving into my own place has been an exciting transition and I'm pumped for the rest of this year. I can't wait to turn my house into a home.
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