Moving out of home: I can’t fry an egg.
BLOG 1: 15/02/2024
Packing to move into my first share house has been such a funny experience. Up until now, I have been living at home and in residential college where I have made one room my whole world. Up until now, I have had the best time collecting various ‘things’ to make my room my own sanctuary. Up until now, I have had the luxury of going into the kitchen, grabbing a pan from the draw and frying an egg. While sifting through my 20 years of ‘things’, not once have I come across any apparatus that could potentially fry an egg.
However, not owning a frying pan doesn’t feel like an issue right now, now is the perfect time of life to have excessive amounts of dysfunctional shit.
I have 16 paperback books and 10 hard cover books, 25 vinyl records, a turn table, a sewing machine, too many shoes, postcards to decorate my walls, 5 jackets that I love, a big bottle of moisturiser, a Himalayan salt lamp and a Jellycat called Puddles. What I don’t have, which is making me giggle a little bit, is a kitchen table, couch, rug, fridge, toilet paper, TV, spare linen (?), a first aid kit or a coffee table.
Who prepares you for this? In my final days at home, I will be incredibly grateful for the little things, a spices draw, glad wrap, a kettle, unlimited dishwashing tablets and ice-trays. God I’ll miss ice in the first few days at my new place.
On a serious note though, as a 20 year old girl with zero functional belongings to her name, I will make a list of my essentials for my first share house.
Char’s list of ‘things’ that will make life as a broke 20 year old a little bit more enjoyable:
- Coffee maker
As a caffeine addict, I need to consume a coffee within 30 minutes of waking up to avoid a breakdown. As a rent payer on minimum wage, I cannot afford a $5 coffee everyday – “1 overpriced cold brew, please”. To ensure I will be able to pay my bills each month, my Christmas Present was a Stove Top coffee maker. Perfect for delicious coffees and makes enough to share with house mates.
- A comfy pillow
Sleep is so important, especially when you’re a student. With uni, part time work, a social life, alcohol consumption and a bad diet, sleep is one thing we can do to look after ourselves. Never underestimate the power of a good pillow.
- Photos
For me, moving away from home has been one of the greatest but hardest moves of my life. Homesickness comes in waves, it’s so important to create a room with good energy to ensure your mental health stays on track. Environment dictates our mood. Print off some photos of your puppy, people and places you love and just things that make you smile. Make your house feel like a home.
- A smell – incense
That’s right, stinky. Find a smell and make it yours. Burning incense is one thing that makes me smile. The act itself means you need to stay in a room until they finish burning, it forces you to stay still and think or focus on one task. In our hectic lives stillness is essential. Incense also make your room smell delicious which is totally great.
While I don’t own the majority of items needed to fill a house, I have enough to create a space that is mine. I look forward to making the trip to the big blue box to hopefully find some ‘things’ that will enable me to fry an egg in my share house kitchen!
Ok, I move in in 3 days, so I should stop writing and get on Facebook marketplace to find a relatively clean looking second hand couch!