For people who have lived alone, what did you do for the first couple of months after you moved into your own space?

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hollowcrown51@reddit

What happened to other people? Did your lifestyle change at all when you started living alone?

For the first few months I just decided to live in the space and work out what I wanted for each room as well as well as where I was going to store stuff. Learning

Lots of re-arranging of the furniture I had, buying and building new furniture, and trying it out in different places. Putting paint testers on the wall etc. Also getting the boiler replaced.

About 4 months in I started doing the actual DIY and decorating now I was more confident of what I wanted. I find the iterative process a bit more helpful than going straight in and tackling an entire house/flat in the first month.

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Qasar500@reddit

Well, you get the bathroom to yourself which might be the biggest bonus! I did start to get more slovenly over time, like leaving dishes and not washing them until the sink was getting full - never let yourself get into that cycle.

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HopeTheresPudding@reddit

I moved out in August this year and, after living with several different people over the years, the last being my almost mum and dad (long story). It was... Strange. I didn't feel at home for about a month, so I spent a lot of time pretending that I did feel at home so no one got too concerned. Mostly, I just settled into a routine that I didn't notice until I'd been doing it for weeks. Wake up at 6ish, drag myself out of bed at 6:45, oodie on, cup of coffee on the couch, snuggled under a blanket. I'd read an actual book, and at half 8 I'd get ready for work (wfh 4 days a week, so Monday is slightly different as I need to leave the flat at 8:15 for the train).

Come bedtime, and I've perfected the 'end of day tidy', putting everything back in place for tomorrow, setting out my mug for coffee and my oodie for morning snuggles. I've figured out the best time to go grocery shopping is during my lunch hour, just because after dealing with people all day, the absolute last thing I want to do at 17:30 is deal with more people. I make a batch of soup on Saturday to feed me for the first half of the week, I watch the TV I want, and I listen to the music I want, when I want. I make what I want for dinner, which to be honest sucks arse most of the time because I really don't want to cook for myself, but it's great being able to have fish without someone gagging in the corner.

You'll do great, just give yourself time and don't pressure yourself (also please make lots of plans to see people so you don't become a hermit)

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172116@reddit

It was... Strange. I didn't feel at home for about a month

I felt like that - didn't help that I moved in late 2020, having been staying with my parents since the first lockdown, after years in flat shares. I was so lonely, working incredibly long hours because there was no internal trigger to stop, and the flat smelt weird as fuck. I cried more in the first month of living alone than I had since I was a kid.

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kitten-curious@reddit

Morning snuggles with coffee and book sounds like a great way to start the day. Might try it tomorrow

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HopeTheresPudding@reddit

I fully recommend it!

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Sir-Craven@reddit

Can I just say the best life hack I ever learnt living away from home was to wash up immediately after cooking. Cook, serve, wash up, eat, wash up your plate. You can speed it up by washing as you cook.

Fuck ever having to come downstairs to a pile of washing up thats baked on and cooled. It takes less than 5 minutes to do it when you've just cooked or an hour if its piled up.

Short term pain for long term gain.

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Notagelding@reddit

5 years living on my own and I wash up when I've ran out of plates.

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LordSolstice@reddit

The trick is to only have a few plates. Some for you, and a few for guests. That way you're forced to wash them regularly.

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Notagelding@reddit

I only have two dinner plates! Few more smaller plates and bowls, too.

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Sir-Craven@reddit

You need paper plates

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Notagelding@reddit

I tried for a while but they're pointless as still need to wash the occasional pot or pan. Don't know why you got downvoted for this tongue in cheek comment. Chin up, mate

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V65Pilot@reddit

My friends think I'm evil because I buy paper plates. They are awesome for that quick snack, sandwich. whatever.

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badgersruse@reddit

The sounds neat, but don’t you like eating hot, freshly cooked food?

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Sir-Craven@reddit

Quire often the first 5 minutes is spent waiting for it to cool down. Just use that time to wash up and you're good.

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LimesAndCrimes@reddit (OP)

You are 100% right and I have no excuse to not do this. I just don't (at the moment)!

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scarletcampion@reddit

A related pro-tip is to always make sure the drying rack is empty. That way you can't be deterred by the full rack.

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Marble-Boy@reddit

Eat off paper plates and throw them away after.

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No-Sandwich1511@reddit

Yes this is key and makes such a difference. I do the same, cook, wash up and then eat. Then when I'm full and sleepy I only have my dish to clean which makes building up the momentum soo much easier.

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ChieckeTiotewasace@reddit

^THIS 1000 percent ^

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mohammedafify1@reddit

I was going out with mates after working and get home for sleeping, sometimes playing on my PS, until I got engaged and my partner moved with me, and now we're married, I took step by step so to speak.

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Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

Aw mate. I hated it. I had big ideas too like you but in reality I was bored shitless, lonely and I’d blare music all the time so it wasn’t so quiet and went out on the piss with my pals all the time for some company.

I grew up in a multigenerational household full of people then left at sixteen to move in with three other lasses when I pursued vocational training on block release. Then I left after I finished it and moved into a bedsit myself as my partner was in the RAF and we couldn’t live together till we got married. I’d always lived with other people and I’m actually just shit at being alone.

