The Most Helpful Survival Guide for your First Apartment

When I first moved from my dorm room to my college apartment, it was a transition I was eager to make, but it still took time to adjust to it. During my experience, I learned a few ways to make the brand new space feel like home.   

Part of adjusting to living inside your new space is spending time outside of it.

1. If You Have Roommates, Find Alone Time

Living with other people can get exhausting if they’re constantly around. Even if you’re an extrovert, it’s important to spend some time with yourself. Problem is, alone time can be very hard to come by depending on how many people you live with. There’s also the possibility of everyone sharing a similar schedule, which keeps the apartment from ever being empty. Whatever your living situation may look like, here are 15 ways to get time by yourself in your home, even if you live in a tiny apartment.

2. Find Ways To Relax In Your Home

One way to fall in love with your new home is by finding ways to appreciate it. An effective way to do this is by using it for relaxation. You want your apartment to be a place where you can shake off the stress of the day. Associating the space with the feeling of daily burdens getting lifted off your shoulders will help it feel more and more like home. Here are 22 different ways that you can wind down, even if you have roommates around.

3. Decorate The Space How You (And Your Roommates) Like It

Another way to make the space feel like yours is by decorating it how you like. Giving it your own personal touch is a reminder that this is your home, your sanctuary. You may share this space with others, and in that case, they have a right to add their own personality to the room too. It’s okay to collaborate on decorating, as long as you’re adding your own style into the mix. If you have your own bedroom, then that’s also a good opportunity to make the space 100% yours.

4. Bring Sentimental Things From Your Old Place

Speaking of decorating, one surefire way to add your personal touch to a place is by filling it with memorabilia. Things like photos of family/friends, decor from your old room, awards you’ve won over the years, a stuffed animal, art you’ve made in the past, etc. Seeing stuff like this in your new apartment can make it feel like home a lot faster.

5. Clean Regularly

Visible dirt, mess and clutter in an apartment can be a depressing sight, especially if it’s been lying there for weeks or months. To warm up to apartment living, you’ll need to clean your home on a regular basis. This means coming up with a schedule and sticking to it. If you’re not sure how to tidy up each space in the apartment, then you should look up guides and videos for every room.

6. Give Yourself Time To Adjust And Adapt

Even if you’re making an active effort to settle into your new home, it’ll take time for it to actually feel like home. You can’t rush this process, so let it happen naturally. If the unfamiliarity with the new living space makes you want to spend time away from it, try and fight that urge. Set aside time in your day for a few months to spend time in your apartment to help you get used to it. If you want to spend time with people, invite them over. If having roommates makes you nervous, try to get to know them better. Do what you need to to make your home comfortable. 

7. If You’re Always Out, Set Aside Time To Be A Homebody

Since we’re already on the topic, some of you might already feel like your apartment is home; however, you might still spend most of your time outside. While it’s great to get out of the house, doing it too often might make your apartment feel unfamiliar. If you’re new to this kind of living space, it’s important to find enjoyable ways to spend time in it. This will help it feel more cozy on rainy or snowy days when you’d rather stay indoors.

8. Organize Each Room

This tip is especially helpful if you’re a homebody. Coming home to a cluttered space after work/school doesn’t help shake off the burdens of the day. Walking into an apartment that’s visually clean, on the other hand, can instantly relieve some stress. If you’re at home most of the time, then having all of your belongings in a specific, easy to maneuver order makes all of your rooms look and feel more appealing to spend time in. If you need help making that happen, here are 11 tips for unpacking and organizing your apartment.

9. Have A Small Housewarming

After you’ve unpacked and set up your apartment just the way that you like it, you can make it feel like home by inviting your loved ones into the space! Keep in mind that you shouldn’t invite too many people or else it might get too noisy. This also doesn’t have to be a formal event, your housewarming could be a game night, watch party, dinner party, etc. Whatever will help this new space feel more like home!

10. Don’t Buy More Than The Essentials At First

When you’re about to move into a new place, the thought of shopping for it can be exciting. It’s like being given a blank canvas and the sky is the limit! Unfortunately, a mentality like that is how you overcrowd your new apartment, and fast. Instead, you have to start by filling your place with the things you need. After that, step back and look at how much room is left. Don’t feel pressured to fill the empty space quickly either. Take the time to let things naturally fill your home as time goes on.

11. Don’t Overcrowd Your Home Overtime

Even if you don’t overcrowd your home at first, it can happen overtime if you’re not careful. Before you go shopping, make a list of the things that you need and make sure it’s not too much stuff. When you’re at the store try and limit yourself to the things you wrote on the list. If strolling through stores puts you in the mood for impulse buys, then try using the pickup option to have store clerks bring your groceries to your car. You could also skip the trip to the shops altogether and have them delivered to your doorstep. 

12. Get The Right Sized Furniture

Speaking of overcrowding your home, getting furniture that’s too big for your apartment will make it feel uncomfortable very fast. It can be tempting to get free furniture from the people in your life who no longer need it. However, the stuff they give you might make it hard to simply walk around the rooms. If you want the space to feel welcoming and relaxing, it needs to feel like you can freely move around it. Opt for a couch, chairs, a bed, etc. that are the right size for your apartment.

13. Use Every Room In The Apartment For Something

When you settle into your new space, you may fall into the routine of using the same rooms over and over again. If this leaves some of your other rooms to get neglected, then it’s time to switch it up. A good way to appreciate your home is by spending your time in every room that it has. This could mean having a solo movie night in the guest bedroom, having a solo picnic in the living room, cooking a nice meal in the kitchen if you usually do take out, etc.

