Adult Situation: Furnishing my Apartment

So here you are, in your wonderful first apartment, all moved in and snuggled up.  But wait just one minute, look around the room and tell me it doesn't look a little something like this..

Your mattress is sitting on the floor, maybe with a box spring under it.  You have a desk, and a chair, and maybe a dresser.  Alternatively, your clothes are in plastic containers.  Your'e still using your moving boxes as storage, and fifteen to fifty percent of your furniture, rugs, and decor were left there by the prior tenets, another crew of 18-25 year olds.  Its the way of the first apartment, we haven't had time to build a collection of dish towels and throw pillows and we certainly don't have the cash to fill up our new places with new things.  It's all fun and games until you find out how much real furniture costs.

 But don't despair!  If you don't want your home to look like a serial killer lives there, ready to bolt for a country without an extradition treaty at the first sign of trouble, I am here to help you!

First Stop: Free Stuff Central

Let your extended family and everyone know that you're moving to your first place, somebody probably has a few things they're getting rid of.  Shamelessly troll for furniture with "free" signs out on the street.  In Boston, this is particularly good advice around the first of the month (particularly September) when leases end and people are getting rid of things that don't make the cut for their new places.  Feel confident about tables and other hard stuff, but mattresses or anything upholstered can have unsavory gook and even little critters that'll cause you a world of distress.  If you get bed bugs, the place may have to be fumigated, and depending on your lease you may be responsible for the cost.  I advise against street mattresses and couches. But if your aunt of friend had it and is just upgrading that's a major score.

Next Stop:  Your local Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity Restore,

Great places to get super cheap furniture, and it's usually much nicer and sturdier than what you'll find at a place like Ikea.  You'll have to really scour if you're trying to find something really specific, but remember that anything can be painted, and a $4 tablecloth can change your life.  If you don't have a car (or a friend with a car) check out Zipcar (they even have pickup trucks!) rent a truck from Home Depot, or drag your parents along next time they're in town.

Next Stop: Amazon

If you're still in school, you can get a great discount on Amazon Prime with your .edu email account.  With free shipping, you can use this to get all of the stuff you need and is particularly  helpful if you don't have access to a car.  Before I got my hands on a car, it was a huge pain to get day to day things like toilet paper, socks, ink for my printer, whatever, at reasonable prices.  In the middle of Boston, I only had easy access to convenience stores and drugstores, where that kind of stuff is crazy overpriced.  You can even shop for furniture here, you'll be amazed by what is covered by your free shipping.

Next Stop: Ikea

They have everything you can possibly need, and plenty of super cheap, basic furniture.  You can save money if you can get to a physical location, but splitting delivery or shipping fees between all your roomies can make that route affordable too.  Get any essentials you weren't able to find on the super cheap, but be warned that once you set something up, you probably won't be able to take it apart and move it to be used again.

Next Stop: Target, Home Goods, Christmas Tree Shops, Big Lots

While you probably won't have much luck here with furniture, they are great places to get decorative stuff, extra blankets, and curtains.  You're gonna want some thick curtains that totally cover your windows when you're paying your own heating bills this winter.  If you're more ambitious you can pick up the wall art, cute dish towels, and seasonal tablecloths that will really make your home feel homey

There's a lot of stuff to buy, so think of it like a process, grab the basics now, and you can improve your habitat as you find deals.  I'm going on my third year in my place, and I'm still searching for the perfect under $25 storage solution for my bathroom.  To help you out,  my next post will be a list of the cheapest things that make the biggest impact.

Some of you may wonder why I advise spending precious beer money on lame boring home items.  I certainly won't question your adultliness if you like your place relatively unfurnished.  I personally found that I often feel transient, like everything I'm doing is temporary, kind of like I'm visiting my own life. I found that filling my home with things that I use and like, really getting comfortable in my space has brought a feeling that I'm staying for a while, building the home as well as the life that I want, making my apartment a place I want to be, edging out mom and dad's place as the control center of my life.  I've even begun referring to my apartment as "home" and the house I grew up in as "my parents house."