the first month

 I have to say the first night in my new place was one that already tested my responsibility. I had gone to a house party, ended up slightly tiddled and had to make my own way home and let myself into my flat and lock up by myself all while bouncing off every surface. It was a success and I’m still quite impressed I never broke a bone tripping over boxes. 

 

The first month sees a lot of adjustment. You start to live a life where you are in complete control, you have no one to answer to and just have to do things for yourself. I had always been independent when living at home, but nothing could quite prepare me for the role of sole tenant. 

There were times I would completely forget I wasn’t coming home to see my mum, or that if I didn’t wash something, it quite simply meant it wouldn’t get washed. But the real adjustment was… if I didn’t have food in the house, it meant I had no food in the house. There was no one there to do it for me. I couldn’t ask my mum to make me dinner for me coming in from work, I couldn’t rely on the fact that my flatmate had gone and done the food shopping or had cleaned some dishes. If I didn’t do it, it wasn’t getting done. And that can be forgotten about. 

I now understand why my mum was always on my back about helping around the house, it is a lot do by yourself.  

 

Here’s what I learned in the first month of living alone…

 

1)    Schedule time out of your week to do the food shopping, clean your house and complete household chores and tasks. This is so important. Living alone means household chores are down to you to complete and no one else. Scheduling out time ensures that it gets done and you won’t fall behind. A well-stocked fridge, a clean and tidy house equals a happy house. 

2)    See as many people as possible. It can be quite daunting going from going home to people, to going home to no one but by seeing people either at night or during the day, it makes that adjustment period a lot easier. 

      3)   Throw yourself into home décor. One of the best things about moving out is being able to express yourself within your house. This is something I found so enjoyable and because I was not sharing my place with someone, my flat is decorated exactly how I want. I have lots of artwork up on the walls as this is something I’m very passionate about. And if you know me, you know I am a real-life barbie, so sprinkles of pink throughout the entirety of the flat is to be expected. I found the decorating process in the beginning made the transition easier as it made my place really feel like my home, therefore I was much more comfortable.