Moving into your first apartment as a college student can be intimidating. What do you need? What can you afford? What can you not live without? What’s reasonable for such temporary housing? These are just a few of the questions you may be asking yourself. The truth is, living in a college apartment is the easiest decorating you will probably ever do.
Think about things you know you’ll need. Lucky for you, most college apartments already come with essentials. A fridge, dishwasher, oven and sometimes microwaves and washer units are included. However, if the apartment isn’t furnished you’ll have to think about beds, tables and couches. Make a list of what you can’t live without even for a month and then fill out a list of other things you may need or want.
Everyone has a junk drawer or maybe even a junk closet full of things they don’t need or want anymore. Ask your parents, family and friends if they have things lying around that you can take a poke at to take with you.
Most households have more TVs and DVD players than they can use, so if you have quite a few around your house, see if mom or dad will let you bring one with you to school.
Have your parents throw a shower-type party and register for gifts. Places like Target have registries. Keep the requests simple, small and cheap. You can get anything from a lamp, to bath towels, to a nightstand!
Check out local thrift stores. They have an array of items to look through at good prices. As a bonus, the money you spend often goes towards charity.
Another option for cheap and useful household items is the Dollar Store. Everything for a dollar, what more could you ask for? Look for cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, toilet plungers and cleaners, wipes, and anything necessary for a clean home.
Think short term. You’re not building your first home or looking to settle down here. So make sure to go for cheap, plastic and disposable items. You don’t need fancy, just functional.
Look into neighborhood yard sales or stuff people have left on the curb to throw away. Free!
Feel free to paint or cover some of the “junk” you’ve collected to make it more your taste.
Keep track of what you collect and find so you know you have everything you need when you head off to your new place! And make sure to pack everything safely and securely for the trip wherever you are going!
Pictures by: Ronald Heft, Like That One, Lancastrian, Kevin Dooley, Pete Boyd, -leana-, and Sweet Dreams & Flying Machines on flickr.com