What you learn until you live by yourself
by Felicia
Congratulations, you’re living by yourself now, that means you’ve reached adulthood. Isn’t this a longtime dream, to finally get a place that you can call your own, to finally get to do whatever you want, you can decorate the place however you want it, run around your space freely.
However, great freedom comes with greater responsibility. Did you think of the consequences and the responsibilities? Are you geared up to live by yourself and clean up after yourself? Don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, or the fun sponge but here are lists of things that you will learn and have to do once you’re living by yourself.
1. Laundry
That growing pile of used clothes in the basket, that’s not getting any lesser or cleaner — you have to do your laundry. Your closet is almost emptied out and buying new clothes won’t help either because at the end of the day, you still have to wash it. Most definitely, you are going to hate yourself for having so much clothes. With all that clothes, yet you still don’t have anything to wear.
Tip: Make a schedule. Pick a day you’re most free, and decide every week or 2 of that day, is laundry day. As for not having anything to wear, experiment. There’s always something in that closet.
2. Refrigerator
The refrigerator just isn’t the same as the one at home. It isn’t filled, it’s empty, and it only stores drinks and forgotten food from last week that you were saving for the next day. You barely open the refrigerator except for when you want to drink cold water, or when you want milk for your cereal. Miscellaneous of fruits are probably lying around at the bottom, and it’s rotting away.
Tip: You probably don’t really cook, so it’s fine if your refrigerator is lacking in ingredients. With your schedule, do you even have time? But please do check the expiration date of the items in your refrigerator and throw out the fruits — they’ve gone bad.
3. Dishes
Washing the dishes are fine; most of the time, there isn’t much to wash anyway. But when you’ve just had a blown out cooking session, with dirty pots and pans in the sink. It’s a chore you hated doing when you were back home. It’s still a chore now. Honestly, washing up after having a meal is not something anyone looks forward to.
Tip: Try to minimise the use of pots and pans, plates and cutleries. Multitask and wash as you cook.
4. Toilet
The toilet needs a scrub every now and then. Never thought you’d hold a toilet scrubber and use it, until now. It won’t feel disgusting though, because you’re just cleaning up after yourself. Who else uses the toilet except for you. You know what you do in the toilet, so you won’t be repulsed by yourself.
Tip: Get rubber gloves for that extra safety, plus it’ll keep your hands from dehydrating due to all the chemicals.
5. Responsibility
You now have a long list of responsibility. The bills are not going to pay itself, the floor is not going to sweep itself, the bed is not going to make itself, nobody is going to wake you up, nobody is going to cook for you, nobody is going to care for your well-being.
Tip: Pay your bills online - set up an online banking account, schedule - make it a duty to sweep the floor at least once a month or more, habitual - make your bed once you wake up, every time until you make a habit out of it, alarm - set as many alarm as you can and put them at a distance so you’d have to walk to reach it, by the time you reach it, you’re probably already awake, take care of yourself - exercise and eat a balanced meal as much as you can.
