Tips on How to Live Without Your Mom for the Next 9 Months

If you are moving to a University of Florida off campus apartment, there are a few basic life skills that you need to know in order to live without your mom for the next 9 months. This includes learning how to clean your clothing, how to feed yourself, and how to keep your apartment clean. Yes, clean. You don’t want to be known as the “one with the dirty apartment.” Here are a few tips to help you with those tasks:

How to Clean Your Clothing

• Tip 1: Read the Label – Before you buy or wash clothing, be sure to read the label for instructions on how to wash and care for the garment. They are often located on the back of the neck or on the side along the stitching. If it says dry clean only, immediately put down or throw away unless you don’t mind shelling out money for dry cleaning.
• Tip 2: Sort Your Laundry According to Color – Separate your clothing into whites and colors to prevent your white shirt from fading or changing colors completely! You will be grateful later.
• Tip 3: Wash Clothing Often – Wash socks, underwear/undershirts, and t-shirts after one wear. Button-downs, sweaters, and pants should be washed after wearing 1-4 times. Other items like towels should be washed at least once a week and bed sheets every 2 weeks. When in doubt, do the sniff test, or invite people over and time how long it takes them to leave.

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How to Feed Yourself without Eating Out Everyday

• Tip 1: Prepare Meals So Quick & Easy, A College Student Could Do It – Not a cook? There’s still hope! Instead of cooking, pick up foods like yogurt, oatmeal, sandwich items, soup, crackers and hummus to keep you going through the day. If you have free time on the weekend, cut up ingredients and put them into plastic bags or Tupperware to use during the week to reduce prep time. When in a bind, cereal & Lunchables work great.
• Tip 2: Stock Up – Buy in bulk! Supersized bags of frozen chicken and vegetables can last up to a month and also save you money.  For more college budget-friendly ideas, browse the ForRent.com Apartment Living blog for inspiration. Also, ask mom and dad when their care package will arrive with your favorite foods. They should get the hint.

How to Not Have a Dirty Apartment

• Tip 1: Research Best Practices – Consider browsing Homes.com and ForRent.com’s Spring Into the Dream Guide for nifty ideas on how to organize and clean your UF apartment. For example, incorporate multi-functional furniture in your apartment to store away your belongings when you have friends over – like an ottoman to throw your dirty laundry into in between washes.
• Tip 2: Clean as You Go – Instead of stacking up dirty dishes, wash them right after use. It doesn’t take very long and saves money on your water bill. If you know yourself enough to know you’ll never wash dishes, consider paper plates.

Whether you are looking for off-campus housing near the University of Florida or a college dorm on campus, it is valuable to practice good habits in order to get a grasp of these basic skills! People around you will thank you!