Living together with colleagues in the apartment can leave you with some hobbies such as not being able to stand the silence of an empty place, but also valuable teachings. You have to be very supportive of the customs, manners, and laziness of people.
If you are about to share your kitchen, you should try to make peace between you and your roommates. Therefore, not only will you have to maintain that relationship with them, but you will also need to take care of and maintain your minimalist style. In this chapter, you will find tips on how to make that possible.
Tip #1: Divide the refrigerator and you will win
When different people live in a house, the tastes are different. Maybe the refrigerator is always full of beers, or other things that perhaps you don’t really like. In case there is only one refrigerator, the best thing you can do is that each person has their own shelf. Also, it is better not to make everyone buy stuffs the same day. Doing so, the refrigerator and the pantry get stuck. You have to coordinate the days of purchase of each one.
Tip #2: Place your food in the fridge strategically
The food that you leave near the refrigerator door is the one that finishes first. It is better to put it behind, but be careful that it will not be forgotten or it will be spoiled.
Tip #3: Reach an agreement to consume only one type of milk
Unless one is lactose intolerant, another vegan and one more prefers chocolate. It is better to have only one type of milk for everyone. Products like salt, sugar, and oil also work and less mess is made.
Tip #4: Do not be afraid to throw out the outdated, even if it’s alien
If you see a yogurt that is going to expire, it is best that you eat it, notify the owner and replenish it. If you detect that something has already broken down, throw it away. You do not even have to notice it; they forgot it for a reason.
Tip #5: Wash that dirty rate from days ago; it does not matter if it’s from another
Unwashed dishes create a mess and can be an important point of conflict. It is better everyone washes his dishes and there is no major problem. If you find something small like a glass or a spoon, nothing happens if you wash it. But if a person tends to leave what he uses without washing, it is best to talk to him about that.
Tip #6: Hire a cleaning professional and divide the rate
Using these services once or twice a week is the best and the payment is divided among all. In truth that makes things much simpler.
Tip #7: Take turns to take out the organic trash
There are many people who do not know how to separate trash and it is very important to have this skill. The best thing is to take the trash religiously on Saturday or another day. And, you have to make turns because nobody wants to take care of the organic trash. This is because it smells the worst and drips.
How To Move Your Kitchen In The Fastest And Most Save Way?
If you live in a rental and you are young, then changes are usually part of your life: moving to new countries, new jobs, and therefore, new floors are treaded on every day. So this is surely neither the first nor the last time.
Therefore, you can develop techniques or strategies to make this process less tedious, much more practical, quick and organized and make sure that you only take the essentials home to your kitchen.
What Comes Before The Move?
As you know a long time ago that you are going to move to your new apartment, you can begin a strong and complete declutter process.
It takes a couple of days trying to plan where your things will be located in
the new apartment. This is useful for two reasons.
- The first is that it allows you to plan now the flow of the move (what to take first and what to take later).
- The second is that it helps you to practice the famous minimalist question: do I have a space to store it? If there is no space for something, then that something should not reach the new apartment.
Techniques For Moving Faster And Safer Way
Technique #1: Make a list of your future needs
Think about the needs that you will have in your new home: do you go to a smaller or larger house? In the city or in a town? Do you have exit to the outside or terrace? Is the weather warmer or cooler? Wet or dry? All this will help you to understand what kind of things you will need to take with you and which ones definitely should be left behind. Despite being a minimalist style, a kitchen consists of a number of different individual modules, countertops, accessories, and equipment.
For example, is the furniture in your old kitchen kept in good condition?
Calculate the costs of dismantling, transport, accessories (in most cases you have to change the countertops), assembly and possible installation work and wiring. In short, value the costs and risks of maintaining your old kitchen.
Technique #2: Prepare this area in three parts: recycling, reuse and moving
Especially clear this area to deposit objects that you neither need nor use for anything (recycling), those that you do not need but still have utility (reuse) and those that you need and you will take to your next home (move).
Technique #3: Divide your objects by categories
If you start to select objects without a specific order you will get tired and discouraged very quickly. To make this process more organized you can use a checklist (mentioned in technique #1).
Technique #4: Begin to select
Select the items in the first category of the checklist in each of the three parts of the kitchen area (recycling, reuse, and removal). Then go to the next category, and the next, and the next to finish with the checklist. This is the first filter for a kitchen only with what is necessary and what you most want, so do not be sorry. Allow only items with these characteristics into your life and everything will be to your advantage: a minimalist kitchen from the beginning, less weight to carry and move, more space and order, etc.
We recommend making a list of pending and schedule pre-move tasks:
- Sort belongings
- Organize what you will take.
- Take recycling to the collection center.
- Save what you are going to keep.
- What should be left before the day of moving.
- What to do on the day of the move
Technique #5: Recycle
Gather all the objects in the recycling area and remember the infallible trick for your minimalist cleaning. Recycle your discarded belongings as soon as possible.
Technique #6: Reuse
Donate, give away or resell everything that is in good condition and may be needed by others. If you think there is something that can be useful to the next tenant (open cleaning products, brooms or mops, kitchen utensils), give it to him and write him a note so he knows he can use them.
Technique #7: Start packing
Pack by categories leaving out only what is necessary for the last days. Do not buy new boxes to keep. Sure, what you have at home already serves you (suitcases, large reusable shopping bags, plastic storage boxes, baskets, etc.).
Finally, do not forget to label the boxes so you will know where you have everything and it will be easier to find a specific item when you arrive at your new home.
Technique #8: Organize in boxes what you are going to keep
Prepare to save what you will keep and separate in boxes by priorities:
- High: What is very necessary and functional
- Media: What you would like to unpack soon but which is not necessary.
- Low: What is decorative
This will allow you to unpack more peacefully and without haste.
Advice: Systematize the move
- To make everything easier, differentiate the boxes.
- Write down the space they belong to.
- Assign a number by priority (1 is the highest priority).
This way, once you arrive at your new home, you can take the boxes to their respective spaces and open only those that has the number 1 marked. Little by little you can open the others.
Technique #9: And the day arrives! Organize your move
If you have a moving service, congratulations! And if not, you have to load.
If you have an elevator, congratulations again! And if not, you have to load up the stairs (if any). To make everything more bearable, ask for help from friends and family and reward them with a good meal (after all who wouldn’t settle for a good meal?). In addition, this will help you to establish an organization system: first the largest furniture, then the small ones together with boxes and suitcases, and finally small objects to fill in the gaps.
Technique #10: When everything is ready to go, clean
When the van is full and the house empty, take advantage and do a good general cleaning. Nobody likes to find a dirty house, and although it sounds a bit weird. It will be good for you to spend some time alone with the house, say goodbye and think about this new stage in which you are embarking.
Technique #11: When you get to your new home, do not unpack anything
Yes, we know that this is the opposite of what is always said: it is important to unpack and place as soon as possible to get rid of it and continue with our lives. But, maybe not. Unpack little by little only what you need and miss and leave the rest untouched for up to a month. What you did not get out after that time, you probably do not need it.
