Renovations

So I am trying to make the most of my studio apartment on my small budget.  I've done the research and have gotten as far as trip to Home Depot for some paint.  I've never actually painted anything outside of art class before.  If my parents ever painted they never let me help so I felt a little lost in a big store not really knowing what I wanted and a vague idea of what I should get.  I settled for a light whitish blue color but on later thought, I realized I drilled some holes into the wall and may need to smooth that out.  There's a perfect corner bookcase I want from target.com but it's gone up another $30 to $199 and somehow $200 seems less justifiable than $170. 

I wasn't going to be so head-on about redoing my place but I'm getting a cat soon and I wanted all of the place good & done before I got her.  She's a barn cat that my parents have and I want to give her a good home.  She's also very skittish so I want to ready my apartment and make life as comfy as possible while also being a place I want to live.  I've lived here for 2 years telling myself "I'll get somewhere bigger next year."  But this is the easiest and most affordable arrangement I have right now.  I'm blocks away from anything I need including work so I don't even have to pay $90/mo for transit.  Other places I've looked at aren't any better for the price.  So while I would love a small porch area to sit outside, I'm just gonna have to deal with leaving the windows open til I have a job that pays me like a real adult.

In the mean time I'm going to be pushing myself to be financially responsible.  It's gonna be a pain because my work schedule is all over the place and doesn't allow me to get a second job.  On the plus side, I really enjoy what I do and so I'm just going to have to be fiscally conservative for probably the next 2 years until I pay off my credit cards, get a handle on my student loans, pay off all my medical bills and finally have a small savings account. 

For my apartment renovations I intend to take pictures and show my progress and ideas of improvement.  The problem with all the "small spaces" I read about is that they make the pictures look pretty & organized but unless you own 2 pair of socks and some tupperware, it's not realistic for people with stuff.  I constantly try to get rid of things and I intend to spend the week getting rid of books and random things I just don't need.  With some creativity this place has a lot of potential.  There's a nice amount of space for a studio but this is going to take some time because I can't just drop $3000 to do all the things I want.  So baby steps.  I took an $80 trip to home depot this week and I will get my $200 corner cabinet from my next pay check.  I already have some items I bought from IKEA and my mom got me a really awesome table who's "chairs" double perfectly as a corner table near my couch and a night stand.  The place is kinda dark so I'm going to need a floor lamp.  Ideally I'd get a new bed set that I found on amazon.com but exchanging that for the futon my parents got me sophomore year of high school is going to run me around $500 even if I use the "mattress" that came with the futon. Otherwise I'd be out at least another $500.

I've realized that the most important step I need to take in starting this process is knowing where my stuff is.  That may sounds odd but it's true.  I put things where they fit and cram things where I use them.  But if I got rid of stuff I know I don't need (clothes, books, and things that just sit there for no reason) then I can assess where I cram things.  For example, I always have the same hair products sitting out in my bathroom because I use them everyday.  It's dawned on me that the point of organizing isn't because you're putting things where you think they look best (which I used to do only to have everything look messy again a week later), but to make the things you use look as nice as possible.  With that in mind I realize that being a girl most of my stuff is hair items, clothes, makeup and various bathroom products.  The point of the corner bookshelf in my living rooms space is that by the time I went through everything, I could fit all my movies, books and various documents on 1 bookcase.  This would make everything look much neater and less spread out throughout my apartment.  Then the second challenge is kitchen stuff.  My mom also got me new dishes and silverware.  I have some wine glasses but little room for actual food, which I don't need a ton of living by myself.  So all my food, whether it needs to be or not, is usually in my fridge.  I always get the question "Why is [nonperishable food item] in your fridge?"  My response?  "Well where else am I gonna put it?"  One glance at my kitchen space usually justifies that answer.

So later this week (hopefully Thursday), I will post pictures of my space because I'm sure you're thrilled to see the messy habitat of a 24 year old.