Occupying an apartment from scratch

Been there, and may be there again at some point.

Yard sales and thrift stores are the way to go for your (minimal) furniture needs. Don't load up on a lot of ornamental junk if the chances are you may be moving again in the foreseeable future. Anything and everything you acquire should be with the objective of fitting it in one U-Haul truck when you leave.

Any time and every time you get the notion to buy new furniture, call time out and think it over for a couple of hours at least. If you really need it, go ahead; otherwise you're just cluttering the joint up with junk you will eventually either have to move or let go at a loss.

I'm assuming at this point you have a small 1BDR -- if it's a studio, things change.

In the living room, a couch, end table and small coffee table should be enough.

In the kitchen, get a cheap dinette set with at least 3 chairs. The dinette chairs can be hauled in the living room for all those massive 4-6 person social gatherings you'll be hosting. (Seriously it's pretty unlikely you'll be hosting more than 3-4 people very often, if ever, but at least the capability to do so gives you incentives for other humans to occasionally visit.)

On the subject of the couch, if you ever anticipate having a guest who may want to stay over (and not in YOUR bed, heh heh) a sleeper sofa may be the way to go. They are more expensive than regular couches, even on CL or at the thrift stores, and they are dramatically heavier and more of a PITFA to move, so if you don't seriously expect any stay-over guests, you're probably better off going with a reasonably comfy couch that if worse comes to worse, somebody can stretch out for a night on.

Bedroom: K.I.S.S. Unless you (ahem) have need for a bigger bed, a twin bed should be enough (you can find 'em for $50). If for any unforeseen reason you think you need a bed 2 people can squeeze into, you can still get queen-size beds (mattress, boxsprings and frame) on Craigslist for under $100.

Then you need a couple pillows, blankets and a couple sets of sheets (wash one while the other is on the bed). A nightstand for your lamp and alarm clock, although these days you can probably use your cellie as your alarm clock. Add a small dresser for your duds and your spartan bedroom is all set.

Linens: Aside from the sheet sets described above, you will need 3-4 bath towels, 4 dish/hand towels (the ones about 12 x 24") and a 6-pack of the small (8x8) washcloths or scrub towels you can get at dollar stores (DO NOT get red 'shop rags' -- they have the consistency of sandpaper, the absorbency of plastic and the colors run like hell).

Rotate your bath towels; shower with one, use yesterday's bath towel as today's floor rug, then rotate the 2-day-old floor rug into your laundry hamper. By laundry day you should have 4 dirty towels ready to wash.

As others mentioned, check your bathtub floor surface. If it is slippery porcelain or ceramic, get a roll-up rubber bath mat from the dollar store.

Acquiring a washer/dryer boosts you up into a whole new level of 'domestic engineering.'

Yes, over the course of multiple years it is much cheaper to have your own washer/dryer than to go to the laundromat, not to mention not having to cool your heels for hours with other laundry losers, but even used units will set you back a lump expenditure of a few hundred bills which may not be in your budget.

Plus you need to have some kind of utility room setup in your apartment to hook them up (and many apartments don't). So for the immediate future I'd plan on the laundromat.

One thing to keep in mind about the laundromat is you should try to stagger your dirty laundry to minimize the number of trips to the laundromat (which means you have to have 4-5 days worth of clothes changes on hand). Every load you do at the laundromat should be near-capacity -- don't pay full price to run a half-full washing machine. Plus you have to sit at the laundromat ALMOST (not quite but almost) the same time to do 4 full loads as you do to wash three pairs of underwear and socks.

As far as eating is concerned, actively resist the temptation to stuff the freezer compartment of the fridge with pre-packaged junk food, sammitches, pizzas and stuff, which is 1) very bad for you, 2) very expensive, 3) usually packaged very inefficiently and space-wastingly (wrappers inside boxes inside boxes). Instead pick up frozen veggies and 'family pack' size packages of stuff like hamburger, ground turkey and boneless chicken.

Brown or grill that stuff and stir it into stuff like M&C, ramen noodles and rice, and you get reasonably decent size meals that are not too expensive and not horrifyingly bad for you.

On the topic of TP, buy family-size 24-packs of 'Grade B' stuff -- not the Cadillac ass-wipe but not the Ford Pinto level either. Don't buy 4-packs -- it's twice as expensive or more that way. Toilet paper is one product you can be utterly sure you will eventually use it all up.

A final footnote on TP: Squirrel away a couple rolls in some completely unlikely corner of the apartment, separate from where you usually store your TP reserve. Some late late night when (what you think is) the last roll runs out, you'll remember, and you will be glad you did.

 

Freecycle.org -- It's an on-line network of communities where people can list stuff they'd like to part with, but don't want to bother with the hassle of selling. Most of it is better than shit you'd just throw out. You can also list stuff you need. For instance, if you say Wanted: "pots and pans" someone will likely offer some.

See if there is a network in your city. If there is, you can furnish an entire apartment for free.

Better times are ahead.

 

I have found quite a bit of good-quality used furniture at Goodwill and other thrift shops over the years. Everything from beds to dressers to electronics (TV, microwave, etc.) and more. Most will even take credit cards, if that is a factor in your case.

 

Good grief. Wipe yourself with your bare hands before you resort to this.

 

Good luck, dix. And my first thought when I saw this was that a washer/dryer is far, far down on the priority list. I did laundry at a laundromat/public apt washers for more than 10 years. All you NEED is a couch/love seat, a small table to sit at and a mattress to sleep on, in addition to the kitchen necessities. You really don't need much to get by, and you can pick stuff up as you go. Garage sales are always a good place to look for good deals.

 

If you were within a couple of hours of me I'd have a TV for you.

 

Find me. Let me know what you need. Might be able to help; Ms. Slappy's aunt's family is going thru her house seeing what they can get rid of.
Worse comes to worse, I might have a day (twin) bed for you.

 

When you do buy the shower curtain -- and the vinyl liner suggestion was exactly right; it's not as though you're trying to hide from anyone -- don't forget a pack of rings. Just one of those little things.

 

Toilet paper is all you need, man.

 

Bless your soul. Many laundromats are one step above Greyhound bus stations in terms of undesirables. Some nice ones do exist and have free Wifi, but they seem to be the exception.

 

- Depending on where you are living, a portable fan should be near the top of your list.

- A free bed sounds nice, but someone is going to have to transport it to your place and then you'll likely have to deal with ditching the thing later. I'd get an air mattress that includes a pump; if you have an efficiency or studio, you don't want a big bed taking up 70 percent of your living space.

- Great call on the library card. If you live in an urban area, a bus pass is a great option, too.

 

I found myself in this same position, three years ago today, to be exact, after 20 years of marriage.

I don't have any more advice to offer than all the stuff above (Starman's post, particularly, hits it square), but feel free to PM if you want to commiserate.

I can tell you this: It gets better.

The biggest thing I had to learn was how to cook for one, and how quickly things like fresh vegetables go bad. I figured out how to buy fewer and store them better.

And I do remember thinking after I moved in to the apartment, "Fuck, I have to *buy* a shower curtain? Those things aren't simply provided by the complex or the government or something?" Before I got married, I had roommates and lived in a house owned by somebody else. At 42, I found myself having to furnish and outfit an apartment by myself for the first time.

It gets better. Spend carefully, leave yourself some money -- even if it's a small amount -- for fun and frivolity, and keep your head up.