1 year of living alone and all while a pandemic was/is still happening.
You think that it would have sucked but, I did alright.
The obvious things about living alone, I can do anything I want in my space (this is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp) AND clothing is always optional.
Yeah, I'll admit it, I have performed Lady Gaga's Bad Romance choreography naked on many occasions. MANY.
(Raise your hand if you're not surprised.)
(I thought so.)
Poor Trigger.
There are some items on this list that you might be able to relate to and there might be things that you don't relate to at all and that's okay. I hope you get a kick out my discoveries and I hope that maybe, you'll pick up some tips and tricks to living alone.
DISCLAIMER: I tried to have my list broken down "room by room." Now I live in a 245 sq ft studio apartment so I'm working with a small space. Don't expect me to have a list for a second bedroom. Sorry! I would love to hear how you use your space though!
A list of things about living alone:
I'm going to knock out the most obvious thing that I've already mentioned,
being naked.
Yeah, I was naked for the majority of 2020. No shame.
You want to air dry? YOU GO AHEAD AND FEEL THAT COOL BREEZE ON YOUR FRESH FROM THE SHOWER BEHIND!
No AC in your apartment and you're sweating profusely fully clothed? GET NAKED!
Just don't know what to wear? SHOW SOME SKIN!
Living alone forces you out of your comfort zone.
I have always struggled with the anxiety of running errands and eating by myself in public. In college, I never went to the cafeteria by myself because I was too afraid, I always had to go with someone. It wasn't until 2016 that I started to branch out on my own (grocery shop, go see a movie, go to a brewery (My bff was the bartender though so does that count?)). Since living alone, that has all drastically changed.
Living alone makes you step out of your sanctuary in order to go to the grocery store (Yes, I am aware of Instacart but, I'm horrible at ordering groceries off of an app.)
You discover your favorite shops to visit on your own. (A Jackie's Triangle: Target, Ross Dress 4 Less and Dollar Tree.)
You'll find your favorite take out spots for solo dates (Lucy's, right around the corner from me, great burgers and excellent Boozy Milkshakes!)
If you consume alcohol, you'll have a liquor store you frequent (more than likely.)
If your wifi bill recently shot up within the last month unexpectedly, you have to call your wifi provider and take care of that yourself. Be polite, people will be more willing to help you out and they'll add on other deals to help lower the cost of your bill.
If you get pissed off enough, you'll unite with your neighbors to stop crime in the building!
Yes, I've banded my neighbors together to stop package theft!
2 months after moving into the building, I had a package stolen within minutes of it being delivered.
"Wow, Jackie. What was stolen that made you interact with people in your building when you usually just avoid talking to new people?"
My muthafuckin' Fleabag jumpsuit, that's what.
When the property company wasn't doing much to help the situation, I created a Facebook group for people to join if they were having the same problem.
(Since then, the company has installed cameras.)
This has turned into more than just a group of neighbors against package theft. It is now a group of people ready to help each other out; if someone needs to borrow something, if we all need to flood the maintenance request inbox due to another broken washing machine or just to confirm that the cops are in the building, we're all in communication.
This summer, I hope we all can sit out in the yard together and we can actually meet.
If you're a water sign (like myself) or you just enjoy bathing (like myself) then we can relate on taking great care of our shower/bathtub.
While living alone, you can upgrade your shower head and not tell anyone! (I was probably supposed to tell the properties company that I would be swapping my shower head out for a fancier one but, I'll swap it back once my lease is up.)
Having your own shower means legit concerts in the shower. (Be mindful of your shower time but every shower time is SHOWTIME)
If you want your bathtub to hold more water aka have your body completely submerged under water, then I recommend an overflow drain cover. (Obviously this can be done if you have roommates but, still.)
Bath salts and bubble baths for every season are well stocked because they will not be used by anyone else.
EVERY SINGLE CORNER OF THE SHOWER IS YOURS!
If you own a cat and you have their litter box in the bathroom, there is a deeper sense of human and feline connection when you both go to the bathroom at the same time.
If your bathroom mirror opens up to cabinet space, every shelf is YOURS! (There is a legit shelf for your toothbrush/toothpaste, specialty creams for your face, your hairbrush and any medication prescription you have, THERE IS ROOM!)
When you have a guest over, you no longer need to plan when they can shower according to your roommates schedule.
Kitchen space
No longer do you need to question if you're missing an egg or if your bottle of ranch has been depleted faster than normal.
Labels aren't a "thing" in your refrigerator, every single shelf belongs to you and YOU ALONE!
You can have as much avocado toast as you want and there is no other generation in your space to sit and silently judge you.
When it comes to dishes, YOU ARE IN CONTROL! When I had roommates, I was totally the uptight roommate that wanted every dish cleaned immediately after use. Now my dishes can sit in my sink up to two days before I drive myself crazy.
Your special beer will never be consumed by a roommate who was so intoxicated that they didn't realize that they drank your "limited release Brut IPA from Bells Brewery."
110% creative control of free space.
I'm a whore for decorating my space for every holiday. Since living alone I can decorate my entire space, not just my room!
ALL OF THE CLOSET SPACE!
Your extra free space can store all of those great boxes you've accumulated and plan to reuse as gift boxes...and other things that I can't think of right now.
If you almost have too much closet space, you can get creative. For example, I am creating a mini bar in my closet (still have a lot of work to do).
All of the DVDs that you barely watch anymore can be on display in your spare closet space
Friends, when it is safe to come over; just a heads up, the secret gesture to get "into" my mini bar closet, it's the Wonder Woman arm cross.
Psych...Its a handjob motion.
Other perks of living alone that I can't quite categorize because it is early in the morning and my parent's only have instant coffee...
If you drink coffee, you know that your coffee selection is always, hands down better and always stocked.
When you drop food on the floor, you know that it's safe.
Every month, I try to set a new PR to my electric bill! That's right, I unplug (almost) ever single wall plug in my apartment when I'm not using things! There are a total of 5 wall outlets in my studio. Current record is $20.23.
That time of the month is a whole lot easier to deal with AND if you've been interested in trying a menstrual cup, you can give it a try without the stress of a mess for your roommates to see!
You can play the same sad song over and over again and nobody will get annoyed! (Maybe your neighbors but, still!)
Quiet time, anytime.
Wow, so maybe the overall theme of this blog in particular is about having more control.
Good talk everyone, good talk.
Hopefully, I can continue to live alone from here on out.
I'm not sure how I will handle going back to "sharing a space" with someone besides Trigger...assuming I would be "sharing a space" with a "future spouse."
All I know is that he better be ready to "release all creative control of free space," unless he brings a good idea to the table...
THANKS FOR READING!!!
Thursday April, 8th @8pm CST I will be going LIVE on Facebook and Instagram (wackie_jiles) and I'll be reading one of the Filthy Millennial blogs (that has yet to be selected!) SO TUNE IN!! Tell all of your Millennial friends and non Millennial humans to subscribe and watch!