Well im beginning the proccess of moving into my apartment.

Post Reply New Topic

I really doing it. im gonna be moving in. My case manager is pushing me very hard for total independance though i sometime are not sure im ready. Advice on starting life independant?

Nightbender - bending the limits of male asperger's.

Is the place free or do you pay rent? Where do you live now - parents or group home?

I pay token rent plus utillities(its subisidized by the state). Its full brand new genuine luxury apartment(not group home) with a casemanger for me in the building. Ive been spending more time there. I have had it for two months now and im gonna officially move in this week or the next.

I found getting a toaster oven really helped, too, cause you can heat stuff like Banquet meals AND make toasted cheese sandwiches and toast (cinnamon toast is awesome when you are hungry for a sweet and regular toast and butter really satisfies, especially with the eggs. oh, yeah, learn how to make eggs. All you need is a little teflon pan and a can of cooking spray.
make sure you have bananas in the house (cause the magnesium in them stops night leg cramps), and apples in a bowl so you can snack on something that fills you up with fiber that's yummy, too.

Get your personal hygene system together. Toothbrush, hairbrush and towels, get one of those girly shower puffs made out of net because they really save on the soap you use. Get one of those bottles that work for hair and body they have for men. Remember the less stuff you use is the less you have to buy. So try to keep it all very simple

figure out a laundry system. . Have a place where the dirtys go right from the start. Have a bag/container for your whites and lights and another for your jeans and darks. Don't wash them together or they will all come out gray. Make two loads and then put them away when you have laundered them. Use very mild laundry soap that washes out completely and you won't have stiff scratchy clothes (I use store brand BABY laundry soap, it costs a bit more, but I don't feel like clawing my clothes off my back and thowing them out after I wash them, either. )

get some dishwashing soap and a plastic scrubber for the sink. Clothes, etc. will never dry properly between usings and they will stink more than they will help. Either have a double kitchen sink or get yourself a plastic dish pan and a dish drainer. the trick is to have only one service cover (one plate, one bowl, one spoon, fork, knife, one glass and one coffee mug.) this forces you to have to clean them quickly between meals and not have a sink full of dirty dishes.

so, you have your shower station, your laundry station, your cooking station and your dish stragegy.

can you think of anything else?

Merle

uhm hmm

where theres paying bills and disentangling my finances from my parents, remembering to go shopping cleaning up.

I have found that making STATIONS (I don't know what else to call them, maybe CENTERS?) where you keep your (broom, mop, dustpan), and then another center where you keep your (laundry soap, your quarters for laundry, your dirty laundry bags) another where you keep your (shower stuff, soap and hair stuff) and your (dishes, dish soap, dish pan) (dishes) and then figure out what you like to eat. Most Aspies can eat the same stuff over and over, so that is a real plus when you make out your grocery list, because you can usually use the same list over and over, AND budget your grocery money from week to week.

Merle

thanks

I recommend you live without things. If you get a lot of stuff, your place will be cluttered.

I wish you good luck. It will take a little getting use too, and in time you will realize how good it is to be on your own.

and may I say living independently is FUN! I heartily recommend it for having your own schedule, you own place for everthing. When you come home, it looks just like it did when you left - which can be a good thing (neat, tidy and everything where you can find it) or a bad thing (messy, bad smell, (always take the garbage out BEFORE you go out for the day or night)

but it can become your lair, your den, your special place where no one bothers you, where you can go that is just like you want it, no matter what 'it' is.

Have a wonderful life, living solo is a sanctuary!

Merle

I wish I had this forum 20 years ago when I moved out. I left for college at age 18, but I think that I'm still trying to figure out how to manage my life. One things I will agree with is to not get too much stuff right away. I think that I fell into the bad habit of buying stuff when I was feeling anxious, which ironically made my life even harder to manage. It's much easier to keep it simple to begin with.

Congratulations on getting your place. I have some advice to share. I learned to cook nutritious food from the Fanny Farmer cookbook. In brief, clear language, you can make healthy food for yourself and save money at the grocery store. It also includes a section on essential kitchen tools. I bought mine as a paperback for about $10.

If you are paying for the water bill separately from the rent, ask your landlord if you can have water-saver filters attached to your faucets and shower head. They are cheap to buy from any hardware place and install easiliy.

You can save money on cleaning supplies with supplies like baking soda and plain white vinegar.

http://lakesoap.com/modules.php?name=Articles

Do you have access to an advisor for personal finance management? It would be helpful to have an unbiased advisor or friend to compare rates and services for banking. You can save a lot on service fees if you know how to do the comparison shopping.

Again congratulations and good luck.