Apartment Living Part 1

The Bare Necessities

A vintage Kodak camera I bought for $5.00 and an original first edition Nancy Drew book from 1930 are just a few of the treasures we’ve used as decorations.

As a girl I’d often dreamed of how I would decorate my house when I grew up. I used to think the Better Homes and Garden magazines my mom received and the HGTV home improvement shows she watched were absolutely boring and that viewing such content was a violation of my 8th Amendment rights.

I think music sounds better when it’s in vinyl format.

As I grew older I realized that there is something to be said for investing in one’s home through design and decoration. I was so excited when I first moved in to this little apartment and had hopes and dreams of what it might look like once it was decorated. After being here for four months my room mates and I have established a sparse/bare vintage look. The reasoning behind our decorating choices is finances (or lack thereof) and time.

I LOVE vintage books and have quite the collection of vintage Nancy Drew books.

Pinterest has played a role in interior design by opening up our minds to decorating possibilities we never knew existed. Reality has taught us that such artistic endeavors come with large price tags. All of the furniture we have in our family room and dining area was graciously given to us by parents and church family. Let’s just say that when you are fending for yourself, dumpster diving takes on a whole new meaning. While one man’s trash is typically just another man’s trash, you may find that you occasionally find a treasure.

A collection of vintage finds that remind me of games and toys I played with as a child.

I’ve learned that decorations are enjoyable but not edible (unless you have some type of fruit arrangement – which would just be weird) and that survival definitely takes place over decorating (although when it comes to clothes – it might be a different story . . . ) Apartment living is really just about compromise or, learning to live without.

You might be surprised (as I was) that you actually DO NOT need the following items in order to survive:

Electronic can openers (we’re on our 3rd manual can opener BUT we are saving electricity by not having to plug it in – yes, I am one of those people)
Art work (Do I want it? You bet I do. Do I need it? Nope!)
A Mac Book Pro (I’m not convinced . . . but, I’m using a PC and I’m still alive . . . )
Internet (Yep, we learned to value our local Starbucks the first month we moved in. We also learned that Verizon has a fee for EVERYTHING – I think they’ve recently started charging for oxygen use when you walk in their stores . . . )
~~Candles~~ Yeah, right! It’s the simple things in life that matter and sometimes a cheap candle can (literally) brighten up the whole room – plus, they smell good. Candle budget is one of my new favorite terms!
T.V. (We FINALLY got one for free from a family at church that was moving and gave it to us for free – the screen is flat however the rest of the t.v. isn’t. Two guys at church were nice enough to move it in for me and the price was right . . .)
Cable/DVR (I had cable living with my parents and I don’t miss it at all!)
Decorations (The few decorations we have are thrift store finds that I began collecting while living with my parents)

As children we all adored the fun song Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book. As adults we actually realize the meaning behind the song and that reality is not always rainbows and butterflies. I have learned to be grateful and enjoy the few decorations I do have and know that more isn’t necessarily better. I look forward to adding a few more decorations to my home someday but as for now I have learned that I would rather spend my money in such a way that I will receive a return for my investment. I’d rather invest in eternal things (and clothes – moment of truth here) and since the decorations will just be filling space on a wall I have realized that I don’t actually need them to live.

What are some of the things you had to give up once you began living on your own?

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