Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming a First Time Homeowner

I still can’t believe that the post title is true! I’m much more in my element now compared to when I first moved into my condo back in April. I think it still feels a little surreal because I haven’t had the time (or let’s be real the money) to fully decorate it the way I want. And that includes bookshelves, which still makes me sad.

Anyways, I definitely have learned a few things that I figured I would share. Maybe one of you has gone through this before or plan to in the next year or so; maybe this list will be helpful.

What I Learned

Always get a paint sample or three and paint samples in different parts of the house/ room

Even though my parents told me to do it, I trusted the paint swatch. And now my walls look more blue than a white-gray. Luckily I have very helpful parents who will help me repaint in a couple weeks.

Creating and sticking to a cleaning schedule is harder than I thought

I would love to be all adult and say that I moved in and I’ve kept everything clean and tidy the whole time. Yeah, no that didn’t happen. It’s easy to clean weekly, at least the kitchen and bathroom, but it’s more sticking to a day and time to do it.

It takes time to decorate and put everything together

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have anything on the walls or even know what I want to put on the walls. I don’t even have a place to put my books. I’ve read several articles where the person really took their time to make sure they were making the right decisions.

Grocery shopping for one and aiming for zero food waste is hard

I lived with family before this and we did grocery shopping together and split the cost. Well, between three people, any leftovers were usually eaten. I find that it’s a lot harder to find smaller quantities at the grocery store and plan a meal where I would the leftovers within a day or two. It’s been hard, but I’ve managed for the most part so far.

Being completely in control of everything is awesome. But also a little scary

I think this one of the things that I love the most about living by myself. I have complete control over everything. But that also mean I’m the sole person responsible for making sure things get paid and fixed.

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Since moving in a few months ago, I’ve had a couple obstacles and I’m still learning being on my own, but at the end of the day, it’s awesome!

If you moved into your first place, what did you learn?