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KnarkedDev@reddit

I'm gonna be living by myself for the first time soon. Only for a month though. Don't think I'll enjoy it, but kinda curious to see how it'll be.

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UnusualSomewhere84@reddit

I got the dogs my ex wouldn’t let me have.

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FulaniLovinCriminal@reddit

I've never lived solely on my own, so when my brother got divorced and moved into his own place, I was curious as to how he felt about it.

"Well, there is one thing that's fucking awesome." He said.
"I can put something down, and days later, I can come back and it's still there. I know where all my stuff is. It really is life-changing."

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bookishnatasha89@reddit

I've lived on my own for 12 years now but the first two years were in a housing association flat after being stuck in shared houses for three years then having to move back into my parents for three months and basically living on the sofa. I assume the first couple of months were spent enjoying having my own space for the first time 🤣

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PercentageSea1212@reddit

Wanked furiously

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BoiledMushrooms@reddit

I moved out of an apartment with my ex into my parents before being independent again. First month i was the same as you, decorating and dinner parties in mind but then reality hit and 1) decorating while on a single income takes tiiiimmmee....then 2) i just wanted peace. Goblin out for a bit, then get yourself into some good hygiene habits (dishes, laundry, bins etc). Find out how you like to live, not how you lived while with others. Let the fun stuff come in time, enjoy your peace and freedom!

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Darkhoors@reddit

Haha I’m pretty much the same mate. I started living by myself 2 years ago. Found myself eating complete shit. Drinking a lot and sleeping loads 😂

But the upsides which I do still Enjoy is blasting music loudly whenever I want, and walking around naked all the time

I Love living by myself best thing ever

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1968Bladerunner@reddit

I revelled in the freedom, learned to cook a better range of meals & how to deal with utilities & budgeting, watched what I wanted on TV, had friends over to shoot the shit / play cards / drink, listened to my music & played my keyboards without the noise annoying anyone else, wandered around in my birthday suit (sorry if that's TMI lol).

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swolebucket@reddit

I'd have my music on loud for repeat as much as I wanted, I worked whatever shifts I wanted without having to run it by someone else, had friends over, went out on the piss a lot. All in all just general taste of freedom fuelled by the feeling of triumph for finally getting there and being fully independent.

Nowadays I listen to podcasts whilst doing the housework, I work shift patterns that work best for my health, have less friends over due to crappy schedules and I've started thinking about how crap I'll feel if I end up having a few.

That makes me sound really boring I know.. I did similar to what you listed but then I eventually started doing things to start benefitting future me I guess? Felt shit from crappy food and wanted to eat healthier, burnt the candle at both ends working two jobs, had some friends around then who drained my energy.

I guess I enjoyed the independence but realised that i also needed to be firm with myself (didn't realise how much having another person in the household encourages discipline in keeping the place tidy, having downtime and keeping up appearances).

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Zanki@reddit

I wasn't technically living alone as I was living in halls at uni. I got used to not having to tiptoe around. I could eat when I was hungry instead of having to wait. I could go out when I wanted, I could talk to people. No one yelled at me, hit me or were mean just because. It took my ages to get used to it. I loved it there. I hated having to go back to my mum's place.

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Lunaspoona@reddit

Got a cat. Watched tv with the cat.

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SooperFunk@reddit

Stretched out and breathed a sigh of relief 😔 😌

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Unusual_Ad_512@reddit

That sounds about right, my grand plans of living a productive, Pinterest-worthy life turned into me binge-watching shows in bed and questioning if I really need to do laundry more than once a month.

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Saito09@reddit

Watch TV. Tidy up. Experience the slow extinguishing of my light with each cold and painfully lonely day. And sometimes, eat ice-cream for dinner.

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Original_Bad_3416@reddit

Walking around naked…

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Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit

I was just sooo poooor. Slept on a matress on the floor for ??? Arguably way too long. I bought old wooden fruit crates off a guy on Gumtree then painted them with sample paint pots to create clothes and book shelves.

Relished in staying up late drinking awful red wine.

Eventually started tackling the painting, first with the very small en suite bathroom then discovered quickly that painting is hellish! And I still had to come back four night in a row after work and do more coats because shrug maybe I got crap paint???

Anyway, it's all a learning curve.

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Unable-Rip-1274@reddit

I did the same when I moved into my flat, I had no money so slept on an air mattress for 6 months before graduating to a real mattress, then finally got a bed frame after a year. It took me up until this year (5 years later) to have all the furniture I want and feel totally settled, but it was worth it to me rather than rushing to buy loads of stuff at once and not really liking it.

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Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit

I struck gold when my parents bought a new house and tore out an old built in bed they didn't want - gave it to me! But then: a huge matress is very expensive. What's free? A SECOND single matress. Alongside my existing one.

Unfortunately one was springy and one was spongy, it didn't really work that well 😆

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peachpie_888@reddit

Whether I realized it or not I did all the things that were previously interfered with by whoever I had lived with.

