As one who fell victim to Northeastern’s housing crisis last semester, I am proud to say that this spring, I finally moved into my first on-campus apartment. Starting out my college career abroad in Rome, I took for granted what it was like to have a functioning kitchen and a living room separate from my bedroom. I didn’t realize how lucky I was until I spent the following semester in a traditional dorm room, and worse, when I spent last semester in a forced double room.
Now that I have transitioned back into apartment living, there are things I’ve learned about household care, cooking, and living in general.
- Trash fills up. Everywhere. Whether it’s the bin under your desk, the bathroom or the kitchen, you will be taking it out constantly. We don’t talk enough about how much trash five girls can produce.
- The kitchen is sensitive. A lot of things can be shared, but some things are definitely, definitely not to be shared. All roommates are different, and you may just have to have an uncomfortable conversation or two about what is yours, and what is theirs.
- Not everyone needs a chore schedule. Everyone talks about how the best way to maintain your apartment is to allot certain chores to certain roommates on certain days. I’ve found that as long as everybody does something, there isn’t much drama to be had about who took out the trash that day.
- You never realize how many extraneous yet necessary things your parents have in their kitchen until you need to buy them for your own kitchen. Spices, graters, oils and vinegars. Nope, they won’t just appear.
- Depending on how many people you live with, you might not be alone very often! Even if there is someone else home, having time to yourself is still very important. Make sure to prioritize it.
If you’re lucky enough to win the Northeastern housing lottery and secure a spot in West Village or Davenport Commons, then you will learn your own set of lessons on apartment living. But the most important thing is to make a place you love. A place where your friends come to debrief, where you can have family dinners, where you can come home and feel like you’ve entered your safe space.