Mom knows best — so take her apartment advice!
Whether you’re moving across the country for college or just across town into your own apartment, moving out on your own is a huge step towards adulthood. To help you prepare for living on your own, we asked Moms to share their best apartment advice. Here’s what 11 real moms had to share:
1. Think ahead
“Start picking up new decor items before you move, especially if you can find things on sale,” says Chelsy at Motherhood+Mayhem. “This way, you won’t spend a ton of money furnishing your apartment and making it feel like home. Plus, you’ll already have some amazing items as soon as you move in!”
2. Add personal touches wherever you can
“My best apartment advice for a first apartment is to hang up your favorite photos and artwork,” says Amy Smith from Amy & Rose. “The quickest way to make a space feel like yours is to decorate it with your favorite things. Hang up your best photos and add some personal touches, such as artwork you’ve created or knick-knacks you’ve collected over the years — they’ll add personality without even trying very hard at all.”
3. Prioritize your closet organization
“My apartment advice is to make sure that you invest in ways to organize your closets,” says owner and editor of Teach Workout Love, Jennifer O’Shea. “Closets are key in apartments for storage so having baskets, shelving, containers, etc. would be helpful in saving space. Anywhere that you can maximize storage whether it’s under the bed, in the closet or organizing drawers — use it!”
4. Add some greenery
“Purchase some easy-care plants such as bamboo stalks or cactuses and spread them throughout your apartment to add a fresh, homey feel to your first place,” says Whitney Fleming, ParentingTeensandTweens.com. “You can even add a few artificial plants or succulents. Also, splurge on a few fresh flowers every once in a while to perk up your kitchen counter and add some color.”
5. Opt for multi-purpose furniture
“Choose your furniture wisely — in addition to looking good, make sure that it’s comfortable and easy to maintain!” says Lauren Webber of Dainty Mom. “If your apartment is small, go for space-saving and multipurpose pieces.”
6. Identify a purpose for your space
“Think about the place where you spend the most time,” says Ingrid Read, the founder of Working Momkind. “Is it the couch, where you binge-watch your favorite shows or the bed, where you find yourself hitting snooze too many times to stay in there a little longer? Maybe it’s the kitchen where you enjoy making every meal from scratch? Once you’ve identified your space, you can comfortably splurge on that and whatever is within reachable distance of it. If it’s the couch, get the one you think about sinking into all day, an ottoman or coffee table and a nice end table for your favorite book, remotes and phone charger. Once that space is complete, everything else will fall into place, becoming your home.”
7. Don’t be afraid to incorporate pops of color
“I am no interior designer by any means, but I am very good at rooting and uprooting and making places homes,” says Domiana, retired pro athlete turned 2x bestselling author coach and healer.
“My biggest tip is to add pops of color. For example, my color is yellow, which is the color that I embody. So, find something that expresses your personality and makes you feel comfortable in order to really make your place feel like a home. Those pops of color can come from throw blankets. You can never go wrong with those. Therefore, finding cool colors that make you feel comfortable and cozy in your new space is so important. Lastly, plants make everything better. Just that greenery around you.”
8. Prioritize the essentials
“My best apartment advice is to prioritize your essentials before moving,” says Mommy Sigrid of Lovingly Mama. “For me, having a bed and mattress (with pillows), clean sheets, towels, bath products and coffee with a coffee maker are moving day essentials. These are the things I would need to take a good bath after moving in, a good night’s rest after unpacking, cleaning and arranging. Plus, the coffee will help you face the new day in your new apartment. All three: bath, sleep and coffee are my necessities for sanity.”
9. Choose your roommates wisely
“My motherly apartment advice is to interview potential roommates thoroughly,” says Jacqueline Pinchuk. “Make sure you’re a good fit for each other. Find out how clean they are, how often their significant other spends the night, preference for communal food vs. individual, division of shared bills and household responsibilities. Small things, like not having toilet paper when it’s your roommate’s turn to buy, become an important part of enjoying your new home.”
10. Work with your walls
“In order for your apartment to feel like your own — you need the walls to reflect you,” says Kathleen Tomasewski from Mom on the Go in Holy Toledo. “This doesn’t mean that you have to go spend a lot of money on expensive wall coverings. Get creative with it. Take some of your favorite book covers, book jackets, magazine covers and/or pages from calendars and frame them in white or black inexpensive frames. This will provide for a cohesive collection of some of your favorite things that reflect you and make you feel more at home in your new apartment.”
“You could always take it a step further and only include covers or images that contain a particular color scheme, say red, pink and white or navy and black. But again — remember the covers or images you choose need to reflect you, your interest and your personality. It is your space, after all!”
11. Nourish yourself
“My go-to apartment advice for when you’re ready to move out on your own is to make sure you have a decent set of pots and pans,” says Heather Wells, founder of The Single Mom Blog & Podcast. “Eating out is great but being able to cook a nice meal will not only make it feel more like home but it will help you save money.”
Because Mom said so
Whether you follow some of this motherly apartment advice or you follow all of it, just know these mom-approved recommendations will help your first apartment feel like home in no time!
Source: rent.com