Put my damn cutlery where I wanted. Organized in general MY WAY. Took in the silence and lack of disturbance in a major way. Immersed myself in the knowledge that I can allocate stuff throughout my bathroom in the way I see fit, without thinking about someone else.

Bought some flowers and decorated. Sometimes just stood around with a glass of wine in silence and peace. Every time I’d been out, whether to see friends or just the shop, I took in the moment when I came home without anyone deploying the Spanish Inquisition.

And finally, ran the washing machine as many times as I pleased. Naturally all this in between building ikea and such.

My lifestyle changed in the sense that I finally wanted to be at home because it was peaceful. Otherwise very much like you, just ate like a goblin.

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Bacon4Lyf@reddit

I feel this so much, I also realised that not many problems in life are actually life or death, despite how my mum would react when I was younger. went from, "theres a problem, everyone panic and get upset", to "theres a problem, I just did a thing to immediately solve the problem, problem gone"

I also spent way more time just doing things outside when I lived alone, living with my mum was like playing a game of 20 questions any time I would want to go for a walk

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Bacon4Lyf@reddit

I was way more relaxed, I realised problems that I had when I was younger that would be full on panics from my mum and have potentially world ending consequences, didn't actually matter that much. My phone broke, so I went out and bought a new one. If I was still at home that would be an unimaginable palaver. Although, I was only away for a little while for work, so i've had to move back home now that my work in the area i moved to is done, so I'm back to the way things were

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Boof_Diddy@reddit

I decorated a bit but after a month I basically ate dinner and fell asleep on the couch very early most nights, that was until winter hit and I realised the heating was f ‘d, so I’d do the same but in the bedroom with an oil radiator on

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TorchKing101@reddit

Stopped wearing clothing 😁

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VapourMetro111@reddit

Pure goblin, mate.

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JennyW93@reddit

I made a list of all the tv shows I wanted to watch without having to wait for someone else to also feel like watching on any given evening

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anabsentfriend@reddit

I decorated the house and then spent all my time catching up on all the TV I never got to watch, eating like a goblin, and leaving my dishes in the sink overnight, haha. It's been 25 years, and not much has changed.

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gogginsbulldog1979@reddit

I loved living alone. I moved into my own place and immediately started doing monumental amounts of cocaine without anyone to judge me at 7am. It was fantastic.

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tmstms@reddit

The first place I lived in alone, the bathroom light was not working for the first month. During that time, I painted it. When the light was working again, I found I had done it the wrong colour, in fact, a combo of several wrong colours caused by there being insufficient light for me to tell. That kinda put me off decorating and pushed me in the goblin direction.

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Norman_debris@reddit

Did you only paint at night?

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tmstms@reddit

No, it was a windowless bathroom.

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LimesAndCrimes@reddit (OP)

I feel bad for laughing but I did. My heart goes out to you - the joy of fixing the light to the despair of your paint colours must have been a rollercoaster.

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tmstms@reddit

Yeah, I was very inexperienced. I kind of thought the colour of the can (as opposed to the label on the lid of the can) was the colour of the paint. I bought a couple of cans thinking they were white, but they were, well, not.

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Notagelding@reddit

Did you just need to change the light bulb?

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tmstms@reddit

Sadly no. I was waiting for the wiring to be fixed.

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Demiboy94@reddit

You're an inspiration

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cobraalucha@reddit

I went goblin and left my dishes in the sink!

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BobcatWide6344@reddit

I had to get a second job to be able to afford the rent so I used the flat to sleep and shower and that's about it lmao. Still feel like it was worth it because I was 23 and all the houseshares I'd lived in were full of parties and chaos and other people's bodily fluids and piles of washing up that they never did. Having peace and quiet and my own bathroom and kitchen was absolutely brilliant.

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Throwaway_6543867@reddit

Pissed in the sink. No one to complain at breakfast time.

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ZeldaFan812@reddit

First month or two was pretty productive for buying furniture, DIY, and cooking new things. Tbh it's fallen off a bit after that.

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NobleRotter@reddit

Gutted and renovated the whole place.

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greenhairdontcare8@reddit

I'm getting the keys to my first ever flat next week. I'm currently renting on the same estate, so I'm already very familiar with what's in each flat. First thing I am doing is getting an electrician in to rip out the electric storage heater in the living room which I have hated since the first year I moved into this flat.

(also because I know that if I move in and don't do it first thing I'll never do it lol)

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Toffeerain@reddit

I moved in by myself earlier this year and did exactly the same (except the washing up, I have made myself always do that before bed). Otherwise I had lots of grand plans that haven't actually happened: changing the flooring, changing the kitchen cabinets, etc. I just painted everything white with the plan to add colours as time went by and not I'm too lazy and used to it to change it. There is so much TV to watch!

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Sad_Emu_3413@reddit

I’ve never lived alone i lived with my mam then i moved in with my fiancé (now husband) and we’ve lived together 12 years. I always planned how i’d have my home but bills didnt occur to young me 😂. When my husband works away i love the fact the house stays exactly as clean as i left it

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