After living in the dorms for 2 years, it’s safe to say I was very ready to live in a house. While I moved in fully equipped with the knowledge of how to provide for myself, I’ve learned a few things along the way, the easy way and the hard way.
1. You really are on your own (with housemates)
Your mom isn’t home, there’s no RA, there aren’t 100 people on the same floor as you; it’s just you in your house.
2. You need way more stuff than you realize
I moved in thinking I’d be set to go with my clothes and a futon mattress. News flash: there’s a lot more you need. You need Clorox wipes, pans, a shower mat, Zip lock bags, Tupperware and more. The first trip to Meijer wasn’t a cheap one to say the least.
3. Groceries aren't cheap
I can spend at least $20 every time I go to the store and that’s me shopping off a list. Twenty bucks starts to add up when you’re paying for college and only working a minimum wage job. On the plus side though, it’s much easier to stay away from junk food when you can’t afford it.
4. Your mom was right about everything
Nothing really is better than a clean kitchen. Nobody wins with a dirty bathroom. Cleaning up after yourself is actually important because that mess will be there for days if you don’t pick it up. Your mom won’t clean it up and chances are, your roommates won’t either.
5. For the girls that live with boys, the seat being down is important
I was raised in a house with only girls so when I walk into the bathroom and look at the seat up, it’s almost like the toilet is flipping me off. I know my roommates don’t leave it up to spite me, but I also know that I have to be way more cautious for a 3am pee.
6. Doing the dishes sucks
You know when you wouldn’t clean your dishes and then they’d eventually get clean because your loving parents would take care of them? Your loving parents happily let you leave knowing you’d soon understand their frustration. As much as I hate doing the dishes, it only takes a few minutes (like your mom always said) and then BAM you have a tidy area to look at and use.
7. No AC is not a joke
Depending on your summer housing situation, there’s a chance you won’t have air conditioning. This is the worst, especially with leather couches. Sometimes your best option is to sit absolutely still as to not sweat more than you already are (even when you’re sitting).
8. Anything can be a table
If your house isn’t quite furnished the way a normal house should be – you know, with a kitchen table – you get creative with the surfaces you’ve got. You can use anything as a table if you really want to. You can use your laptop (open or closed, either is ill advised), a book, your bed, a footrest, you name it.
9. While I'm at it, anything can be a chair
When you don’t have many chairs, you honestly just start sitting on stuff hoping for the best. How to make a chair in a college house: flip over a giant bin and sit on it, shut the cooler lid and pull it up to the table, sit on an ottoman or just suck it up and freaking stand.
10. Couches are plentiful
I’m not really sure how it happened, but one day I walked downstairs and we had three couches and three big, comfy chairs. I think more people just have couches readily available. No one has any tables or chairs to bring? No worries, everyone has a couch. We’ll make it work.
11. No one cares how perfectly decorated your house is
If someone comes over and gives you a series of glares that scream their disapproval, show them the door. No, I didn't model my living room around a picture from Pinterest and no, I don't care. This is college.
12. You'll always love that house
It doesn't matter if your water pressure sucked or if there was no lock on the bathroom door, that was your first college house.
A trip home is nice once in a while, but in college, we all know home is the house we have at school.
