Home & Garden Moving out - Hints/tips

[Opportunity Cost]

The time has finally come where it looks like I will be moving out. I'm 19 and work full time and do Uni par time.

I'll be moving in with a mate who has just bought the house but will have my own living area downstairs (my bedroom and a lounge room).
I earn a decent wage for a 19 year old and so does he so I don't expect any real problems when it comes to money.

I don't do any washing and very little cooking and cleaning at home at the moment so that could take a bit of getting used to.

Any hints or tips for me and others making the move?

 

[THRILLHO]

Bit late now, but you should get your parents (specifically mum) to start putting stuff away for you that you'll need when you move out. Buying stuff like kitchen utensils, cutlery, pots and pans and plates really adds up and it helps if you can get second hand stuff or mum has bought it for you.

Everything in my house is second-hand or bought for me (over a long period of time) and it made it really easy.

Secondly, master about three recipes. That's usually enough when you're starting out. Then buy tupperware or keep chinese takeaway containers, make enough for four and freeze the rest for a quick meal or easy lunch to take to work.

 

[Shell]

Are you moving into a flat??? Dw about cleaning then if you are, flats are quite easy to keep clean.

Me and my flatmate usually trade off doing the cleaning each week (vacuuming, bathroom, toilet and kitchen) so its works out we each only have to clean once a fortnight, which is good imo.

Um.... if you're trying to save money all I can recommend is to cook and FREEZE. Freezing will be your best friend imo. You cook for a few hours on the weekend, you can have enough meals for two weeks.


That's about all I can think of atm. Good luck with the move.

 

[Shell]

Bit late now, but you should get your parents (specifically mum) to start putting stuff away for you that you'll need when you move out. Buying stuff like kitchen utensils, cutlery, pots and pans and plates really adds up and it helps if you can get second hand stuff or mum has bought it for you.
.

Hahaha, yeah raid your parents house before you go!!!!

I took towels, a big comfy chair and a coffee table when I left.

(And raid their house from then on for food too if you so wish)

 

[Duffman95]

The time has finally come where it looks like I will be moving out. I'm 19 and work full time and do Uni par time.

I'll be moving in with a mate who has just bought the house but will have my own living area downstairs (my bedroom and a lounge room).
I earn a decent wage for a 19 year old and so does he so I don't expect any real problems when it comes to money.

I don't do any washing and very little cooking and cleaning at home at the moment so that could take a bit of getting used to.

Any hints or tips for me and others making the move?

As someone who moved out 9 months ago, you may want to introduce yourself to the Mexican section of your local supermarket.

 

[Caesar]

I was in a similar situation (moved out in my teens, both me and my housemate working fulltime and studying parttime). The biggest hassles when you're time-poor is cooking and cleaning. These are things I did:

Made a pact with my housemate that we'd put aside a couple of hours first thing every Saturday morning to clean common areas (showers, toilets, kitchen, dust & vacuum). Was brilliant to avoid complaints about who was doing enough work and whether the place was a tip.

Got my mum to help me put together a folder with easy/healthy recipes (no shame in this, she's had 20+ years cooking well for a family with the minimum possible work).

Did a lot of cooking on Sunday afternoons for the coming week (soups, cassaroles, etc.) to avoid eating too much takeaway when I was at work/uni.

Also for other stuff... make sure at least one of you has home & contents insurance. There's countless stuff that creates minor conflict (e.g. girlfriends virtually moving in and using all the toilet paper) but most stuff you can work out as you go along. It's good to have some ground rules but housemates with a long list of inflexible requirements are a pain in the ass.

Oh yeah... if you work with your housemate (I did) make a pact not to ever talk about work at home. If you don't then it ends up taking over your life.

 

[Smoooothy]

also, get used to 2 minute noodles if you aren't already

stock up on things like satay mixes, kan tong, chicken tonight, taco mix etc - these are easy things to cook up after a long day at work or uni

find yourself a butcher, meat is around the same price, but generally of a higher quality than woolies or coles

do not get a foo-ton bed, should be able to pickup a cheap 2 or 3 seater couch for $100ish if you do a bit of research (trading post, saturday newspaper etc)

+1 for raiding the parents cupboards, if yours are anything like mine were, they have a lot of tupperware/crockery from the 70's/80's that they dont use anymore

 

[Opportunity Cost]

Some really good ideas, cheers guys. I think with him buying the house he will take a lot of responsibility when it comes to buying things. I assume he will be buying the majority of the kitchen appliances, pots and whitegoods which will make the initial move a lot cheaper for me.

I'm living downstairs so will have to furnish my loungeroom but am getting a couch and some armchairs from a friend. I think having my own living are will be good, so I can still have my own space and don't have to be around my mate all the time.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

stay home, pay board and get some cashola behind you

 

[TheLongWalk]

Wash your sheets once a week. The ladies looove clean sheets! And of course its just for general hygiene as well, but using the possibility of getting some action helps with the motivation to do it.
And if you think you might get lucky, tidy your room / house up beforehand. Helps.

Definately agree with find yourself a butcher, they are GREAT to talk too about cooking. Just ask, and they will more than likely give you a recipe, and tell you how long and at what temp to cook it. I would definately learn off your Mum how to cook a roast. So cheap and so good, especially if you feel like having mates around.
One recipe i would also get off your mum is just how to make vegetable soup. Throwing stuff out is a huge waste, and vegie soup is often the answer!
TASTE.COM.AU is your friend. type in the ingredients that you have on hand and whammo ~ it will give you a quick and easy recipe. One tip from me is to make a pie with leftovers from a roast. Just get a ceramic pie dish, put in puff pastry, the put in all the leftover meat and vegies, crack in an egg, and some gravy and bang it in the oven. Cooking aint hard, just dont be scared to have a go.
Really try and share your food and cooking together. Seperate food arrangements rarely work, and just end up with twice as much stuff going off in the fridge. Always cook a bit extra, leftovers never goes astray, or as stated earlier, freeze.
Frozen supermarket dim sims are great, as are frozen potato gems.

