Moving out and living independently is an exciting but scary venture. I’ve had a think about some things for you to consider before the move to hopefully help you out, so here are my top tips for living on your own.

Make it feel like home

Moving to a new place is the perfect excuse to go shopping for new décor. Don’t leave your room bare, or it just won’t feel like home and may be a bit of a downer. Fill your new space with things you like, whether it be new things you buy or old things from your room at home.  A great place to start would be to buy some plants; a little potted plant on a shelf will instantly make a room feel homey. Also, pictures can be good to make a space your own.

Clean up after yourself

When you’re living on your own there is no one to clean up after you. If you make a mess you have to clean it or live in it, and I wouldn’t suggest the latter. Try not to let yourself be lazy with cleaning and leave it all to build up. A bit of cleaning here and there will keep your place nice and not slowly turn into a pigsty. On the other hand, if you’re more of a leave it until it’s unbearable and then do a major clean type of person, that can also work.

Learn some recipes

Before moving out, I highly suggest having a few simple recipes under your belt. If you’re already into your cooking then ignore this, but if you were like me who could barely boil pasta then do yourself a favour and get into the kitchen and practice cooking for yourself. This will save the stress of having no clue what to feed yourself that first week of living alone and the embarrassment of not knowing how to do simple kitchen tasks.

Get to know your surroundings and neighbours

Living on your own is a whole new experience and that on top of living in what is potentially a new area can be daunting. Take some time when you move in to get to know your surroundings so that you don’t feel so lost. Once you have your bearings and have familiarised yourself with what’s around you, the place will start to feel a lot more like home. Also, get to know your neighbours. Knock on some doors and introduce yourself, or if you bump into people in the corridor be friendly and have a chat. Knowing who lives around you will make you feel not only less lonely, as you could potentially make some new friends, but also more secure. If you ever have any problems then you have people you know to help all around you. 

Budgeting

Plan your money. With no plan at all you run the risk of running out of money, which is a stressful situation that no one wants to be in. If you know how much your rent and bills etc. will be and take that away from your income/loan then whatever is left you can divide up by month to work out a budget. Just make sure to allow yourself expenditures such as uni materials, bus fares and all those fun things.