ORGANIZATION: Making my room into a small studio apartment

This might be a short post but it's about a project that started this Sunday and I've decided to document it here for future reference, even inspire myself to keep it up. As per the title, the project is the bedroom I'm staying in into the closest thing I can make it into an apartment style living space. But, you might be asking, "why don't you move out?", the answer is painfully simple: I don't have the means to do so at this moment in time. So to curb my desire to move out with my need to have my own space, I'm reassessing and working on this project in the meantime.

I am saving up bit by bit, paycheck to paycheck to be able to move out. Millennials and Generation Z get bad reps for not moving out of their homes as soon as past generations for MANY factors that one blog post will not do it justice. To put it succinctly: Most of my generation DO want leave the nest and start their own lives away from their parents but find themselves unable to do so due to rent costs, labor costs, student debt (oh lord do I know this one) among other issues. 

In Puerto Rican culture, there isn't that same rush to get the kid out the door as in the Mainland United States, most of the time. Given the current economic situation, more college and university students tend to stick around a little longer before saving up and moving out. We really don't want to stay in the same place forever, we do have lives to live! 

So with that out of the way, it's time to talk about the project: Make This Room Into An Apartment! There are a few caveats to this project like:

1. A fridge or a stove-top are disallowed. 

2. All changes to the walls must be easily removed or I need my dad's help for the major stuff

3. Expenses cannot exceed $100 monthly

4. The available space is just that, I can't just put stuff in other rooms.

Caveat #1 was a request from my father, and it's reasonable enough. At 21.17 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), electricity in Puerto Rico is one of the highest in all 50 States and Territories so any extra energy that can be avoided is encourage.  Plus he rightfully pointed out that I do need to get out of my room and see my family. The other conditions are more for my convenience and ease of adjustment.

Since moving back here, I've been very careful in curating what goes into my room and what leaves. I'm an avid believer in the KonMari method and the Minimalist mindset of living with intention. The things that stay in my room, they have a purpose.  So this month, I'll be tackling the clutter that comes with returning to a room that I haven't been in for years before moving back in. I'll be discussing each of the room's areas and ongoing projects as they develop. 

For now, this is where I leave the post and hopefully come back with an update next week! Thank you for reading!

- SP