Saturday, June 21, 2014

1st Month In

How does one describe moving into one's own place? If you asked me, I'd say it was extremely exhausting and financially draining.

I never realised how much money has to be pumped into a home as I have always lived with my mother. Imagine my astonishment when I only realised that there was not a single clothes peg in the house only after doing a round of laundry and had to go out and get some.

I am, admittedly not the neatest person when I lived with my mother and definitely not at work. My colleagues will tell you that my office desk often resemble a battlefield. Somehow, this is not the same at home. I come home to vacuum the floor almost everyday, or at least when I get home at a reasonable time and the sound coming from the vacuum machine won't make my neighbour come around screaming murder. Its almost like I never have enough time to do everything. Ok now, time for the pictures I promised. Sorry for the poor resolution of some of them cause I had to print screen from my Instagram account as I had just reformat my phone and many photos were gone.

Repainting the common room
As I have bought a repossessed (meaning the last owner couldn't pay up and HDB took back the flat) flat, The first things to do was to get some minor renovation done which included replacing the window hinges (they were all falling off!), installing window grills, overlaying the bathroom tiles and replacing the toilet bowl. Thankfully, I had two really very nice friends who came to help me with the cleaning and repainting. If not for them, I'd probably never finish the work!


IKEA!!! Now my favourite place to buy furniture from!
I brought Larissa to IKEA the weak after we have had the house cleaned to do some major damage to the wallet. Thank god my bonus had just came through so I can buy some furniture for the house. It was the very first time I bought any sort of furniture or bigger item from IKEA so I haven't had a single clue of what to expect. I thought it was as simple as selecting the items I want, pay for it, pay for delivery, assembly and just wait for the person to arrive within 3 working days.

On my first visit to IKEA, I bought a expedit shelf, a Trysil wardrobe, a queen size latex mattress, a Latt Children's table and a aneboda wardrobe. Only after they delivered and assembled the entire thing did I realise what an idiot I was to have paid for assembly so the second time I went to IKEA to get more stuff, I got ambitious and only paid for delivery. I bought the IKEA fixa electric screwdriver and was all ready to start assembling myself.

It took me almost 2 days to finish assembling all by myself.


The Micke desk

The Lavia Bookcase
And the biggest item is the Stornas buffet. 

The desk and bookcase were rather easy to put together but I almost killed myself while assembling the buffet. Its made of solid wood and is quite heavy. Lucky for me that I'm big strong and had only a bit of problem when I had to place the top piece of wood. I really don't encourage any ladies to do this themselves unless they are fat big like me. 

Thankfully I had a friend who was moving out of her place so she passed me her bedframe so I saved a bit on that.

Now that the furnishing is settled, I went to courts and got us a Philips 32" tv, a stand fan and a washing machine. I considered getting these items second hand but Courts was having a discount and it was almost the same price as a second hand item. The TV usually cost $599 but was going for $269, got the fan at $69 and washing machine...due to space constraints, I can only get a small one and the one I got is very small but can do 7.5kg wash so its rather worth the $300 plus I paid for it.

This is what my home currently looks like.


Almost like I haven't much isn't it? That was taken when I just moved in. I have since gotten a second hand sofa bed for the living room. I've also gotten a full bedroom set and furnished it for my tenant!

I've only just realised how tiring it can be to live without a maid. I grew up with a maid cause my mother always hired help. I have to do everything feel like a grown up now! Freedom and independence all comes at a price. Heehee

Its tough sometimes, having to juggle a kid, work and part time studies (I've started on my part time diploma) but its all for the future! I now know what its like to be always tired!