14. Ask For Help And Advice When You Need It

If you live alone in your apartment, that doesn’t mean that you have to deal with housing issues alone too. If you want to rearrange your furniture, but you’re not confident about heavy lifting, call a friend to help you. When you’ve been backed up on cleaning for weeks and tackling the task alone feels impossible, ask some good friends or family to help you get it done. If you think you might’ve gone nose blind to your apartment but aren’t sure, ask a friend to help you figure it out. Speaking of which, here are seven other ways to tell if you’ve gone nose blind to your place. 

15. Get To Know Your Landlord

You don’t have to be best friends with them, but saying hi and asking them how they’re doing here and there doesn’t hurt. When problems arise in your apartment that need to be addressed by them, they may show up faster for someone they know vs. someone they don’t. It’ll also help to know if the kind of person that you’re renting from is reasonable, friendly, standoff-ish, stubborn, etc.

16. Go To Events Held By The Complex

This is a good way to get to know the other people in your complex. At the very least, it’ll get you more familiar with the other faces in the building. These events could look like holiday parties, food trucks, free food, a pool party, etc. My brother’s old apartment had a d.j perform on the rooftop since there wasn’t much room for events on the ground level. These are good places to meet new friends that live right next door! It’ll feel like you’re living in a community instead of a building full of strangers.

17. Get Some Earplugs Or Headphones

When there are people living next to, below and above you, things are bound to get noisy from time to time. Sound canceling headphones or earplugs are going to be life savers in these situations. Especially if you’re trying to sleep. When I was a freshman in college and living in a dorm, there would always be stray car alarms every other night and lawnmowers howling first thing in the morning every week. In my sophomore year apartment, the ambulance siren would often blare in the middle of the night. If you can relate, get yourself some earplugs. 

18. Don’t Be The Noisy Neighbor

You know what’s worse than having noisy neighbors? Being the noisy neighbor. Mainly because it can get you evicted. To avoid this dilemma, make sure not to invite too many people over to your place at one time. Also, make sure not to blast music too loud, especially in the early morning or dead of night. Additionally, try not to vacuum in the early morning or late night either. Here’s a guide I made so that you know the best time of day to get this chore done.

19. If You’re A Homebody, Try To Get Out More

As a homebody, I get it; staying inside can be the best. However, leaving for a while and coming back can help you appreciate your home even more. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and when you get back to your apartment, you’ll be reminded of what you love about it. This doesn’t always mean socializing, although that’s very important. Simply spending some time outside, going for a walk, using the common area, or just being somewhere that isn’t inside your home is enough. This is especially helpful if you want to stay inside, yet, you’re starting to go a little stir crazy from being cooped up.

20. Learn Ways To Get Rid Of Bad Smells

This is going to come in handy wherever you live. It’ll be especially valuable to know if you have roommates or furry roommates. There are a lot of different homemade remedies for different stenches around a home. For example, sitting a bowl of vinegar on the table or counter can help soak up leftover cooking stenches. Or, you could simply open a window and turn on a fan for other musty smells. Each stink has its own remedy, so a quick internet search could keep your apartment smelling nice.

21. Don’t Cook Pungent Foods In The Apartment

Speaking of bad smells, the lingering scent of leftover food can be hard to get rid of. For example, I once fried beer battered fish in my college apartment and, thanks to the lingering smell, never did it again. Thankfully I got rid of the stink by boiling vinegar and letting it evaporate, but if I never cooked the fish, I never would’ve dealt with the stench in the first place. To avoid stinking up your apartment, don’t cook pungent food indoors; cook it on a grill outside if possible. You could also order whatever food you wanted to make at a takeout place instead.

22. Learn How To Communicate With Roommates

If you’re sharing your first apartment with roommates, then communication is a skill that’s going to be put to the test. Since you’re all sharing a living space, you’ll all have to compromise in multiple different ways. A few examples are noise level, how often you have guests over, decor, and chores.

One way to initially establish expectations is through a roommate agreement. Many colleges make their students fill these out at the very beginning of the year (mine did). Take a page out of their book and make a list of rules early on. Clearly establishing expectations and boundaries will make conflicts easier to deal with.

23. Say Hi To Your Neighbors

While I already mentioned that events held by your complex are a good way to meet and greet your neighbors, that’s not always an option. Some of you live in apartment buildings that don’t hold any events. In that case, try saying hi to your neighbors if you run into any at the elevator, on the stairs, passing by them in the hallway etc. It doesn’t have to be a full on conversation right away; just a “hi, how are you?” or a quick compliment might be enough to break the ice over time.

24. Don’t Slack When You Unpack

When you move into your new apartment, you’ll want to commit to unpacking everything. Don’t take a break for more than a day, because two days turns into two months very fast. Keep unpacking and putting things away until all of your boxes are empty. This keeps random cardboard cubes from becoming part of the decor in your apartment.

25. Make Lists Of All The Essentials You’ll Need For Each Room Before Shopping

Shopping for an entire apartment, especially if you don’t have roommates, can be a daunting task. It’s especially hard if you’re only relying on your memory instead of a list. That’s a surefire way to forget the things you need or to buy too much stuff that you don’t need. Make a list for each room to make sure you only get the essentials. This may also keep you from overspending depending on how long your list is. To get you started, here is a checklist for your bathroom.

26. If Your Family Is Nearby, “Borrow” Some Groceries

One way to save on grocery money is by swinging by a family member’s house and asking if you can have some of theirs. This, of course, only works if you have family members who live nearby. However, it doesn’t have to be your parents, aunt, cousin, etc. If you have friends who are willing to lend you some groceries, feel free to ask them instead.