Tips on Living Alone for the First Time (#77)

1. The art of batch cooking – invest in a slow cooker/giant pyrex dish and cook one large meal to split across the week (saves you having to cook a new meal every night).

2. Clean a little every day to save you having to do a giant clean down for one whole day – because who wants to spend an entire day cleaning? Will help SO MUCH especially if you suffer from mental health issues.

3. It’s your space – do what YOU want to do with your space! You want that green accent wall, go for it (if you’re renting just make sure your landlord says its okay) but at the end of the day, paint can be painted over! Little picture holes can be filled in. You are the one living within the same four walls, it’s got to be a space that makes you happy. Get the duck lampshade if you want it!

4. Invest in a first aid kit and a tool box. The last thing you want to do when you’re sick is stumble coughing and spluttering to the nearest Boots, and the last thing you need to be worried about is running into Halfords when your taps refuse to turn off.

5. If you’re investing in furniture – measure that ish! Tape it out on your living room floor like some sort of crime scene photo if you have to, and for goodness sake make sure ALL the doorways leading from the street to the room the piece is going in is wide enough to fit through, because that’s a lot of money down the drain if it can’t go through the front door.

6. Speaking of furniture – FB Marketplace is going to be your new best friend! Especially at the moment where people are investing in their homes, there’s lots of lovely pieces going for a fraction of the price they’d be if you got them straight from the store. Yes you probably want your first sofa to be the perfect Pinterest pick you’ve had your heart set on, but after deposits and first month’s rent and overcharged first bills left over from the previous tenants you won’t have £1000+ left over to run down to DFS, even if there is a sale on.

7. Prepare to be without internet for a hot second!

8. Be prepared for everything to be mix-matchy for a while. Not everyone can move in to an empty space and have it looking like a boho dream right off the bat. Cultivating a flow and an aesthetic takes time – months if not years – so don’t feel bad if the colour of the microwave is wildly different from the kettle, or even the entire kitchen. You need to be able to cook more than you need everything to look Instagram ready.

9. Blankets. Bowls. Bog Roll. Have plenty available at all times.