It’s hard to believe that one year ago to day I was “signing my life away” — I’m serious! I have never signed my name so many times in one sitting. And received to the keys to my first place. It was very exciting and scary all at the same time.
What I’ve learned over the past year:
- I’m not as terrible in the kitchen as I figured I would be.
- Cooking and baking is actually fun.
- Bills are a fact of life and someone is always going to want money from you!
- Things collect dust really quickly.
- The tool box my parents bought me last Christmas is actually very, very useful.
- Having a patio and grill is awesome and a great way to spend time with friends.
- Parents are unbelievably helpful when it comes to learning the ropes of home-ownership.
- Decorating is a lot of fun.
- Lots of painting
- Landscaping
- New kitchen floor
- All new appliances
- New light fixtures
- New light switch plates
- New bathroom fixtures
- New kitchen sink/faucet
- New outside lights
- Re-racked the closets to make them more space-efficient (yet I still don’t have enough room!)
My advice for first time buyers: Be realistic! Chances you are you are going to have to compromise some. Your dream home is likely not going to be your first home. Stay within your budget and make your home your own. With a little creativity, you can turn some of the things you may not like about home into unique rooms and features that are 100 percent you! By the way, don’t skip out on a great house just because you don’t like the color of paint on the walls. This is the easiest fix you can make! (It drives me nuts when I watch HGTV and people won’t buy a place because of the paint color!!)