With regards to money matters: Put house bills on the fridge. That way they get paid. Get down to Officeworks and buy yourself one of those alphabetized document folders for all your bills, and start keeping records. If you have the room, go to one fo those second hand office furniture places and get yourself a small filing cabinet. You'll need to start keeping track of who's paid what, and just what you earn for tax etc. And get yourself a big arse wall planner, great for juggling uni/work commitments.
And write everything down that you pay for, saves arguments and its just good practice!

If your parents / mates cant help with the move, or dont own utes, I would also recomment using 'man with a van' for the move. A bit dearer, but HEAPS quicker.

Hope you both like the same music!!
Good luck with it

 

[THRILLHO]

-- Roasts are unbelievably easy to cook and then you can have roast lamb sandwiches for the coming week.
-- Dont skint on a couch and bed. This is where you're going to spend pretty much 95% of your 'down' time, so you need to be comfy.
-- Don't buy a great TV, unless you can afford it. With everyone buying flat-screens now, if you talk to people, they'll happily give you their old TV, or better yet, hard rubbish day is a great time to score one. I picked up a neat 80cm CRT off the side of the road, no remote, but buying a set-top box fixed that.
-- Talk about cleaning, dont just assume you'll both sort it out as it goes, cause it'll end in tears. Work out a roster, stick to it.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

Have a budget written down on paper, not just a rough mental one. First month when I had moved out i had a mental budget...except i miscounted the amount of weeks in the month and ended up running out of money with a week left before pay day (got paid monthly at that stage) and had to dip into my savings.

Stupid as it sounds, I literally factored in a 3 week month into my monthly budget.

 

[Gus]

Establish your dominance of the domain early. Use displays of macho-ness and aggression to assert your position as the alpha male. This ensures you will get the pick of the food and possible females. Mark your territory too, wherever possible.

 

[patsmith]

Become friends with your neighbours early. Exchange phone numbers and make it clear that if there is ever an issue they should call you first, before they get angry. A text message asking you politely to keep it down is better than a visit from the cops, for everyone involved.

This is from my recent, first-hand experiences of a young person moving out of home.

 

[patsmith]

Also, bulk rubbish collections are your best friend.

 

[rhinowce]

Establish your dominance of the domain early. Use displays of macho-ness and aggression to assert your position as the alpha male. This ensures you will get the pick of the food and possible females. Mark your territory too, wherever possible.

Hahaha also make sure you allways and I mean allways have the escort page out of the paper handy it's your best friend in times of need...

 

[St 07]

Don't pee into the bathroom sink all the time thinking nobody will ever notice, especially not while intoxicated

 

[ash_1050]

Don't pee into the bathroom sink all the time thinking nobody will ever notice, especially not while intoxicated

Or kitchen sink for that matter.

Make sure any issues are resolved early on rather than letting them fester and becoming a major problem. Work out what an acceptable level of noise is during the week and on weekends especially if either of you work irregular hours.
Don't neglect little things like cleaning, wiping down the benchtops and cleaning dishes takes all of 15 minutes and makes the kitchen look incredibly clean for the little amount of work you have put in.
Always have a couple of spare clothes horses, they always seem to come in handy in the middle of winter if there is a power blackout.

 

[Lensen]

Do yourself a favour re budgeting. Sit down and work out how much each year everything will cost you - rent, groceries, petrol, public transport, rego, insurance, power, phone, internet and anything else you're going to have to pay for - then work out how much a week you have to put aside to cover it all. Put it into an online savings account linked to your normal transaction account, so you're earning interest on it too. If you don't, you'll end up living like a king some weeks where bills aren't due only to be ****ed when six bills are all due the same week.

 

[HahnPremium]

Establish a pattern early. Pay rent late. Don't clean.
Put reminders on the fridge- of the type.."my flatmate couldnt get laid at a brothel even if his mum was paying". You know- high brow gibes.
He will be so incensed- they will forget the financials, and do their utmost to get laid.
You, with all the lazy suave "I CBF attitude" in the world, watches said flatmate bring back gash.
You are stoned, so you act aloof and nail the stray with nary an effort. Chicks hate obviousness. And mistake lack of caring with mystery. As long as you are not John Merrick, this should work. (if you look like merrick- just say your name is a fond appellation that chicks use to desribe your dick.)
Flatmate is in awe. says- " just come out with me sometime."
Refuse laconically. And ask- "what are you gonna do for me?"
I trust you are not so much of a dickwad to figure out the rest.

 

[J_Moore]

Establish your dominance of the domain early. Use displays of macho-ness and aggression to assert your position as the alpha male. This ensures you will get the pick of the food and possible females. Mark your territory too, wherever possible.

Be careful with this one. If you do claim alpha male status, you could end up spending a fortune on drinks and petrol.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Find a few stock meals that are cheap to cook. Cook them regularly and you'll impress the ladies with your mad skills in the kitchen.

Spag Bol, Basic Indian w/rice, etc...get them sorted and get them done.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

-- Roasts are unbelievably easy to cook and then you can have roast lamb sandwiches for the coming week.

Yep. Leg of Lamb with roast Vege is the easiest thing to cook.

Check your local supermarkets for reduced meat and keep some in freezer for emergencies.

 

[Brad Goodman]

If you have access to a clothes dryer, use it sparingly - very expensive to run.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

If you have access to a clothes dryer, use it sparingly - very expensive to run.

yep. clothes lines etc are excellent.