I realized I have no idea how to sort laundry. I can wash it just fine, but the line between colors and whites is blurred for me. Especially when it comes to underwear. Also, I never realized how much of a slob I was until after I moved out.
Focus: My mom's work is easily accessible from my first apartment, so for the first year of living with room mates, I used to bike a sack of laundry to her work that she would wash at their house, neatly fold, and deliver back to me in a timely fashion. I also had (and still have) her buy me cheap lunch meats and vegetables/fruits at the European deli by their house rather than pay god damn $8 a pound for mediocre ham at jewel. Same goes for my exploitation of their costco membership. Luckily, I now know how to do laundry. Let me give you the breakdown, if you aren't sure, on how to do 90% of the average guy's casual laundry (not applicable to fancy materials, brand new clothing, and formal wear): 1) separate darks and lights, or even by colors if you have that much fucking shit to wash 2) if the majority of the tags say cold water, use cold, or vice versa. 3) Throw in a capful of detergent while the washer fills up. Oxyclean is pretty nice, too. 4) tumble dry unless the tag says not to. Throw in some laundry sheets of your chosen scent. Pretty soon you will catch on to what clothes need what, and be able to readily separate them. I also quickly learned that leftovers are your friend. Cook up a lot of food that won't spoil too fast (rice, chicken breast and broccoli, spaghetti and meatballs, chili, etc.) and live off of it for a few days. Sandwiches are your friend. Don't exclude fruits and vegetables though, but don't buy them at the large grocery chains either. I laugh at the people who pay 2 bucks for a green pepper. Find when your local farmer's markets take place, or a small mom and pop grocery store in the area. It will save you a bundle.
If you're female and living alone, take a self-defense class. I think a lot of girls move into a first apartment alone and feel completely comfortable waltzing in and out at night. Most of the bad shit that's going to happen to you is at your home where you're most comfortable and off-guard. I lived alone on the first floor in Midtown Atlanta...where drugged-out homeless guys walked around my duplex asking if anyone needed a BJ. Trust a bitch when I say I made it a point to be aware of my surroundings leaving/coming home.
Invest in a ceiling fan for the bedroom. On most summer nights, the fan on full with the windows open will allow you to limit air conditioning use. If you don't have air conditioning, get a ceiling fan because you may actually die without it. Rice Krispies and Febreeze can change your life.
Two words: Dryer sheets. An inexpensive and very sound investment. Do your dishes, unless you like your place smelling like a toxic waste dump with disgusting insects crawling around that you've never even seen before (re: silverfish). Fun game when drunk: Indoor Riccochet Death Frisbee Pay all bills right away. Can't afford to drink because of bills? Too bad. Unless you want to fuck up your life FOR LIFE, you need to check your priorities. Own a vaccuum. Don't get a dog or cat unless you have the time to care for it and the money to keep it alive. Fucking with your neighbours is not a good idea. If THEY'RE the ones fucking with you, take it with a grain of salt unless they absolutely HAVE to be dealt with. Don't buy super-nice shit for you first place. You'll trash half of it, and you know it. Don't move your boyfriend/girlfriend in for at least 2 years. Trust me.
Be prepared to lose your deposit. Landlords will come up with any bullshit excuse to squeeze it out of you, and then try to make getting it back as big of a hassle as possible. The bottom line is most people won't drag someone to court over $500 and they know it. Even if you did, at that point they've already repainted the walls, swapped the carpet, and a few other basic things so it turns into a he said/she said. The best thing to do is to make them inspect the apartment before you move out, and clearly point any discrepancies. Still, after you leave, they can always come back with, "Oh, we missed the stains in the shower on our first inspection. It took three people and four hours to remove them." I'm not saying it will happen, but if you're choosing between two apartments, one $740/mo with a $200 deposit, and another $729/mo with a $700 deposit take the lower deposit. Since this your first time moving out I'm going to assume you're poor so secondly, be really careful about how much money you're spending. It's almost always more than you expect, especially the first few months. Set a minimum you can't let your account get below to make sure you can cover your bills and you should be fine.
Buy yourself some basic tools - a cordless drill, a hammer and a few screw drivers. Everyone I know moves out of home the first time and can't hang a fucking picture or tighten a screw on a loose cupboard door handle. This advice goes double for girls. Owning a few basic tools will not turn you into a lesbian. Even if you get a guy around to do it - it's easier to slide in 'can you fix my light fitting' over dinner when you actually have the tools on hand.
Heh, in the eight places I've lived in the last nine years I've not once been fucked over by a landlord. I generally leave my places in good shape, but even with the things I have broken or fucked up I haven't gotten screwed. A big part of that is being able to read people, and do a little background checking on a potential landlord. Ask them questions about themselves, get to know them, find out if they own businesses, find out if they own any other properties or if they work for a company that does, etc. A landlord that runs a pawn shop? Bad sign. A landlord that works for a company that owns a chain of apartments all over the city? Hit or miss. They might be overworked and slack a bit, or they might be greedy fuckers. Older couple that use the rent for a nest egg? Bingo. Use your instincts and learn to read folks in this manner. It can and will save you thousands of dollars. Additionally, take pictures with a date stamp of the place the day you move in with the landlord present. Not just a few. I'm talking thirty or forty. Find the local Rentalsman Office and find out what you can do to protect yourself. I got lucky in my renting years but I was always prepared to protect myself should the need arise.
On this note, don't be afraid to do a little work to the place, even if it's not your own. It'll give you some valuable experience should you go on to owning your own home in the future, and it'll score you brownie points with the landlord for not bothering him. If you require anything that costs money to repair, like a new showerhead, then have him pay for it, but install it yourself. Another point concerning deposits that I forgot, hang posters without using tacks or nails. Save yourself that fucking hassle and get something that wipes clean easily without leaving holes.
For doing maintenance and work around the home, I consider these factors before I attempt anything: 1. Have I done it before? 2. How long will it take to do? I figure that a professional will take 1/2 to a 1/3 of the time it takes me. 3. How much are you paid per hour? (if you work). Factor that against how long it would take you to do. If you're on a squillion bucks an hour (like Ballsack), and the job would cost $25 an hour in labour then you're devaluing yourself. 4. If I fuck it up, what are the consequences? 5. How pissy is the job? If you really can't be assed doing something, odds are that you're going to get charged a premium because the tradesperson considers it a nuisance. For example, I have two major projects going on at home at the moment: a. Regrouting the tiles in the living areas. I've never done it before, but it's pretty hard to screw up if you follow the directions. Tiling (at least around here) is pretty expensive and it's a big job. If I fuck it up, I'm no worse off than I am now. So, I'm doing this myself. Overall, I'll save myself some money. b. I have a retaining wall that's partially collapsed. It's tall and holding several tons of dirt. It requires heavy machinery I can't use and if it fucks up, it'll cause major damage. Needless to say, I'm getting a professional.