Author My First Apartment

Sammie

I'm just your average college student, living out her first real apartment experience in New Haven, CT! When I'm not busy in school, slaving away at work, or crying over Anthropologie prices, I can be found outside enjoying the day! My hobbies include volunteering, biking, hiking, kayaking, and drawing.

Pets in the Apartment: Bringing Home a New Dog

August 27, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Are you adding a dog to your family? Are you unsure how to transition your furry friend into apartment life? Let me start by acknowledging that I do not currently have my own dog living in my apartment. However, I have 10 years of experience working in animal shelters, and I am currently a foster…

Pets in Apartment: Bringing Home a New Cat

August 7, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

I was just barely settled into my first apartment and I found myself already filling out an adoption application for a new cat. Nobody in my family is surprised by this. The fact that I went three months living without a pet is shocking. But how did I manage to give my cat the space…

Sharing a Kitchen with Roommates When You Have Special Dietary Restrictions

June 9, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

If you have an allergy or special dietary needs, living with someone (or worse, multiple people) who eat what you cannot and sharing a kitchen with them, isn’t just a challenge, it is a flat-out risk. I recently made a clean break with gluten for medical reasons. This was only two weeks prior to moving into…

Solving Roommate Conflicts the Smart Way

May 24, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Did you wake up this morning to find a passive-aggressive sticky note waiting for you? Have you been giving your roommate the silent treatment because you are annoyed and she hasn’t even noticed? Maybe you’ve thrown a few passive-aggressive comments into your conversations lately? Roommate conflicts arise quite often. They are almost inevitable, but there…

How to Find Time to Clean the Apartment

May 18, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Everyone likes a clean home. Not everyone likes to clean. Not everyone seems to have the time to clean. Whether or not you enjoy the process, keeping your place clean is necessary. Its better for both your physical and mental health I am a clean freak. When the place isn’t clean, my stress levels are…

Organized Chaos: Planning for the Move-in

May 11, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Moving into your first apartment is never going to be stress-free. In fact, the move-in may be one of the most anxiety ridden things you have done in a while. You are leaving home, living on your own, and have no idea where to start. Moving days are always chaotic, but here are some ways…

Take Advantage of the Spring Weather

May 7, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

I find it funny that it is mid-spring, and until a few days ago, it didn’t feel like spring at all. Actually I find it the opposite of funny… Spring is one of my favorite times of year and this year it will be a short season. But now that the weather is finally nice,…

Furnishing Basics: Where to Skimp and Where to Splurge

April 28, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Moving into a first apartment is exciting, and it should be! But it also often comes at a time in our lives when we aren’t rolling in money. Many of us are college students or recent grads…so how can we make sure that our money is well spent? Accepting that we don’t need the most…

Furnishing an Apartment That Will be Home to Pets

April 24, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

Growing up with pets of all kinds taught me that animals often destroy things…expensive things usually. If you are moving into a new apartment with your pet, or you are thinking of adopting a new pet once you are settled in, there are some important things that you need to consider when buying furnishings. Couches and pets…

I Want to Adopt a Pet, But Should I?

April 22, 2016 | By Sammie AuthorMy First Apartment

If you are an animal lover like me, you dread every day that you have to live without a pet. Moving away from home meant leaving my dog, my best friend, Charlie. But he is better off where he is, with a big house and his own yard (and our other best friend, dad). My…